A student, Mohamed Bouazizi, is selling vegetables in Tunis to support his family. A policewoman complains that he doesn't have the proper permit. In the argument, she slaps him. He is humiliated and sets himself on fire. This in turn sets many Arab countries on fire.
Many have complained that the U.S. with its vast intelligence network didn't foresee this. Consider that many didn't foresee the fall of the Czar of Russia. Consider that Winston Churchill said in the 1920s that he thought war with Japan was impossible.
Other than knowing that kowtowing to dictators is itself playing with fire, I won't pretend to judge the intelligence community. I'll let you read some short analyses by other commentators. See "Why Didn't the U.S. Foresee the Arab Revolts?", Room for Debate, New York Times, 2011-02-24.
Showing posts with label Hosni Mubarak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hosni Mubarak. Show all posts
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
This world cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free
I find it very interesting that some members of the party of Lincoln do not believe the above paraphrase of a statement by Lincoln.
They would have some of the world be slaves to dictators in the interest of our national security. For example, Tim Pawlenty said we need to "get tough on our enemies, not our friends." ("At CPAC, Egypt appears to be an afterthought", Washington Post, 2011-02-11)
Come on, Tim, with friends like Mubarak we create enemies, like the Egyptian Mohamed Atta.
They would have some of the world be slaves to dictators in the interest of our national security. For example, Tim Pawlenty said we need to "get tough on our enemies, not our friends." ("At CPAC, Egypt appears to be an afterthought", Washington Post, 2011-02-11)
Come on, Tim, with friends like Mubarak we create enemies, like the Egyptian Mohamed Atta.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Revolution as spectator sport
"Egypt from 5,000 Miles Away", a cartoon by Domitille Collardey and Sarah Glidden, encapsulates the feelings of many of us who watched events unfold in Egypt. We could only cheer for our team, we couldn't bat or carry the ball.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Do you remember where you were when…
...you learned that Hosni Mubarak resigned as president of Egypt.
From http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/10/live-blog-feb-11-egypt-protests
At 10:35 Central during a break in a University for Seniors French class, I took out my iPod and connected to the UMD network. Oh, wow! I interrupted everybody else's conversation to let them know.
The question is did Mubarak "waive the office of the president" or was he pushed out by other ministers or the army. Do we even know if he is alive?
From http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/10/live-blog-feb-11-egypt-protests
6:03pm: He's gone. He's resigned. 30 years of Mubarak rule is over. Omar Suleiman says:
President Hosni Mubarak has waived the office of president.
6:01pm: Omar Suleiman addressing nation now.6:01 pm Cairo is 4:01 pm GMT, 9:01 am Eastern, and 10:01 am Central.
At 10:35 Central during a break in a University for Seniors French class, I took out my iPod and connected to the UMD network. Oh, wow! I interrupted everybody else's conversation to let them know.
The question is did Mubarak "waive the office of the president" or was he pushed out by other ministers or the army. Do we even know if he is alive?
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Either we are for freedom and democracy or we are for realpolitik
The Guardian has an interesting opinion by Slavoj Žižek, "For Egypt, this is the miracle of Tahrir Square".
It was amazing that most of the comments were ad hominem attacks rather than a critique of his thoughts.
It was amazing that most of the comments were ad hominem attacks rather than a critique of his thoughts.
Culture of democracy? Who blocked it?
According to Aljazeer.net, Omar Suleiman, Vice-President of Egypt said on ABC that he wanted to see democracy, "But when will we do that? When the people here have the culture of democracy."Suleiman was quoted in an 11:34 a.m. entry at http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/10/live-blog-feb-10-egypt-protests
My question is who has been blocking the development of that culture.
That leads me to make a challenge to the protesters, show him you have democracy. Organize at the local level, say at Tahrir Square, wherever large number of people have gathered. Determine the offices that are needed to govern yourselves in your immediate vicinity. You might start with a rules committee. Be sure to have more nominations than the members on the committee. Have everybody in the area vote on the slate. Let the committee work a day or two. Vote on their suggestions. Repeat. If this process is not real democracy, I don't know what is.
My question is who has been blocking the development of that culture.
