A dictatorial regime must be saved and a country's constitution must be subverted from outside it's own borders before that dictator can be unseated or that nation's constitution upheld. George W. Bushlite 101. Taste great, less filling. Let's begin:
CAIRO — "The United States and leading European nations on Saturday threw their weight behind a gradual transition in Egypt, backing attempts by the country’s vice president, Omar Suleiman, to negotiate with opposition groups without immediately removing President Hosni Mubarak from power."
Suleiman the torturer garners approval from the worlds leading demokracies. The Egyptian protesters appear to be somewhat miffed:
“They are trying to kill what has happened and to contain and abort the revolution,” said Hassan Nafaa, a political science professor at Cairo University. “They want to continue to manage the country like they did while making some concessions. These are cosmetic changes that don’t change the regime. We do not want this.”
Sec. of State Klinton speaks:
“This takes some time,” Mrs. Clinton said. “There are certain things that have to be done in order to prepare.”
Prepare for what Sec. Klinton? The propping up of another brutal regime that plays ball with Israel and the US? A meet the new boss, same as the old boss ploy, Ms. Klinton?
Frank G. Wisner, a former VP of the bloodsucking firm AIG and Obushma's hand selected point man in Egypt, chimes in:
“You need to get a national consensus around the preconditions of the next step forward, and the president must stay in office in order to steer those changes through,” Mr. Wisner said of Mr. Mubarak. “I therefore believe that President Mubarak’s continued leadership is critical — it’s his opportunity to write his own legacy.”
Ah yes wise Mr. Wisner. Mubarak must be allowed to write his own legacy and keep Egypty from descending into chaos. How much money is the Wisner out to make by brokering such a deal?
An Egyptian protester seeking the right for Egyptians to control their own destiny adds:
“President Obama better put pressure on Mubarak to leave or things are going to get a lot worse here,” said Ibrahim Mustafa, 42, who was waiting to enter Tahrir Square in the morning as the military was tightening restrictions. “He needs to get the army to force him out of here. America is going to create another Iran here. America doesn’t understand. The people know it’s supporting an illegitimate regime.”
You are correct Mr. Mustafa. The American people don't understand. They are ruled by fear, not by knowledge.
Speaking of fear:
"Mrs. Clinton expressed fears about deteriorating security inside Egypt, noting the explosion at a gas pipeline in the Sinai Peninsula, and uncorroborated media reports of an earlier assassination attempt on Mr. Suleiman."
/snip/
"Mrs. Clinton highlighted the dangers of holding elections without adequate preparation. “Revolutions have overthrown dictators in the name of democracy, only to see the process hijacked by new autocrats who use violence, deception, and rigged elections to stay in power."
Yes Ms. Klinton. Valid points. The process of democracy must be hijacked by the old autocrats. Not the new autocrats.
Suleiman and his self appointed wise men seek a way to subvert Egypt's constitution:
"In Cairo, however, there were few indications that Mr. Suleiman and other officials were making much progress in addressing concerns of opposition groups. Negotiations between Mr. Suleiman and a group of self-appointed “wise men” who are acting as intermediaries between the vice president and the protesters and trying to find away around limits on succession in the Constitution did not advance significantly."
Yes. Suleiman the torturer must find ways to get around the limits of succession in the Constitution so he may succeed his long time friend and confidant Hosni.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/world/middleeast/06egypt.html?pagewanted=2&hp
In the Washington Post, Frank "AIG" Wisner continues to talk his own book:
"President Mubarak remains utterly critical in the days ahead as we sort our way toward the future,"
Yes we can save Hosni and make a boatload of kash in the process.
Sec. Klinton's fear card is displayed further:
"Clinton urged the government to take more steps. But she also warned that if the transition is not carried out with deliberation, there are forces "that will try to derail or overtake the process, to pursue their own specific agenda - which is why I think it's important to support the transition process announced by the Egyptian government, actually headed now by Vice President Omar Suleiman."
Clinton did not identify the forces, but she appeared to be referring to Islamist radicals."
Suleiman the torturer must be supported or terrorists will rule Egypt. You riddled with and ruled by fear Americans got it?
AIG Wisner continues to pump his own book:
"In his remarks from New York, Wisner told the conference that frequent calls by foreigners for Mubarak's ouster had created a "negative force" inside Egypt .
He also said there were practical reasons why it might be better for Mubarak to remain on the job.
