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President of Chad Killed on the Battlefield

theguardian.com

11–20 of 101 posts

Re: President of Chad Killed on the Battlefield

#11

Is this good or bad for people of Chad?

"Reports from N’Djamena, the capital, suggested that in the wake of Déby’s death, parliament has been dissolved and the government replaced by a transitional military council led by Déby’s 37-year-old son Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, a general"

The short-term at least, sounds worse.

Re: President of Chad Killed on the Battlefield

#13

Is this good or bad for people of Chad?

The subtitle might give more context: > Déby had ruled for 30 years and won a sixth term in elections last week

"He was one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders and a close ally of western powers..."

So, it depends on how you view "western powers", I guess.

Re: President of Chad Killed on the Battlefield

#14
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The subtitle might give more context: > Déby had ruled for 30 years and won a sixth term in elections last week

"He was one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders and a close ally of western powers..." So, it depends on how you view "western powers", I guess.

Yeah, well a guy who gained power through military force is being challenged by rebel fighters... live by the sword, die by the sword.

What matters is what replaces him, not whether western forces like him. I don’t understand folks who are like “the west is bad, therefore anyone the west supports is bad and their passing is good.”

Re: President of Chad Killed on the Battlefield

#16
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The subtitle might give more context: > Déby had ruled for 30 years and won a sixth term in elections last week

Are these elections or "elections"? I don't know anything about Chad.

"elections" - this is an outdated graphic (hasn't been updated since 2015) but scroll down to see the length of terms graph: https://projects.voanews.com/african-presidents/

Chad is near top of the list.

Re: President of Chad Killed on the Battlefield

#17
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The subtitle might give more context: > Déby had ruled for 30 years and won a sixth term in elections last week

Are these elections or "elections"? I don't know anything about Chad.

The Democracy Index has Chad as the 163rd most democratic country. Out of 167.

So, I'm guessing "elections" is probably closer to the true state of affairs.

Re: President of Chad Killed on the Battlefield

#18

Is this good or bad for people of Chad?

While supplanting a de facto life-long dictator might sound like a good idea to some, countries with weak institutions generally just fall into the hands of another power clique (or remain in the hands of the incumbent crony dynasty if it prevails).

From https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/chad/overview - "Chad ... is ranked last on the World Bank’s Human Capital Index.". This would indicate weak institutions which gives very little reason for optimism.

Re: President of Chad Killed on the Battlefield

#20
post #2

It is extremely rare for the head of state to die as a direct result of battlefield engagement.

skin in the game. there is something incredibly honorable about it.

Can anyone picture BoJo, Trump or Biden jumping off a chopper in Overtheristan killing locals?

In the West we use the term "who live by the sword shall die by the sword" (Matthew) but only as a warning. I think it illustrates the disconnect between these worlds. What is warning in one place/religion is a _promise_ in the other.

My wife (Japanese) would laugh "at the cowardice" displayed by somebody who questions the right to revenge (an eye for an eye) or hesitates taking their life to save the honor of their family, etc ...

This sounds alien to Westerners if not terrifying to those in power to have an honor based system. It is why media in all German speaking countries use the word "clan" only in a racist sense reserved for specific minorities and aimed to criminalize those who live in these older forms of social groups (with perhaps hundreds of people)[0]

While most are quick to denounce an evangelical missionary[1] hopping of the boat in the Andaman sea to "convert the local heathens", it's much easier to turn a blind eye at every-day injustice against alternative forms of social groups (Roma in Europe come to mind, refugees, or indeed very large families of South Easter European decent that would automatically be labelled terrorists or criminals, Bosnians, Kosovo-Albanias, etc).

[0] a clan in Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna etc is never somebody "good" e.g. the strong family bond here is caricaturized as an organized criminal and only mentioned in relation to drug or human trafficking.

[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-usa-murder-idUSKCN1...

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