President Barack Obama declared at the UN General Conference in a much expected speech, that the age of dictators has come to an end.
He acknowledged however that the U.S. and other world leaders must do more to ensure a country doesn’t descend into chaos when a strongman falls.
He admitted that a U.S.-led coalition should have done more to maintain order in Libya after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi and said the world has a responsibility to help rebuild Syria after President Bashar Assad inevitably is driven from power.
The fall of dictators around the world, Mr. Obama said, is a trend that cannot be stopped.
“Dictatorships are unstable. The strongmen of today become the spark of revolution tomorrow. You can jail your opponents, but you can’t imprison ideas,” he said.
“You cannot turn a lie into truth. It is not a conspiracy of U.S.-backed [organizations] that expose corruption and raise the expectations of people around the globe. It’s technology, social media, and the irreducible desire of people everywhere to make their own choices about how they are governed.”