"The Egyptian constitution is quite clear," he said. "If the presidency is vacated, then the speaker of parliament takes over, and in a couple of months you have elections. Those elections would take place under the current dispositions. Those dispositions are currently unacceptable to those protesting in the streets of Cairo today."
Therefore, he said, constitutional changes are needed, adding, "The president must stay in office in order to steer those changes through."
Translation: Mubarak and his regime must stay. If not, the dumb and dirty Egyptians will determine their own fate and I won't make assloads of money.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/05/AR2011020501459.html?hpid=topnews
ElBaradei speaks:
"Mubarak needs to go as a precondition of talks," ElBaradei said in an interview Saturday night. "If you really want change, you have to depart completely from this pseudo-democracy. And that's not happening. It's not only that Mubarak isn't leaving. It's that he and his vice president have been making only peanut concessions."
No Mr. Elbaradei, this is not a pseudo-democracy it is Amerikan style demokracy. Play ball, sell out your countrymen and your beliefs and millions of dollars will appear in a Swiss bank account under your assigned number.
Large banner in square speaks the truth:
"Mubarak appointed Suleiman, his intelligence chief, as vice president shortly after the demonstrations began. On Saturday afternoon, the protesters in the square were flanked by a large banner that read: "No Mubarak, no Suleiman. Both are American Agents."
From Tehran, Iran's Ayatollah speaks to the Egyptian military:
"The Egyptian army is part of the people that will follow the masses," Khamenei said.
On Saturday, a senior Iranian leader weighed in, making a similar appeal to his counterparts in Egypt. Iranian army Lt. Cmdr. Gen. Seyed Abdolrahim Mousavi likened the protests in Egypt to Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Egypt's government is secular.
"We hope that the army of Egypt takes a careful and cautious look at this practical model and comes out of tyranny's darkness and joins the light of God," Mousavi said, according to the semiofficial Fars news agency.
Egyptian officials have denounced foreign meddling in the crisis."
That last sentence in this article is interesting. "Egyptian officials have denounced foreign meddling in the crisis." Interesting due to the fact it's added after a paragraph written on the comments from Iran. Not after pages and pages reported on the "meddling" of the US and others in Egypt's affairs.
What we are witnessing is yet another Amerikan govt. misstep as they wade into the affairs of a mid-eastern country attempting to dictate the outcome in terms that are most favorable to the US, Israel and the global wealthy elites. The overthrow of Iran's democratically elected leader Mossadegh in 1953, the arming and training of "Freedom fighters" in Afghanistan in the early 1980's and the continued propping up financially and militarily of dictators and dictator lites throughout the middle east.
The result of this latest endeavour will be the same as it's predecessors. It will come back to bite the US in their ass. Blowback being the appropriate term. The world saw the peaceful demonstrations put on by millions of Egyptian youths. Now the world will see the meddling of the US to maintain the status quo that the peaceful demonstrators were protesting against.
All the polling I saw on the approval ratings of Obama and the US by the Egyptian people were abysmal at close to fifteen percent. Expect these numbers to plummet further as the Egyptians see the further meddling in their affairs by the US.
Egypt has the youngest median age along with some of the highest unemployment and poverty rates in the entire Middle East. As these hungry and unemployed masses of youth realize that their attempts to bring about change via peaceful demonstrations have been subjugated by the US and the other leading "democracies," what then will they do and who will they turn to for help in bringing about the change they desire?
I understand global diplomacy and the maintaining of the status quo is extremely important. My point is, that no matter what actions are taken by the US, Israel and others in their attempt to maintain the status quo, the current situation in Egypt is much closer to the beginning than to the end. As the US and others spread the fear of radical elements and terrorists to provide cover for their own actions, their words may well prove to create self fulfilling prophecies in Egypt. Egypt is the crystal ball that other Muslim nations look towards to see their own future. The US can not afford to open another front in their "Global war on terror," but I'm afraid they already have.
Fatboy sez: What. Me Worry?
