You know what my regret is? That he wasn't a true enough dictator by your definition or any other definition. Had he been a real totalitarian dictator, there would've been no Islamist today in Iran, and we would not be having this discussion.
IOW, my regret is that Islamists mostly, and the Communists secondarily were not annihilated in Iran. They should have been, completely. No too bits given what others think.
One more point, an "ally" works two ways. I personally have no time for an ally that pretends to be an ally, then topples you at the earliest chance it gets. Alliance is fleeting, isn't it.