Name a past or present political or strategic enemy that you admire.

[Jhhnn]

Nixon had to convince a lot of people he was crazy, including his own advisors, if the whole thing was to work. I was convinced, at the time. The fact that he actually was a little crazy helped to project the image.

And Reagan, nonetheless, found a way to implement a treaty that radically reduced nuclear weapons, in a realistic way based on the understandable distrust of the parties. As you point out, he was deliberately misinformed by key advisors, otherwise more sweeping measures might have been possible. Score 1 for the military industrial complex.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Admire is rather a loaded term. If I limit it to "getting the job done" regardless of method I'd say Stalin and Mao. They certainly did that. Hitler was able to manipulate the Germans because of the results of the Treaty of Versailles, but he had no idea how to run a war.

 

[Atreus21]

Admire is rather a loaded term. If I limit it to "getting the job done" regardless of method I'd say Stalin and Mao. They certainly did that. Hitler was able to manipulate the Germans because of the results of the Treaty of Versailles, but he had no idea how to run a war.

I suppose my use of the term admire is to indicate someone that would've been a celebrated leader if he'd been allied with you, or in Rommel's and Robert E. Lee's case, on the right side of history.

I know that Saladin is still respected among the Jewish historians.

 

[CanOWorms]

Winston Churchill. He executed some of the worst genocides of the 20th century in order to maintain his Empire. He wanted to make the barbaric British Empire survive at any costs, no matter the number of live slaughtered during an age when it was not accepted. Yet his media and history manipulation has made many in the West forget about his atrocities and so he's routinely viewed as a hero here even though much of the world is appalled by his actions.

Nowadays, Elizabeth II is quite impressive. She commands a near God-like status among people who really should despise her. It's incredible that she can maintain her status while her peasants are living horrific lives.

I don't think of them as noble enemies (they're horrible human beings; Churchill was one of the worst monsters of the 20th century), but they were very successful.

 

[RabidMongoose]

Along similar lines, I'd say Prince Charles. He's a Luddite that is obviously very heavily inbred, but soon he will be worshiped by the British similar to early humans worshiping the Sun.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I suppose my use of the term admire is to indicate someone that would've been a celebrated leader if he'd been allied with you, or in Rommel's and Robert E. Lee's case, on the right side of history.

I know that Saladin is still respected among the Jewish historians.

I'd have to go along with Lee then. If he had fought with the Union he'd have been a national hero.

The problem with your premise from my perspective is that it's damned difficult to think of someone who has been an enemy of the US who wasn't a scoundrel. Very often we decide a person is an enemy because we don't like what they do. If they were to execute people ruthlessly because they weren't supporters of American policy, I'd have a hard time thinking more of them than if they did it to keep themselves in power.

You're question is a fair one, but not too easily answered, at least by me.