2011-02-05
2011-02-02
Hillary Tells Suleiman the Torturer to Investigate Violence
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has spoken with Egypt's new vice president to urge an investigation into violent attacks on protesters by pro-government supporters. She's apparently the first Cabinet-level official to reach out to Omar Suleiman, a longtime confidante of the U.S.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110202/ap_on_re_us/us_us_egypt_suleiman
Another laugh as the AP refers to VP Suleiman as a "longtime confidant of the US," without explaining what the US and he confided in. Which was torture. Background on Suleiman the torturer:
"Each rendition was authorized at the very top levels of both governments....The long-serving chief of the Egyptian central intelligence agency, Omar Suleiman, negotiated directly with top Agency officials. [Former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt] Walker described the Egyptian counterpart, Suleiman, as "very bright, very realistic," adding that he was cognizant that there was a downside to "some of the negative things that the Egyptians engaged in, of torture and so on. But he was not squeamish, by the way.
"Habib was interrogated by the country's Intelligence Director, General Omar Suleiman.... Suleiman took a personal interest in anyone suspected of links with Al Qaeda. As Habib had visited Afghanistan shortly before 9/11, he was under suspicion. Habib was repeatedly zapped with high-voltage electricity, immersed in water up to his nostrils, beaten, his fingers were broken and he was hung from metal hooks.
That treatment wasn't enough for Suleiman, so:
"But in secret, men like Omar Suleiman, the country's most powerful spy and secret politician, did our work, the sort of work that Western countries have no appetite to do ourselves."
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/30-2
So, Sec. of State Clinton's contact person regarding the beatings of protesters is a man who is not squeamish about torture, ordered the breaking of fingers, the zapping with high voltage and the hanging by hooks. When these treatments weren't effective, Suleiman then ordered a guard to brutally murder a shackled prisoner in order to loosen the tongue of the he was interrogating.. A man with a history such as this, a Mubarak loyalist is being asked to look into the beating of anti-Mubarak protesters? Come on, Hillary. The world is watching and they aren't as stupid or naive as you give them credit for.
Bibi weighs in on what the Egyptian people must do to ensure a transition to democracy.
"An Egypt that will adopt these reforms will be a source of hope for the world. As much as the foundations for democracy are stronger, the foundations for peace are stronger."
Netanyahu continued, adding that although the protests may not be motivated by religious extremism, "in a situation of chaos, an organized Islamist body can seize control of a country. It happened in Iran. It happened in other instances".
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-a-democratic-egypt-won-t-threaten-peace-with-israel-1.340899
Israel playing the fear card very hard as AIPAC blows up the cellphones of their lackeys in the US government. The situation will soon spin out of their control as the global powers continue to back Mubarak. The world witnessed the peaceful gathering of the anti-Mubarak crowd estimated at two million people as they also witnessed the horses, camels and whips riding into the crowd reportedly sent by Mubarak's Ministry of Spontaneous Protests. If Mubarak leaves, some time will be bought. But, after ruling with an iron fist for over thirty years, his fingerprints and legacy will remain only working to re-ignite the fury of the Egyptians.
If Mubarak doesn't leave, the dividing and conquering of the masses that was witnessed today will escalate. I see no way out for Mubarak or the global powers that seek an "orderly transition," whatever that means. Does an orderly transition infer a return to a so called normalcy under Mubarak or a Mubarak loyalist? An orderly transition that allows commerce to continue as the protesters who seek an American style democracy that does not exist continue on as they did before? There is no way out. Push will soon meet shove.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110202/ap_on_re_us/us_us_egypt_suleiman
Another laugh as the AP refers to VP Suleiman as a "longtime confidant of the US," without explaining what the US and he confided in. Which was torture. Background on Suleiman the torturer:
"Each rendition was authorized at the very top levels of both governments....The long-serving chief of the Egyptian central intelligence agency, Omar Suleiman, negotiated directly with top Agency officials. [Former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt] Walker described the Egyptian counterpart, Suleiman, as "very bright, very realistic," adding that he was cognizant that there was a downside to "some of the negative things that the Egyptians engaged in, of torture and so on. But he was not squeamish, by the way.
"Habib was interrogated by the country's Intelligence Director, General Omar Suleiman.... Suleiman took a personal interest in anyone suspected of links with Al Qaeda. As Habib had visited Afghanistan shortly before 9/11, he was under suspicion. Habib was repeatedly zapped with high-voltage electricity, immersed in water up to his nostrils, beaten, his fingers were broken and he was hung from metal hooks.
