[The Telegraph, U.K.]

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Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland

America's Egyptian Problem: Shall it be Ethics or Realpolitik?

 

"To support the Egyptian rebels would frighten U.S. allies, the monarchs of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Morocco, who also confront the specter of revolution. If Americans abandon their friends, wouldn't it be unwise to carry their water? On the other hand, continued support for Mubarak's regime would be an open contradiction to the American ideal of democracy."

 

By Robert Stefanicki

 

Translated By Halszka Czarnocka

 

February 4, 2010

 

Poland - Gazeta Wyborcza - Original Article (Polish)

Condi in Cairo: Can America square the circle of national interests and its own ideals?

 

VIDEO: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks at the American University in Cairo. June 20, 2005RealVideo

"Condoleezza, give Mubarak a visa!” is a rhyme chanted by demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state during the George W. Bush administration, has little to say about granting a visa to the president of Egypt, but it is no wonder that rebellious Egyptians are shouting her name. In 2005, in a speech at Cairo University, Rice said that "a day is coming when the vision of a world entirely free and democratic will become reality.” She exhorted Mubarak to "trust his nation and give it the freedom of choice.” [watch video in photo box].

 

Mubarak didn't trust his people and didn't give them a choice - and he suffered no consequences for it: he kept receiving his annual U.S. aid of $1.5 billion. In 2009, America's new President, Barack Obama, traveled to Cairo to extend his hand to Muslims after eight years of an "anti-Islam crusade,” as Bush's politics were seen in that region of the world.

 

"I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere,” Obama declared in his Cairo speech to Muslims.

 

But just like the Bush team, the Obama's Administration has backed Arab despots, tolerating political persecution, torture, electoral cheating and corruption. Diplomatic cables revealed by Wikileaks show that Washington cherished its military alliance with Mubarak: it helped keep the peace between Egypt and Israel; gave the U.S. military access to the Suez Canal and Egyptian air space, and helped in the fight against terrorism.

 

That is, until the revolution. It took less than a week for the U.S. administration to change its position from supporting "stable government” in Cairo, to wishing for an "orderly transition” to demanding "democratic change." The Department of State, surprised and confused, is "observing and reacting" (to the way the wind blows), according to its spokesman. After several days of protests, it has apparently concluded that Mubarak isn't worth saving.

 

"Democratic" change doesn't mean uncontrolled change. According to The New York Times, Obama's envoys in Cairo are trying to convince leaders of the regime to, as they say in chess, "castle": the president resigns, with power passing to a transitional government led by Vice President Omar Suleiman, with the support of army chief and military leadership. The government would also include representatives of the opposition, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood. And in September - free elections.

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:

L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon: Arab Democracy Movement Faces Kingmaker Militaries

Amal al-Oumma, Egypt: What We Egyptians Have Learned from Revolution

O Globo, Brazil: Facebook and Twitter are Just a Means to a Greater End

La Jornada, Mexico: In Egypt, Washington's Global Image is Once Again at Stake

Al-Wahdawi, Yemen: In Egypt, the 'Mother of All Battles' is Still to Come

Al-Seyassah, Kuwait: U.S. Pressure on Rights and Democracy is at Root of the Problem

Tehran Times, Iran: Egyptians and All Arabs Must Beware of 'Global Ruling Class'

Le Quotidien d’Oran, Algeria: Mubarak, Friends Scheme to Short-Circuit Revolt

Salzburger Nachrichten, Austria: America Must Act or Cede Egypt to the Islamists

Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany: America's' 'Shameful' Faustian Bargain Unravels

Guardian Unlimited, U.K.: Mubarak Regime 'Still Very Much in Power'

Hankyoreh, South Korea: Egypt: Will U.S. Pick the Right Side this Time?

Global Times, China: Egypt, Tunisia Raise Doubts About Western Democracy

Kayhan, Iran: Middle East Revolutions Herald America's Demise

Sydney Morning Herald: Revolution is in the Air, But U.S. Sticks to Same Old Script

The Telegraph, U.K.: America's Secret Backing for Egypt's Rebel Leaders

Debka File, Israel: Sources: Egypt Uprising Planned in Washington Under Bush

 

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Such a formula would have a chance of keeping Egypt within America's sphere of influence. At least until September. During those few months, Mubarak party (but without Mubarak himself) would be able to safeguard its interests, reorganize and record a good result in the election. Even if it doesn't win, it will have hope of entering into a new governing coalition.

 

Except that it'll be hard for the Egyptian street to accept a solution pushed by the United States. Omar Suleiman is seen as a CIA man. Until now the demonstrations have not been anti-American, but that could change.

 

"The crisis in Egypt has shown the limits of American power, or rather how unable it is to use it,” U.S. political analyst Adam Lockyer told Australia's ABC News from Sydney. Washington is no longer the prime mover of world events that it used to be, but is simply trying to keep up with them. It has lost Tunisia, it is losing Egypt and things probably won't stop there.   

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

Americans have a dilemma. To support the Egyptian rebels would frighten their allies, the monarchs of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Morocco, who also confront the specter of revolution. If Americans abandon their friends, wouldn't it be unwise to carry their water? On the other hand, continued support for Mubarak's regime would be an open contradiction to the American ideal of democracy. Moreover, if Mubarak is ousted in spite of U.S. support, Egypt will be lost to America for good.

 

Commentators are split: some prophesy Armageddon: the creation of a regime hostile to the U.S. in Egypt, and the loss, bit by bit, of the entire Middle East. Others hope for some form kind of positive outcome.

 

"I don't believe we're losing the Middle East,” Aaron David Miller of Woodrow Wilson Center told Gazeta Wyborcza. "We can still influence a peaceful transformation, so that it doesn't harm our interests. But we cannot choose who rules, because in that part of the world, America has never had such influence.”

 

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US February 8, 6:19pm]

 







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