Foreign Affairs
Related: About this forumIt’s Time for the US to Support Democracy, Not Dictatorship, in Egypt
Back in 2009, when I was hosting a TV discussion show in Cairo, I was shocked at how brazenly the security services would interfere in our work, attempting to enforce a pro-government, pro-military editorial line through threats and ominous phone calls to my producers. Censorship kept some of our shows off air, and our government minders manipulated the editing process. After the first season, we were forced to shut down.
Behind Egypts authoritarian curtain, however, the Cairo intelligentsia was abuzz about President Barack Obamas historic speech at Cairo University in June of that year. It was not only Obamas words that interested Egyptians, it was his example: A man who shared their skin tone and whose father was raised Muslim had been elected president of the most powerful country in the world, while they were still denied basic rights in their own country. As Hosni Mubarak, who presided over a tiny oligarchic elite utterly disconnected from average Egyptians, prepared to hand over power to his son, Gamal, a dramatic democratic uprising was building.
Five years later, the American president who once promised an Egyptian audience that he would actively defend their right to have the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed has thrown his support behind a regime that is far more tyrannical than Mubaraks. Under the iron fist of Egyptian President Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the military deep state that controls a full third of Egypts economy and dominates the halls of power is expanding its influence while the countrys oligarchs amass record wealth. The only democratically elected leader in Egypts 5,000-year history, Mohamed Morsi, was recently sentenced to death in a kangaroo court, while 40,000 political prisoners languish behind bars, facing torture and sexual abuse. All political alternatives to the current regime have been crushed through force and intimidation, while opposition leaders reside in exile. Egypt today is ruled by the same military-based regime in alliance with the same business interests as during the Mubarak era, except with less restraint than the late dictator showed when it comes to brutalizing nonviolent opponents.
http://www.thenation.com/article/209273/its-time-us-support-democracy-not-dictatorship-egypt
HassleCat
(6,409 posts)We should invade right away. Just tell us which side is the right side, and we'll have the planes in the air.
KoKo
(84,711 posts)The photo at the link of Kerry and Sisi looks like they are on pretty friendly terms. I think I read that one of the groups in Egypt was trying to keep Morsi from his fate. About the rest...I doubt we will cut off aid with those demands, but who knows.
---------------Snip from article:
Any practical national security strategy would require that the United States be just as tough on Middle Eastern dictators as it is on terrorists. Washington should freeze its aid to Egypt immediately, tying its resumption to concrete democratic reforms, including welcoming the Muslim Brotherhood back into a democratic, inclusive political process. We should engage immediately with the office of the Grand Mufti of Egypt to compel him not to sign the death sentence of Morsi pending next week. This will prevent Morsi from becoming an icon and a martyranother Qutb. Such a step will send a message that the Washington does not condone human-rights violations, even when the perpetrators are allies. Until we commit to democracy and dignity in the Middle East, we are playing into Al Qaedas hands.
Though I think al Sisi is, or was, our boy, so to speak.
But then there is this:
Egypt summons U.S. ambassador over Muslim Brotherhood
http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-summons-u-ambassador-over-muslim-brotherhood-001016590.html
And I do get the feeling that we are reconsidering our options there, and that seems to be related to a change of heart in the Saudis about Muslim Brotherhood. Abdullah wanted them dead, the new King seems to think they can be useful, like in their war against the Shi'ia. So that puts al Sisi in an awkward place and makes Hamas a little more comfortable, because Hamas and MB hate al Sisi, and he reciprocates that sentiment.
KoKo
(84,711 posts)There may be "Forces Behind the Scenes" taking action to thwart the worst scenarios.
There may be conflict "behind the scenes" working in ways we don't know to "blunt the knife" of those who want "Endless Wars and Chaos." But, that's total speculation from my hopeful side of myself.
Yes...too many """"""'s... for a short post.