That treatment wasn't enough for Suleiman, so:
To loosen Habib's tongue, Suleiman ordered a guard to murder a gruesomely shackled Turkistan prisoner in front of Habib - and he did, with a vicious karate kick.""In an observation that may turn out to be ironic, the magazine wrote, "More than from any other single factor, Suleiman's influence stems from his unswerving loyalty to Mubarak."
"But in secret, men like Omar Suleiman, the country's most powerful spy and secret politician, did our work, the sort of work that Western countries have no appetite to do ourselves."
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/30-2
So, Sec. of State Clinton's contact person regarding the beatings of protesters is a man who is not squeamish about torture, ordered the breaking of fingers, the zapping with high voltage and the hanging by hooks. When these treatments weren't effective, Suleiman then ordered a guard to brutally murder a shackled prisoner in order to loosen the tongue of the he was interrogating.. A man with a history such as this, a Mubarak loyalist is being asked to look into the beating of anti-Mubarak protesters? Come on, Hillary. The world is watching and they aren't as stupid or naive as you give them credit for.
Bibi weighs in on what the Egyptian people must do to ensure a transition to democracy.
"An Egypt that will adopt these reforms will be a source of hope for the world. As much as the foundations for democracy are stronger, the foundations for peace are stronger."
Netanyahu continued, adding that although the protests may not be motivated by religious extremism, "in a situation of chaos, an organized Islamist body can seize control of a country. It happened in Iran. It happened in other instances".
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-a-democratic-egypt-won-t-threaten-peace-with-israel-1.340899
Israel playing the fear card very hard as AIPAC blows up the cellphones of their lackeys in the US government. The situation will soon spin out of their control as the global powers continue to back Mubarak. The world witnessed the peaceful gathering of the anti-Mubarak crowd estimated at two million people as they also witnessed the horses, camels and whips riding into the crowd reportedly sent by Mubarak's Ministry of Spontaneous Protests. If Mubarak leaves, some time will be bought. But, after ruling with an iron fist for over thirty years, his fingerprints and legacy will remain only working to re-ignite the fury of the Egyptians.
If Mubarak doesn't leave, the dividing and conquering of the masses that was witnessed today will escalate. I see no way out for Mubarak or the global powers that seek an "orderly transition," whatever that means. Does an orderly transition infer a return to a so called normalcy under Mubarak or a Mubarak loyalist? An orderly transition that allows commerce to continue as the protesters who seek an American style democracy that does not exist continue on as they did before? There is no way out. Push will soon meet shove.
2011-02-01
Should the Smart Money be On Osama bin Laden?
Contrary to the deceptive and misleading statements made by George W. Bush, bin Laden's goal was not to attack freedom, democracy, baseball, hot dogs and apple pie. His goal that he stated time and time again was to bring about the bankrupting of the US so they could no longer afford to prop up foreign dictators in the Muslim world. From November 1, 2004, "We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah," bin Laden said in the transcript. Further in the same transcript from over six years ago, Osama presciently stated: "All that we have to do is to send two mujahedeen to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al Qaeda, in order to make generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses without their achieving anything of note other than some benefits for their private corporations."
As for Bush's Iraq policy, Bin Laden said, "the darkness of black gold blurred his vision and insight, and he gave priority to private interests over the public interests of America.
When bin Laden make these remarks the US budget deficit was $413 billion dollars. That amount was called "dangerous" by economists such as Krugman. Now Krugman and other economists claim the current deficit of over $1.5 trillion dollars isn't enough and needs to be increased. The coward thief Bernanke has printed nearly two trillion more dollars in addition to the deficit. The stock market has recovered as more people have lost their jobs and homes, and not enough new jobs are being created to absorb the approximately 150,000 new entrants into the work force every month. The US is basically bankrupt, but due to the luxury of having the worlds reserve currency and the ability to print as much as Bernanke wants, the effects of this bankruptcy have just been delayed. When that day of reckoning comes is any one's guess, but when it does it will make the last financial crisis appear as a picnic.
Over six years ago, bin Laden also said: "the mujahedeen fighters did the same thing to the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s, using guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers."