That leads me to make a challenge to the protesters, show him you have democracy. Organize at the local level, say at Tahrir Square, wherever large number of people have gathered. Determine the offices that are needed to govern yourselves in your immediate vicinity. You might start with a rules committee. Be sure to have more nominations than the members on the committee. Have everybody in the area vote on the slate. Let the committee work a day or two. Vote on their suggestions. Repeat. If this process is not real democracy, I don't know what is.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Letter on Egypt to President Obama
In November 2008 many voted for "Change". As far as foreign policy goes, nothing has changed. It is still the same old "national security" and "national interest" leading to greater insecurity and results contrary to our real national interests.
If you haven't already read Andrew Bacevich's "Washington Rules", please do so as soon as possible.
The U.S. is still propping up anti-democratic autocrats like Hosni Mubarak despite very strong dissatisfaction from a large number of people. And U.S. diplomats are still supportive of him, buying his line that he is standing between stability and chaos. Remember the Shah of Iran and his Savak.
Sent via webform at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
If you haven't already read Andrew Bacevich's "Washington Rules", please do so as soon as possible.
The U.S. is still propping up anti-democratic autocrats like Hosni Mubarak despite very strong dissatisfaction from a large number of people. And U.S. diplomats are still supportive of him, buying his line that he is standing between stability and chaos. Remember the Shah of Iran and his Savak.
Sent via webform at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Counter-demonstration or government attack
Al-Jazeera and others seem unwilling to call the "pro-Mubarak" demonstrators for what they are without more details. I think these "demonstrators'" methods speak rather clearly.
If they were counter-demonstrators, they would use the same tactics as the anti-government demonstrators. They would march, hold signs, and chant slogans. They would not come in on horses and camels and beat those of another opinion. They would not drop stones, cement blocks, and fire bombs from buildings.
Proving that these pro-Mubarak people are security police is another matter. But consider that the security police were outmaneuvered and outmanned by the anti-government demonstrators. Maybe they disappeared for a few days to regroup and come back in another guise.
If they were counter-demonstrators, they would use the same tactics as the anti-government demonstrators. They would march, hold signs, and chant slogans. They would not come in on horses and camels and beat those of another opinion. They would not drop stones, cement blocks, and fire bombs from buildings.
Proving that these pro-Mubarak people are security police is another matter. But consider that the security police were outmaneuvered and outmanned by the anti-government demonstrators. Maybe they disappeared for a few days to regroup and come back in another guise.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Keeping up with events in Egypt
If you are a news freak who couldn't get enough news about Iran in 2009, your best source on Egypt is Al-Jazeera. The English version on the web is at
http://english.aljazeera.net/
For the latest, check out the blogs. There is also plenty of commentary from many sources and perspectives. One I found particular interesting is "The triviality of US Mideast policy" by Robert Grenier, a former director of the CIA's Counter-Terrorism Center. He relates how the headmaster of his school was unknowingly made irrelevant by an anti-Vietnam War protest. Similarly, events have made most of U.S. Mideast policy irrelevant and outdated.
P.S. Cairo time is 8 hours ahead of Central Standard Time.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
For the latest, check out the blogs. There is also plenty of commentary from many sources and perspectives. One I found particular interesting is "The triviality of US Mideast policy" by Robert Grenier, a former director of the CIA's Counter-Terrorism Center. He relates how the headmaster of his school was unknowingly made irrelevant by an anti-Vietnam War protest. Similarly, events have made most of U.S. Mideast policy irrelevant and outdated.
P.S. Cairo time is 8 hours ahead of Central Standard Time.
A little thing to help the Egyptian people
On June 23, 2009, President Obama made a strong statement in support of the Iranian people protesting against the official election results.
His concluding remark was:
What you can do is send web-form email to the president asking him to speak out more strongly about Egypt in the same way. You'll find a "contact us" button in the upper right hand corner of most White House pages.
My own message was
His concluding remark was:
As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people have a universal right to assembly and free speech. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect those rights and heed the will of its own people. It must govern through consent and not coercion. That's what Iran's own people are calling for, and the Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government.http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/06/23/presidents-opening-remarks-iran-with-persian-translation
What you can do is send web-form email to the president asking him to speak out more strongly about Egypt in the same way. You'll find a "contact us" button in the upper right hand corner of most White House pages.
My own message was
Please make strong remarks about the situation in Egypt similar to those you made about Iran on June 23, 2009.
Our quest for "national security" has made us more insecure.
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