Since when did the United States give a fuck whether an ally was a "democracy?" Speaking strictly of the Middle East, our staunchest ally going back to World War II has been Saudi Arabia, which is one of the very few countries in the world that makes no effort to style itself as a democracy or a republic. China calls itself a "people's republic," though it's anything but. North Korea protests too much, styling itself a Democratic People's Repubic. Saudi Arabia is like, "nah--fuck all that. We're an absolute monarchy goddamnit."
I added that last part.
But they're not alone. So is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. So is the UAE. And Bahrain. And Kuwait. And Qatar. and Morocco. And before their absolute monarchies were overthrown, the Imperial State of Iran and the Ethiopian Empire were staunch American allies in the Cold War. And we won't even talk about some of the less savory dictatorships--I'm looking at you, Egypt and Pakistan.
But it's not just the Middle East. Our love of dictators in Latin America is (in)famous. Just as notorious is our record in Asia, from the collapsed (South Vietnam) to the deposed (South Korea, the Philippines), to the still-going-strong (Singapore)--we fucking love our dictators.
Nah, man--it's all the "pro-Western" bit. Or at least it was while the Cold War was going on. But now that justification is gone.