The war in Afghanistan now well into it's tenth year, it is the longest and most expensive war ever fought in the history of the US and hundred's of billions of dollars are still unaccounted for to this day.
http://articles.cnn.com/2004-11-01/world/binladen.tape_1_al-jazeera-qaeda-bin?_s=PM:WORLD
I don't believe the hype bullshit fear mongering put out by Israel and many US politicians who attempt to instill fear in Americans by warning that if Mubarak is forced out too soon, an orderly transition to their hand picked and vetted successors will not be allowed to happen and the Islamists,(funny how spell check suggests changing Islamists to Alarmists), will seize power. But who knows? All I know is that what is desired by the Egyptian people themselves will not happen because the US, Israel, the UK, France and Germany do not want it to happen. The last thing these leading so called "democracies" want to see is the citizens of Egypt deciding their own fate. Doing so would limit, if not end, their abilities to control the Egyptian government along with their ability to force and or bride the Egyptian government to act in the best interests of the global powers instead of acting on behalf the Egyptian people. This process will take months and in the end, the Egyptian people will be yet more dissatisfied by the results. What will happen then?
Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden's mentor and number two in command is an Egyptian who has publicly stated, "Egypt would become a rallying point for the rest of the Islamic world, leading the jihad against the West. Then history would make a new turn, God willing," Zawahiri later wrote, "in the opposite direction against the empire of the United States and the world’s Jewish government."
http://books.google.com/books?id=APt9mgmgidgC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=Zawahiri+believed,+Egypt+would+become+a+rallying+point+for+the+rest+of+the+Islamic+world,+leading+the+jihad+against+the+West&source=bl&ots=ASDuSMjWH6&sig=K6Ddqr06qg8qXO-vBb611qInmGQ&hl=en&ei=B1hITcmhNpXQ8wTh9aGeBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Zawahiri%20believed%2C%20Egypt%20would%20become%20a%20rallying%20point%20for%20the%20rest%20of%20the%20Islamic%20world%2C%20leading%20the%20jihad%20against%20the%20West&f=false
The global powers will not relinquish their control to the desires of the Egyptian people. It appears the Egyptian people will not give up their fight for self governing and self direction. I say it is possible, if not likely, that we will see the fear mongering put out by the global powers regarding the Muslim Brotherhood actually come to fruition as the Egyptian people are further disappointed by the meddling in their affairs by the global powers. This would create an opening for the Muslim Brotherhood to enter. They are the only viable organization which has the money and the structure in place to allow an immediate filling of any void created over the next few months. If so. What then?
As for Bush's Iraq policy, Bin Laden said, "the darkness of black gold blurred his vision and insight, and he gave priority to private interests over the public interests of America.
When bin Laden make these remarks the US budget deficit was $413 billion dollars. That amount was called "dangerous" by economists such as Krugman. Now Krugman and other economists claim the current deficit of over $1.5 trillion dollars isn't enough and needs to be increased. The coward thief Bernanke has printed nearly two trillion more dollars in addition to the deficit. The stock market has recovered as more people have lost their jobs and homes, and not enough new jobs are being created to absorb the approximately 150,000 new entrants into the work force every month. The US is basically bankrupt, but due to the luxury of having the worlds reserve currency and the ability to print as much as Bernanke wants, the effects of this bankruptcy have just been delayed. When that day of reckoning comes is any one's guess, but when it does it will make the last financial crisis appear as a picnic.
Over six years ago, bin Laden also said: "the mujahedeen fighters did the same thing to the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s, using guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers."
The war in Afghanistan now well into it's tenth year, it is the longest and most expensive war ever fought in the history of the US and hundred's of billions of dollars are still unaccounted for to this day.
http://articles.cnn.com/2004-11-01/world/binladen.tape_1_al-jazeera-qaeda-bin?_s=PM:WORLD
I don't believe the hype bullshit fear mongering put out by Israel and many US politicians who attempt to instill fear in Americans by warning that if Mubarak is forced out too soon, an orderly transition to their hand picked and vetted successors will not be allowed to happen and the Islamists,(funny how spell check suggests changing Islamists to Alarmists), will seize power. But who knows? All I know is that what is desired by the Egyptian people themselves will not happen because the US, Israel, the UK, France and Germany do not want it to happen. The last thing these leading so called "democracies" want to see is the citizens of Egypt deciding their own fate. Doing so would limit, if not end, their abilities to control the Egyptian government along with their ability to force and or bride the Egyptian government to act in the best interests of the global powers instead of acting on behalf the Egyptian people. This process will take months and in the end, the Egyptian people will be yet more dissatisfied by the results. What will happen then?
Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden's mentor and number two in command is an Egyptian who has publicly stated, "Egypt would become a rallying point for the rest of the Islamic world, leading the jihad against the West. Then history would make a new turn, God willing," Zawahiri later wrote, "in the opposite direction against the empire of the United States and the world’s Jewish government."
http://books.google.com/books?id=APt9mgmgidgC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=Zawahiri+believed,+Egypt+would+become+a+rallying+point+for+the+rest+of+the+Islamic+world,+leading+the+jihad+against+the+West&source=bl&ots=ASDuSMjWH6&sig=K6Ddqr06qg8qXO-vBb611qInmGQ&hl=en&ei=B1hITcmhNpXQ8wTh9aGeBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Zawahiri%20believed%2C%20Egypt%20would%20become%20a%20rallying%20point%20for%20the%20rest%20of%20the%20Islamic%20world%2C%20leading%20the%20jihad%20against%20the%20West&f=false
The global powers will not relinquish their control to the desires of the Egyptian people. It appears the Egyptian people will not give up their fight for self governing and self direction. I say it is possible, if not likely, that we will see the fear mongering put out by the global powers regarding the Muslim Brotherhood actually come to fruition as the Egyptian people are further disappointed by the meddling in their affairs by the global powers. This would create an opening for the Muslim Brotherhood to enter. They are the only viable organization which has the money and the structure in place to allow an immediate filling of any void created over the next few months. If so. What then?
Mubarak Tells U.S that Iraqi's are too Tough for Democracy as Obama won't use the "D" Word
and Mubarak's, (doesn't he look like Dracula?), named V.P. Omar Suleiman was the CIA's point man in Egypt for prisoners sent by the US to Egypt for, "extreme rendition," aka torture. Suleiman the torturer also had misplaced concerns when he told the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mullen this: "Egypt is very concerned with stability in Sudan..." Clearly, Suleiman couldn't see past the nose on his own face.
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2009/04/09CAIRO746.html
Bela Mubarak warned a US delegation of worthless congressman in May 2008 that they could not pull troops from Iraq and they needed to strengthen the Iraq military for a military coup to follow that would allow a dictator to seize power, albeit but a fair dictator. Worked for him for thirty years. Mubarak then warned that democracy will not work in Iraq due to the toughness of the Iraqi people.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/muba-j04.shtml
"In fact, newly released WikiLeaks cables show that from the moment it assumed power, the Obama administration specifically toned down public criticism of Mubarak. The US ambassador to Egypt advised secretary of state Hillary Clinton to avoid even the mention of former presidential candidate Ayman Nour, jailed and abused for years after running against Mubarak in part on America's encouragement.
Not surprisingly, when the protests began, Clinton declared that Egypt was "stable" and an important US ally, sending a strong signal that the US would not support the protesters if they tried to topple the regime. Indeed, Clinton has repeatedly described Mubarak as a family friend. Perhaps Ms Clinton should choose her friends more wisely.
Similarly, president Obama has refused to take a strong stand in support of the burgeoning pro-democracy movement and has been no more discriminating in his public characterisation of American support for its Egyptian "ally". Mubarak continued through yesterday to be praised as a crucial partner of the US. Most important, there has been absolutely no call for real democracy."
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/01/201112811331582261.html
Robert Grenier, a 27 year veteran of the CIA adds: "Events in the Middle East have slipped away from us. Having long since opted in favour of political stability over the risks and uncertainties of democracy..."
"US spokesmen stress the protesters' desire for jobs and for economic opportunity, as though that were the full extent of their aspirations. They entreat the wobbling, repressive governments in the region to "respect civil society", and the right of the people to protest peacefully, as though these thoroughly discredited autocrats were actually capable of reform..."
"The failure of the US to uphold its stated commitment to democratic values therefore goes beyond a simple surface hypocrisy, beyond the exigencies of great-power interests, to suggest a fundamental lack of belief in democracy as a means of promoting enlightened, long-term US interests in peace and stability.."
"Machiavelli once wrote that princes should see to it that they are either respected or feared; what they must avoid at all cost is to be despised. To have made itself despised as irrelevant: That is the legacy of US faithlessness and wilful blindness in the Middle East."
Mr. Grenier's comments are worth reading in their entirety
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/01/former-director-of-cias-counter.html
.
