How does the USA justify supporting dictators and human rights abusers?

If one considers the dictators the USA has supported - Suharto, Saddam, Musharraf etc, how does it justify it? The US claims to be killing for freedom in Iraq (and killing civilians it is) yet props up dictatorship in Pakistan and supports torture around the world. Do you think a time will come when the US is seen as a joke and an enemy of freedom, as it is in much of the world including AUstralia and Britain?