Saturday, February 19, 2011

Dictators are "Disposable": The Rise and Fall of America's Military Henchmen


History Repeats Itself? From the "King of Java" to the Pharaoh of Egypt

by Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research

"From Suharto to Mubarak: History Repeats Itself?

President Suharto of Indonesia was deposed following mass protests in May 1998.

The Western media in chorus pointed to "democratization": the "King of Java" had been deposed by mass protests, much in the same way as Hosni Mubarak, described by today's media as "The Pharaoh of Egypt".....

Egypt: US Sponsored Coup d'Etat?

In Egypt, following Mubarak's demise, the military machine prevails. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Egypt’s defense minister, commander in chief of the Armed Forces and since February 11, 2011 head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, is the de facto Head of State, the Vice presidency is held by Omar Suleiman. Both men are US appointees.

Tantawi has developed a longstanding relationship to the US military, at the highest levels
, from the time when he was in command of allied forces during the Gulf war in 1991. Ahmed Shafik, a former commander in Chief of the Air Force occupies the position of Prime Minister.

The military not only has the mandate to implement democracy, several opposition leaders including Mohammed Al Baradei have called upon the Egyptian population to support the military.

The US supported civil society opposition (which includes Kefaya, the April 6 Movement) is in liaison with both the military and the US embassy.......

Both Suleiman and Tantawi, now in charge of "the transition to democracy" on behalf of the protest movement, are Washington's new military henchmen. So much for democracy. Both men are responsible for carrying out torture on behalf of the CIA under the agency's "extraordinary rendition" program.....

Washington is the puppetmaster, which controls both the military machine as well as Egypt's civil society opposition. The terms of "negotiation" between the representatives of the protest movement and the military have already been determined in Washington DC.

The US funded civil society and youth organizations have betrayed the grassroots movement. "

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