What does Bela Mubarak mean when he says to a delegation of US congressmen the Iraqi people are too "tough" for democracy? Why do Obama, Biden and Clinton dance around the use of the word democracy regarding Mubarak's history of torturing and imprisoning dissidents and refuse to use the "D" word in reference to the current revolution in Egypt?
The answer is simple. Democracy in the US does not exist, it is not real. Democracy is an idea, a thought, an experiment that has failed in the US. Was TARP, Too Big to Fail banks democratic? Is the current distribution of wealth in the US, which is the only true measure of a democracy, at levels not seen since 1926 and currently wider than before the financial crisis democratic? Is the need to get down on your knees and suck the cocks of Wall St., the defense and FIRE lobbys as ones only viable path to being elected to a national office democratic? Let alone torture, extreme rendition, Gitmo and misleading the nation into the Iraq war.
United States brand of democracy is dead or at best dying globally. Those in power are well aware of this fact. Be it Bush, Cheney, Rice or Obama, Biden and Clinton. Hypocrisy is a much more applicable term than democracy.
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2009/04/09CAIRO746.html
Bela Mubarak warned a US delegation of worthless congressman in May 2008 that they could not pull troops from Iraq and they needed to strengthen the Iraq military for a military coup to follow that would allow a dictator to seize power, albeit but a fair dictator. Worked for him for thirty years. Mubarak then warned that democracy will not work in Iraq due to the toughness of the Iraqi people.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/muba-j04.shtml
"In fact, newly released WikiLeaks cables show that from the moment it assumed power, the Obama administration specifically toned down public criticism of Mubarak. The US ambassador to Egypt advised secretary of state Hillary Clinton to avoid even the mention of former presidential candidate Ayman Nour, jailed and abused for years after running against Mubarak in part on America's encouragement.
Not surprisingly, when the protests began, Clinton declared that Egypt was "stable" and an important US ally, sending a strong signal that the US would not support the protesters if they tried to topple the regime. Indeed, Clinton has repeatedly described Mubarak as a family friend. Perhaps Ms Clinton should choose her friends more wisely.
Similarly, president Obama has refused to take a strong stand in support of the burgeoning pro-democracy movement and has been no more discriminating in his public characterisation of American support for its Egyptian "ally". Mubarak continued through yesterday to be praised as a crucial partner of the US. Most important, there has been absolutely no call for real democracy."
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/01/201112811331582261.html
Robert Grenier, a 27 year veteran of the CIA adds: "Events in the Middle East have slipped away from us. Having long since opted in favour of political stability over the risks and uncertainties of democracy..."
"US spokesmen stress the protesters' desire for jobs and for economic opportunity, as though that were the full extent of their aspirations. They entreat the wobbling, repressive governments in the region to "respect civil society", and the right of the people to protest peacefully, as though these thoroughly discredited autocrats were actually capable of reform..."
"The failure of the US to uphold its stated commitment to democratic values therefore goes beyond a simple surface hypocrisy, beyond the exigencies of great-power interests, to suggest a fundamental lack of belief in democracy as a means of promoting enlightened, long-term US interests in peace and stability.."
"Machiavelli once wrote that princes should see to it that they are either respected or feared; what they must avoid at all cost is to be despised. To have made itself despised as irrelevant: That is the legacy of US faithlessness and wilful blindness in the Middle East."
Mr. Grenier's comments are worth reading in their entirety
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/01/former-director-of-cias-counter.html
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What does Bela Mubarak mean when he says to a delegation of US congressmen the Iraqi people are too "tough" for democracy? Why do Obama, Biden and Clinton dance around the use of the word democracy regarding Mubarak's history of torturing and imprisoning dissidents and refuse to use the "D" word in reference to the current revolution in Egypt?
The answer is simple. Democracy in the US does not exist, it is not real. Democracy is an idea, a thought, an experiment that has failed in the US. Was TARP, Too Big to Fail banks democratic? Is the current distribution of wealth in the US, which is the only true measure of a democracy, at levels not seen since 1926 and currently wider than before the financial crisis democratic? Is the need to get down on your knees and suck the cocks of Wall St., the defense and FIRE lobbys as ones only viable path to being elected to a national office democratic? Let alone torture, extreme rendition, Gitmo and misleading the nation into the Iraq war.
United States brand of democracy is dead or at best dying globally. Those in power are well aware of this fact. Be it Bush, Cheney, Rice or Obama, Biden and Clinton. Hypocrisy is a much more applicable term than democracy.