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President of Chad Killed on the Battlefield
- fsloth 6y agoIt is extremely rare for the head of state to die as a direct result of battlefield engagement.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- wffurr 6y agoSince 1633 or so.
- enriquto 6y agoor libya a few years ago?
- tgv 6y agoOtherwise Germany, 1945, comes to mind. And there are those who fought on the battlefield and later became head of state. They obviously didn't die, but ran a certain risk.
- nojokes 6y agoI would not call it a battlefield.
- capableweb 6y agoI'm not sure which of the civil wars in Libya are being referred to here, but I'd argue both of them had battlefields for sure.
- tored 6y ago1718
- boomboomsubban 6y agoMy extreme cynicism makes me doubt it happened this time either. Not giving a victory speech and instead rushing into danger only to heroically die sounds like a cover-up of either a natural causes death or an internal coup.
- rtsil 6y agoThe rebels claimed to have wounded him during the fights so this is more of an admission than a cover-up.
- boomboomsubban 6y agoI haven't seen that claim, but even their attack that effortlessly took a border town than was completely repulsed while miraculously killing the president sounds pretty bogus.
- rtsil 6y agoIt was an interview(1) of the rebel's leader on RFI radio (in French) earlier today. They apparently realized Deby was there because the combat was extremely violent. They attacked him, he was wounded and evacuated on a helicopter. (1) https://soundcloud.com/radiofranceinternationale/mahamat-mahdi-ali-idriss-deby-pensait-etre-invincible https://soundcloud.com/radiofranceinternationale/mahamat-mah...
- boomboomsubban 6y agoThat's a bit of credibility, but the rebel leader is on good enough terms with France to get an interview talking about how they assassinated a country's leader? France has military bases in Chad, that seems like an odd connection. I realize these are now conspiracies based on assumptions. I'm not calling for the new government of Chad to be overthrown based on them, it just sounds too much like something the CIA is ultimately behind to me.
- 6y ago
- DyslexicAtheist 6y agoskin 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-idUSKCN1NQ0QT https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-usa-murder-idUSKCN1...
- snikeris 6y agoI think the doctrine of an eye for an eye is alive and well in the West. It seems to be a part of the human condition. However, rejecting it isn't cowardice. It's spiritual growth.
- DyslexicAtheist 6y ago> However, rejecting it isn't cowardice. It's spiritual growth. sure is. it's also what gives us the feeling we have a right (if not duty if you add religion or moral arguments) to forcefully integrate these societies (for the purpose of taxation / corvée / slavery) the way we have done it since thousands of years. Oldest example perhaps China's expanding kingdoms creating hill tribes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_C._Scott#The_Art_of_Not_Being_Governed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_C._Scott#The_Art_of_Not_...
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- sam_goody 6y agoIs this good or bad for people of Chad?
- hugh-avherald 6y agoHere is a recent opinion on him: https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/14/chad-election-idriss-deby-terror-sahel/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/14/chad-election-idriss-de...
- throwaways885 6y agoThe subtitle might give more context: > Déby had ruled for 30 years and won a sixth term in elections last week
- kamarg 6y agoAre these elections or "elections"? I don't know anything about Chad.
- pp19dd 6y ago"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/ https://projects.voanews.com/african-presidents/ Chad is near top of the list.
- lucozade 6y agoThe 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.
- versale 6y ago"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.
- 6y ago
- hdjfitjrn 6y agoChad President vs. virgin Western President
- hourislate 6y agoIt should be mandatory for all Presidents to be on the battle field. It should also be mandatory for all members of congress and the senate to rotate in and out of the battle field.
- nyc_pizzadev 6y agoWouldn’t this be akin to a military based government?
- dragontamer 6y agoThen the Battle of Agincourt happens and you lose something like 1/2 of all of your leaders. Then your status as a world power is lost forever. Besides, I don't think anyone wants a government based on military service today. Military is important, but not as important as say, infrastructure, hospitals, schools, technology, engineering, or a myriad of other government services today. I'd rather have more government officials who know the details of building road projects or high speed fiber. Or heck, maybe a few web designer politicians so that official government websites actually work
- bigbillheck 6y ago> Then the Battle of Agincourt happens and you lose something like 1/2 of all of your leaders. Then your status as a world power is lost forever Seems like a fair risk.
- capableweb 6y ago> Besides, I don't think anyone wants a government based on military service today. Military is important, but not as important as say, infrastructure, hospitals, schools, technology, engineering, or a myriad of other government services today. I think the fact that one of the world powers today is all about military and projected power disproves this. Almost 50% of the population of that country made it clear that the military is of uttermost importance for them. Then there are other countries where this is true too. I wish what you're saying is true, but I don't think it is in most places today, although in many it is like that.
- arethuza 6y agoChurchill had to be talked out of attending the D-Day Landings by King George VI - apparently he thought it unfair that if he couldn't attend the landings (which he wanted to do) then Churchill shouldn't be doing it either. Edit: Out by one error for monarch
- redis_mlc 6y agoChurchill commonly visited the front, and was even shelled on the Rhine. He had a dedicated military transport airplane and flew it, which is pretty reckless considering how good German AA was. "Winston Churchill - Nearly Killed by the Germans in 1945" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMuw_BsfmV4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMuw_BsfmV4
- voldacar 6y agoImagine if international disputes were settled by one-on-one combat between world leaders. Our ruling class of flabby fiftysomething bureaucrats would disappear fast
- dragontamer 6y agoYou mean like when Alexander Hamilton was killed in a duel by a rival politician? And Hamilton's son was killed in a duel as well? All you get are the blood of pacifists. As pacifists are forced into duels and their opponents shoot them. Do you want all the pacifist politicians dead or retired? The duelist era of American politics led to Andrew Jackson. A man who forced the trail of tears on his opponents. Live by the duel, rule by the duel. You just get sadistic assholes as president
- snypher 6y agoYes, I'd probably trade some pacifist politicians for all collateral damage caused worldwide from war, both people and environment.
- dragontamer 6y agoDo you even know Andrew Jackson? Trail of Tears. Those are the kinds of people who win duels their whole life. Think about the kind of person who would repeatedly duel his adversaries. Ex: Jackson. You get a wartime monster. ------- If you want peace, then encourage pacifists to be leaders.
- strulovich 6y agoOr rather, our ruling class will turn into a UFC
- booleandilemma 6y agoTo be replaced by macho 20-30 year olds who excel at one-on-one combat? I'm not sure if this is better. Particularly when the 20 year old killing machine is put in charge of the nuclear arsenal, I think we'd all disappear fast.
- Bud 6y agoIn related news, the presidents of Biff, Connor, Brandon, Tanner, Logan, and Chase are all still alive and were last seen in a frat house in Florida.
- nerdponx 6y ago> 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. This is so alien to me. Why would they dissolve Parliament in this case? Is this a coup, or an expected turn of events? The article is a tangle of names, allegiances, rebellions, and dictators. It makes it sound like Déby was one of the "good guys", but I have so little trust for the Western powers mentioned in the article (USA, France). I have no idea what's going on in this part of the world, but it seems like a total clusterfuck.
- nsajko 6y agoThere's a real gem at the end: > However the family succession and continuing presence of the military at the heart of power may reassure nervous allies such as France and the US, observers said. With a link to this Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/natkpowell/status/1384477661632757774 https://twitter.com/natkpowell/status/1384477661632757774
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]