Egypt Rising: Washington Dithers as its Factotum Faces Downfall

[seafan]

Chris Floyd pulls together the harsh truths that American media go out of their way to ignore. And our citizens suffer for lack of information like this.


Floyd's comments are bolded for ease of reading:



Friday, 28 January 2011 13:31

.....

As you might expect, As'ad AbuKhalil, the "Angry Arab," has some pertinent observations about the protests in Egypt, and the, shall we say, attenuated response to them from the American political and media establishments. First, he examines this key question: What if this was Iran?

The Egyptian regime is clamping down hard: they stopped the internet altogether, they stopped SMS, (and Twitter and Facebook obviously shut down). Vodaphone and two other phone companies stopped SMS. Najib Suwayrus, the Egyptian billionaire friend of Jamal Mubarak, is a collaborator in the repression. Even the regime's mouthpiece, Al-Ahram, has been shut down. Egyptian goons are erasing clips of repression from Youtube. In Suez, the land lines are down.

What if this was Iran?? When there were protests in Iran, Twitter (the company) and Facebook (the company) came out in support of the protesters. The US media were enamored with the protesters back then. Why are those protesters not sexy for you? You can't say that they are Islamists this time (as if Islamists have no rights to protest -- but let us go along with the argument for the sake of it), and yet they are all alone. It will be remembered (when you ask now and later why they hate us), that Mubrak's repression took place with the full support of both parties in the US and the Obama administration. Do you know now why whenever a US official, any US official, ever utter the word "democracy", Arabs get a strong urge to throw up? In Iran, the US covertly smuggled those cute camera pens for demonstrators. They were not cute enough for the Egyptian people.

He also points us to the jaw-dropping performance of VP Joe Biden, as the Palinesque dimbulb and corporate bagman made clear the support of his boss -- the Nobel Peace Laureate -- for the bloodstained tyranny of Egyptian boss Hosni Mubarak. AbuKhalil gave an excerpt from a Christian Science Monitor piece by Dan Murphy:

Ahead of a day that could prove decisive, NewsHour host Jim Lehrer asked Biden if the time has "come for President Mubarak of Egypt to go?" Biden answered: "No. I think the time has come for President Mubarak to begin to move in the direction that – to be more responsive to some... of the needs of the people out there." Asked if he would characterize Mubarak as a dictator Biden responded: “Mubarak has been an ally of ours in a number of things. And he’s been very responsible on, relative to geopolitical interest in the region, the Middle East peace efforts; the actions Egypt has taken relative to normalizing relationship with – with Israel. … I would not refer to him as a dictator.”

Think of that: all Mubarak needs to do -- after decades of iron-fisted control over a system that has plunged millions and millions of people into destitution and despair -- is to begin to move in the direction of being a bit more responsive to some of the needs of the people. And as Murphy notes, Biden went to question if any of the protestors' concerns are legitimate:

Biden (told NewsHour) "...we’re encouraging the government to act responsibly and – and to try to engage in a discussion as to what the legitimate claims being made are, if they are, and try to work them out."

If they are -- which means they might not be. Tens of thousands of ordinary people, risking their liberty and their lives to ask for bread, justice, freedom and opportunity -- this might not be legitimate. In fact, only the government which drove the people to such desperate acts can determine, after "discussion," which "claims" of the people might or might not be legitimate.

This is the position of the administration of the Nobel Peace Laureate, the Democratic Party champion whose political fortunes, we are told, must be the main focus of all decent people. This is what Barack Obama -- and his dimbulb deputy -- believe. That a tyrant is not a dictator. That no protest -- against an American factotum, that is -- can be "legitimate," unless that factotum vets the "discussion," and determines which "reforms" he might begin to move in the direction of considering.

Believe me, As'ad, it's not just Arabs who see all this and want to throw up!

Mohamed Elaborate, the dissident figure (who is also a Nobel Peace Laureate, even though he has never launched a single drone attack on an undefended village), has been "detained" by the non-dictatorship. His arrest comes after he issued statements criticizing Hillary Clinton for America's for bolstering the regime, which he declared was "on its last legs." Before he was taken, Elaborate pointed to the government's efforts to cut off communication within the country, and with the outside world. As the Guardian reports:

"Egypt today is in a pre-information age," he said. "The Egyptians are in solitary confinement – that's how unstable and uncomfortable the regime is. Being able to communicate is the first of our human rights and it's being taken away from us. I haven't seen this in any other country before.

"The international community must understand we are being denied every human right day by day," he said. "Egypt today is one big prison. If the international community does not speak out it will have a lot of implications. We are fighting for universal values here. If the west is not going to speak out now, then when?"

Well, "the west" has spoken out. And it has declared that the Egyptian dictator is not a dictator, even when he is killing and beating his people in the street. It has declared that any complaints his repressed people have might not be legitimate -- and in any case, should only be addressed by the dictator himself, as he sees fit, in his own good time. Violence, repression, injustice, inequality, and authoritarian power as the sole determiner of "legitimacy" in society: these are the "universal values" being articulated by the leaders of the west in Washington.

But as the American bard sang long ago: "Don't speak too soon, for the wheel's still in spin;/And there's no telling who that it's naming." Like a frozen river in spring, the ice of repression is breaking in Egypt, and it is by no means certain that the factotum and his patrons will be able to dam or direct the flow.

I have been listening to the live stream at ALJAZEERA over the past three days, and hearing some absolutely stunning reporting on what is happening.

Here are just a few of the reports of the past hour:


There are reports that the looting of the National Antiquity Museum was led by those with close ties to police personnel. Eye witnesses have recognized some of the faces of local police who are appearing to supervise those committing the looting on the museum, private homes, and now as they have vandalized and cut off the water supply in parts of the city. There is no security, and the citizens are wondering who these vandals truly are, if they are thugs deployed by the government to commit acts of violence against the people in order to undermine the peaceful protesters. Some of these men creating havoc are in plain clothes on motorcycles, and carrying government-issued weapons, eyewitnesses report.


There are also riveting interviews with Mohamed ElBaradei, saying that the West must declare that Mubarak must step down. Mubarak has just named Egypt's spy chief (and former military officer) to the position of VP and also named a former military man as Prime Minister. Mohamed ElBaradei states this is being met with disgust by the people. They want Mubarak gone, and a completely new government that is responsive to their needs.


There is a standoff between guards and protesters occurring now at the Interior Ministry, with sounds of heavy machine gunfire. This building houses the heart of the Mubarak government structure.


The British, French and German leaders have called for free and fair elections in Egypt.




President Obama, where do you stand?


Indeed, what if this were Iran?

That question, for me, illustrates most clearly the stark difference between the behavior of the US as it strongly supported the Iranian people oppressed by a dictator *not on the approved list" versus NOT strongly supporting the people oppressed by a *friendly* dictator in Egypt.


This is shameful.



There are some profound changes on the horizon. And they are unstoppable.

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[barbiegeek]

2. We should be Quiet--American Tourists, Students, & Press are there

This isn't Iran. This is Egypt.

It is $50 to flight from Berlin to Egypt

There is Thousands of American & European Tourist there for the Pyramids, library, archeology, shipping, cruise ships, missionaries, priests, educators. Anything our President says could result in death. We should shut up and WAIT!

You don't fly off the handle & You make assessments. You get your people out QUIETLY and safely.

[barbiegeek]

3. Yep, i unrec. for reasons listed above