Are Castro, Chavez and Gaddafi Rational Actors?

A wake-up call for those that have argued -- and still argue -- for rapprochement and negotiations with the Castro and Chavez regimes, as if they were rational actors.

From Bloomberg:

When asked if he would offer Gaddafi asylum, Chavez recalled a conversation he had with Cuba’s Fidel Castro about the capture of Saddam Hussein after Iraq was invaded. Chavez said Fidel told him that in such situations “what we have to do is win or die.”

While on this topic (sort of), please make sure to read Nicholas Kristof's editorial in The New York Times, "Thank You, America!"

Here's the introductory paragraph:

Americans are not often heroes in the Arab world, but as nonstop celebrations unfold here in the Libyan capital I keep running into ordinary people who learn where I’m from and then fervently repeat variants of the same phrase: “Thank you, America!”