ffice:smarttags" name="place">ffice:smarttags" name="country-region">
11. Muammar al-Qaddafi Country:
Libya Age:
65
In
Power Since 1969 Last Year's Rank:
9
Long
considered an enemy of the United
States, Qaddafi has recently made peace with
the West. The U.S. imported almost $3 billion
worth of Libyan oil last year, and the Libyans have purchased airplanes and
oilfield equipment from our country.
12. Bashar al-Assad Country: Syria Age: 42
In
Power Since 2000 Last Year's Rank:
10
On
the one hand, the United
States considers Assad’s government to be a
supporter of Islamic terrorist organizations.
On the other hand, in a well-documented case the U.S. kidnapped
Syrian-Canadian Maher Arar and handed him over to Syrian authorities to be
tortured and interrogated, before he was finally released without charge.
13. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Country: Equatorial
Guinea
Age:
65 In Power Since 1979 Last Year's Rank: 11
U.S. oil companies
enjoy good business relations with Obiang, and last year, the U.S.-based
security firm MPRI signed a contract to train Obiang’s personal Presidential
Guard.
14. King Mswati III Country: Swaziland
Age: 39
In
Power Since 1986 Last Year's Rank:
12
King Mswati is the last
remaining absolute monarch in Africa. The U.S. provides training for the king’s defense
forces through our International Military Education and Training program, and Swaziland has
been declared eligible to receive military equipment through the U.S. Excess
Defense Articles program. Alarming health fact: Swaziland has the world’s highest
rate of AIDS/HIV, with 25.9% of its citizens between ages 15 and 49 infected
with the disease.
15.
Meles Zenawi Country: Ethiopia Age:
52
In
Power Since 1995 Last Year's Rank:
17
When
the United States became
involved in the conflict in neighboring Somalia,
it chose Ethiopia
as its regional partner, providing support for former guerrilla leader Meles
Zenawi. The U.S.
has even given its approval to North
Korea’s Kim Jong-il to sell weapons to Meles
Zenawi.
16. Aleksandr Lukashenka Country: Belarus
Age: 53
In
Power Since 1994 Last Year's Rank:
14
Lukashenka is Europe’s only dictator and is considered a pariah on the
international scene. In November, the
U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions against certain Belarusan
businesses. Nonetheless, U.S.
trade with Lukashenka’s country has actually increased for eight straight
years, driven by American purchases of oil and potash (a kind of fertilizer).
17. Hosni Mubarak Country:
Egypt
Age: 79
In
Power Since 1981 Last Year's Rank:
18
According to the U.S. State
Department, Mubarak has the ability to transfer any criminal case from the
civilian judicial system to a military court, and the use of torture by his
officials is common. In recent months
journalists have been jailed for “ insulting the president.” The U.S. gives Egypt $2 billion in aid a year,
including $1.3 billion in military assistance.
18. Raúl Castro Country: Cuba Age: 76
In
Power Since 2006 Last Year's Rank:
Unranked
Due
to health problems, Fidel Castro transferred power to younger brother Raúl in
2006. Even before that, Raúl had long
been in charge of Cuba’s
military, which also manages GAESA, a huge conglomerate of Cuban businesses
involved in tourism, mining, consulting, construction and international
trade. Although the U.S. government maintains a strict ban on
importing goods from Cuba, U.S. exports to Cuba, primarily food products, have
grown from $7 million in 2001 to about $400 million in 2007. The Castro regime also keeps a stranglehold
on the media. Since 2003, some 24 journalists have been imprisoned and three
foreign reporters were forced to leave the country, according to the Committee
to Protect Journalists. No publication is permitted.
19. Choummaly Sayasone Country: Laos Age:
71
In
Power Since 2006 Last Year's Rank:
16
Laos is run by an
old-fashioned Communism Party headed by elderly men, and Choummaly Sayasone
sits at the top. Between 1964 and 1973,
the U.S. dropped two million
tons of bombs on Laos—1
000 pounds of explosives for every man, woman and children in the country. Twenty-five years later, the two nations are
friendly, and trade between the U.S.
and Laos
doubled over the last year.
20. Idriss Déby Country: Chad Age: 55
In
Power Since 1990 Last Year's Rank:
Unranked
The
United States
has criticized Déby’s government for a wide range of human-rights abuses,
including the use of torture, politically-motivated disappearances and
life-threatening prison conditions.
However, Chad is a
major producer of oil, and last year the U.S. bought about $2 billion worth
of the product from it.
