But I think its worth repeating.

I ran into a guy at a professional conference. He was a Miami Cuban, so we got to having a chat after-hours at the hotel bar.

We were talking about the Falklands War, and I happened to bring up how the Brits had cleaned the Argies' clock, in spite of the fact that Argentina got to pick precisely the time of year that favored their forces, weatherwise. They had the element of surprise, land-based air support, shorter supply lines, and had been preparing for years. The Brits were caught off guard, had to send a hastily assembled force halfway across the planet, and had to supply them by sea. The UK forces were also configured for a NATO support role, not an expeditionary foray in the back of beyond.

My friend obviously was rooting for the Argentinians, because he remarked that the latter would have won easily if it had not been by treacherous support from the USA, that we provided the intelligence, communications and logistics that gave the UK all the advantages. He felt it was our obligation to help defend the New World from Imperialistic European aggression. You know, the Monroe Doctrine.

I agreed that US help was crucial, but the major factor was that the Argentine military was geared up primarily to kidnap and torture college kids, journalists and left-wing intellectuals. They were ill-prepared to deal with an opponent who actually got to shoot back, even if they were outnumbered, seasick and living on cramped ships bobbing around in the Southern Ocean as the weather deteriorated day by day. I didn't have the heart to tell him the Monroe Doctrine wasn't about our protecting the New World from white imperialism, it was about making sure only the USA was entitled to be the white imperial power on this side of the pond.

The man became furious. He claimed the Argentinians were engaged in a legitimate war against Communism, where anything goes, all those civilians who were disappeared from Buenos Aires were legitimate targets--Commie stooges and Fidel Castro followers.

So I asked him; "What's the difference between a left wing dictatorship and a right-wing one?"

His reply was classic. "A left wing dictatorship will turn everything upside down, meddle in every aspect of your life. And they will wreck the economy. A right wing dictatorship will let you live your life. They'll let you keep your business, your property and your money, they'll let you travel abroad and educate your kids anywhere you like. As long as you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone. The economy will boom, your business will prosper, and if you help them, they'll cut you in on a piece of the action and you will flourish."

He was right. And that's what fascism is: The dictatorship of the middle class.