OT - Idi Amin Dead at 80

[mrskippy]

Oddly, no mention of the Entebbe raid in this story. That's what I remember about Amin the most.

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Idi Amin, whose eight years as president of Uganda were characterized by bizarre and murderous behavior, died Saturday, a hospital official said.

Amin, who had lived for years in exile in this Saudi port city, had been hospitalized on life-support since July 18.

He died at 8:20 a.m. at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Amin was 80, Ugandan officials said, though other sources had him born in 1925.

He was in a coma and suffering from high blood pressure when he was first admitted to the King Faisal hospital. Later, hospital staff said he suffered kidney failure.

A one-time heavyweight boxing champ and soldier in the British colonial army, Amin seized power on January 25, 1971, overthrowing President Milton Obote while Obote was abroad.

Human rights groups say as many as 500,000 people were killed during Amin's 1971-1979 rule over Uganda.

Amin was forced from power in 1979, fled to Libya, then Iraq and finally Saudi Arabia, where he was allowed to settle provided he stayed out of politics.

[CAsterling]

Damn, Idi is finally dead.

A man who had am amazing effect on African politics, and proved that a little training from the British army could take you to greatness.

He will be sorely missed

[Senator]

So long funnyman.

[sachmo71]

If you believe in hell, that dude is going there. You have to wonder what makes a person do those types of things. It boggles the mind.

[NoMyths]

A poet friend of mine from Uganda used to rail against Idi Amin in both his work and when the topic would come up...he'd had family members murdered during the regime, and it scarred him pretty badly. It's terrible that there are monsters like this in the world.

[CAsterling]

Idi was basically no worse than most of the other leaders in Africa during that time period, and in comparrison with the current regieme of China he is hardly a monster.

The man took his opportunity to run a country, (it was that or be arrested by the previous regieme) and as any smart dictator would, attempted to eliminate all opposition so the same actions he just took couldn't happen to him.

"By most accounts an illiterate and gluttonous buffoon, Amin has become the subject of many bizarre rumours and myths. There are stories of cannibalism, of feeding the bodies of his victims to crocodiles, of keeping their severed heads in a fridge at his home - most or all of which are unsubstantiated"

He just had a bad rep, especially in the west - in fact he was no better or worse than many current or past African leaders.

[NoMyths]

Originally posted by CAsterling
Idi was basically no worse than most of the other leaders in Africa during that time period, and in comparrison with the current regieme of China he is hardly a monster.

The man took his opportunity to run a country, (it was that or be arrested by the previous regieme) and as any smart dictator would, attempted to eliminate all opposition so the same actions he just took couldn't happen to him.

"By most accounts an illiterate and gluttonous buffoon, Amin has become the subject of many bizarre rumours and myths. There are stories of cannibalism, of feeding the bodies of his victims to crocodiles, of keeping their severed heads in a fridge at his home - most or all of which are unsubstantiated"

He just had a bad rep, especially in the west - in fact he was no better or worse than many current or past African leaders.

I think I'll side with my friend's firsthand accounts of the effects of Amin's rule over your opinion, CASterling. Just because other regimes and leaders have been vicious doesn't minimize the devastation that he wrought in Uganda. Look into his story more deeply before claiming that all he did was be "smart" by "eliminat[ing] all opposition" -- he hardly needed the myths that sprung up around him to bolster his earned reputation for terror and heartbreak. He doesn't "just have a bad rep" -- the man is one of the most ruinous monsters of the 20th century, and if you knew more about him you wouldn't say such ill-informed things about him or his place amongst present or past African leaders.

[Dutch]

Apparently in 8 years of rule, he killed 500,000 people. But none of the victims have substantiated that. So let's mark it down as a bad reputation or blame it on the British.

[mrskippy]

The Jerusalem Post links to the AP story. I'm surprised they didn't have somebody from their staff right it. Though he died when Israel was observing the Sabbath.

However, the J-Post did note:

He is remembered in Israel as the host of the Entebbe terrorists.

[SackAttack]

Showing my youth here, some, but...what was Entebbe? Did it have anything to do with the Munich Olympics?

[mrskippy]

Basically a French airliner, from Tel Aviv to Paris, via Athens, carrying a large number of Israeli passengers was hijacked. The plane was flown to the Entebbe airport in Uganda. The plane itself was hijacked by Palestinians, supported by Amin.

Obviously, the hijackers interest was in the Israeli and Jewish passengers. Their intentions and demands were obvious.

What made the story so interesting was the Israeli rescue of the hostages, flying over hostile territory and into a hostile land to free them. In the incident only one Israeli (Jonathan Netanyahu, brother of former Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu) was killed, after being struck by a sniper's bullet.

Countless documentation of the event can be found on the Web and there are books.

There are a few movies on the subject. The best one is called Mivtsa Yonatan (Operation Thunderbolt). It is the Israeli film version of the story. The film came out in 1977 and was Israel's nomination in the 1978 Academy Awards, having won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Picture, among others.

There are a few other made for TV films that were good, but not as good as the Israeli movie. They are Victory At Entebbe (1976) and Raid On Entebbe (1977).

If you get a chance, these films are worth watching. Operation Thunderbolt just came out on DVD. I'd highly recommend it.

EDIT: Just for the record, Operation Thunderbolt was directed, produced and written by Menahem Golan, whose credits include the Death Wish movies, Superman 4, Over The Top, and a handful of cheesy action flicks over the years.

[CAsterling]

Originally posted by Dutch
Apparently in 8 years of rule, he killed 500,000 people. But none of the victims have substantiated that. So let's mark it down as a bad reputation or blame it on the British.

Works for me.....

Apparently the successor to Idi was far worse - yet can anyone name him, or is he a recognised as a monster.......No, well guess what happened.
The man Idi overthrew was put back in power by Western goverments and he apparently killed and tortured more people than Idi - but what the heck nobody seems to suggest he was a monster (just a leader helping to supress communist influence in Africa). Idi is well known in the west because he was a buffoon and was supported by the Soviets during the cold war, hence his acts were condemed and frequently compared with such characters as Hitler - others less well known were/are doing the same thing and aren't considered monsters.

Guess I just have a soft spot for dictators

[Dutch]

Guess I just have a soft spot for dictators

That's okay, there are tons of people out there who think Saddam Hussein would be a better fit for California Governor than the current crop of movie stars gunning for the position.

[Buccaneer]

Would they be the same people thinking Saddam should still be dictator of Iraq, Dutch?

[Dutch]

Aye, they would.

EDIT: Had to come back to this one...did I miss something???? Who the heck is Buccaneer?