There’s no point in updating you on want’s happening in Egypt. That’s everywhere, but I would like to share a couple of US perspectives that have insufficient coverage in the mainstream. First, I approve most of Barack Obama’s handling of the revolution. He offered verbal support for the demonstrators’ ideals, without getting directly involved, making it appear to be a US takeover, and inspiring blowback from radicals. After Mubarak’s fall, he clearly described the democratic freedom and individual rights we should support. However, such lofty aspirations are pure hypocrisy as long as he continues to pour American blood and treasure into propping up the regime of Hamid Karzai, who is as bad as, if not far worse than Hosni Mubarak. Second, some Republicans have supported Obama’s position in Egypt. The Republican Presidential hopefuls are virtually silent on Egypt, except for Palin, and nobody has figured out what her statement means. They will surely try to take credit if it goes will and pass blame if it goes poorly. But many Republicans and the Republican media, especially the Republican Ministry of Propaganda, aka Fox, has taken occasion to fear monger and hate monger in ways that can only be called insane.
The people of Egypt, taking the lead from the popular uprising that unseated another U.S.-backed dictator in Tunisia, are finally fed up with all the police brutality, the corruption and the compromises and are calling for change.
Afghans, meanwhile, are left watching Egypt from afar, pondering what their political future might possibly hold as Karzai becomes increasingly autocratic and the U.S. military, in the name of democracy, digs in for a 10th year of fighting the Taliban.
“Karzai is trying to suppress a problem rather than solve it, and that in the end makes the problem worse,” said Mohammad Nasib, managing director of WADAN, an Afghan non-governmental organization that promotes grass roots democracy.
And when an autocrat sweeps problems under the rug for too long, the situation becomes volatile and, as Nasib pointed out, “We can all see the evidence of that now in Egypt.”
There is a growing perception here that Karzai is gaming his own hand-picked judiciary in an attempt to stack the parliament in his favor.
After the attorney general issued a report earlier this month documenting the millions of dollars that went to buying votes, a special judicial commission is still weighing the evidence and pondering a request for a recount… [emphasis added]
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If Obama truly supports popular democracies, then he must leave Afghanistan to the Afghanis, not forcibly propping up Bush’s appointed dictator.
On the insanity coming from Republicans, Rachel Maddow exposes their reactions and discusses them with Eugene Robinson.
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They seem to be promoting “liberty” over democracy, but in RepubliSpeak, liberty means the freedom to be exploited.
Did you notice that almost every example was an outtake from Fox? This is how they are brainwashing the Republican Base, so eventually, after the lies have been repeated enough, most of the party will be goose stepping to fear of and hate for the Egyptian people.
2 Responses to “Egypt–US Perspectives: From Hypocrisy to Insanity”
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It only makes sense that all domestic policy and all foreign policy are one and the same in a global economy and governance.
WTF does the president mean “the people have a right to have a government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people?” His domestic policy has done nothing but pander to the business environment so he can cadge enough money to run a re-election campaign. Bit of hypocrisy there no? He panders to the right by cutting the budgets of the departments that serve the neediest Americans to the point where Mcconell of all people has declared the Obama agenda over and now we (the right) can work with him.
Want to end our relationship with Karzai…we have CIA operatives who can get close enough to spend a 17 cent bullet to take him out and then let the UN without our aid in security or troops establish an election for the Afghans to have whatever government they decide, but before I spent that 17 cents I would get back the pallets full of disappeared cash that he and his cronies took from Bush and Obama. Want some of the money Mubarak stole back…hell start with his 7 million dollar apartment overlooking Central Park, do the Swiss bank thing and freeze his assets and return them to Egypt where he can fight for them in court as his legal compensation for being president. Up to 50 billion or more? Yeah it is safe to say he was on the American payroll and that the Republicans would have liked to keep him there because he kept the Suez canal zone basically trouble free for their banker friends and Karzai…well now we know we are fighting for the rights to dig out the vast mineral wealth found in that country. Transparency my ass.
Mark, I agree that Obama is working much too far to the right.
As appealing as your solution is, didn’t Congress outlaw political assassination? There is a rational for targeting the leadership of factions with whom we are at war, but not for taking out a so-called ally.