Thursday, February 10, 2011
As Mubarak clings on... What now for Egypt?
The people came to witness the end. Mubarak had other ideas
AN IMPORTANT COMMENT
By Robert Fisk
"To the horror of Egyptians and the world, President Hosni Mubarak – haggard and apparently disoriented – appeared on state television last night to refuse every demand of his opponents by staying in power for at least another five months. The Egyptian army, which had already initiated a virtual coup d'état, was nonplussed by the President's speech which had been widely advertised – by both his friends and his enemies – as a farewell address after 30 years of dictatorship. The vast crowds in Tahrir Square were almost insane with anger and resentment.....
History may later decide that the army's lack of faith in Mubarak effectively lost his presidency after three decades of dictatorship, secret police torture and government corruption. Confronted by even greater demonstrations on the streets of Egypt today, even the army could not guarantee the safety of the nation. Yet for Mubarak's opponents, today will not be a day of joy and rejoicing and victory but a potential bloodbath......
Even as Mubarak was still speaking, the millions in Tahrir Square roared their anger and fury and disbelief. Of course, the millions of courageous Egyptians who fought the whole apparatus of state security run by Mubarak should have been the victors. But as yesterday afternoon's events proved all too clearly, it was the senior generals – who enjoy the luxury of hotel chains, shopping malls, real estate and banking concessions from the same corrupt regime – who permitted Mubarak to survive.....
All day, the power of the people had grown as the prestige of the President and his hollow party collapsed. The vast crowds in Tahrir Square began yesterday to move out over all of central Cairo, even moving behind the steel gates of the People's Assembly, setting up their tents in front of the pseudo-Greek parliament building in a demand for new and fair elections. Today, they were planning to enter the parliament itself, taking over the symbol of Mubarak's fake "democracy". Fierce arguments among the army hierarchy – and apparently between Vice-President Omar Suleiman and Mubarak himself – continued while strikes and industrial stoppages spread across Egypt.....
Last night, a military officer guarding the tens of thousands celebrating in Cairo threw down his rifle and joined the demonstrators, yet another sign of the ordinary Egyptian soldier's growing sympathy for the democracy demonstrators. We had witnessed many similar sentiments from the army over the past two weeks....
But neither the army nor Vice-President Suleiman are likely to be able to face the far greater demonstrations planned for today, a fact that was conveyed to 83-year-old Mubarak by Tantawi himself, standing next to Suleiman. Tantawi and another general – believed to be the commander of the Cairo military area – called Washington.....
....Calls for stability and an "orderly" transition of power were, in fact, appeals for Mubarak to stay in power – as he is still trying to do – rather than a ringing endorsement of the demands of the overwhelming pro-democracy movement that should have struck him down."
AN IMPORTANT COMMENT
By Robert Fisk
"To the horror of Egyptians and the world, President Hosni Mubarak – haggard and apparently disoriented – appeared on state television last night to refuse every demand of his opponents by staying in power for at least another five months. The Egyptian army, which had already initiated a virtual coup d'état, was nonplussed by the President's speech which had been widely advertised – by both his friends and his enemies – as a farewell address after 30 years of dictatorship. The vast crowds in Tahrir Square were almost insane with anger and resentment.....
History may later decide that the army's lack of faith in Mubarak effectively lost his presidency after three decades of dictatorship, secret police torture and government corruption. Confronted by even greater demonstrations on the streets of Egypt today, even the army could not guarantee the safety of the nation. Yet for Mubarak's opponents, today will not be a day of joy and rejoicing and victory but a potential bloodbath......
Even as Mubarak was still speaking, the millions in Tahrir Square roared their anger and fury and disbelief. Of course, the millions of courageous Egyptians who fought the whole apparatus of state security run by Mubarak should have been the victors. But as yesterday afternoon's events proved all too clearly, it was the senior generals – who enjoy the luxury of hotel chains, shopping malls, real estate and banking concessions from the same corrupt regime – who permitted Mubarak to survive.....
All day, the power of the people had grown as the prestige of the President and his hollow party collapsed. The vast crowds in Tahrir Square began yesterday to move out over all of central Cairo, even moving behind the steel gates of the People's Assembly, setting up their tents in front of the pseudo-Greek parliament building in a demand for new and fair elections. Today, they were planning to enter the parliament itself, taking over the symbol of Mubarak's fake "democracy". Fierce arguments among the army hierarchy – and apparently between Vice-President Omar Suleiman and Mubarak himself – continued while strikes and industrial stoppages spread across Egypt.....
Last night, a military officer guarding the tens of thousands celebrating in Cairo threw down his rifle and joined the demonstrators, yet another sign of the ordinary Egyptian soldier's growing sympathy for the democracy demonstrators. We had witnessed many similar sentiments from the army over the past two weeks....
But neither the army nor Vice-President Suleiman are likely to be able to face the far greater demonstrations planned for today, a fact that was conveyed to 83-year-old Mubarak by Tantawi himself, standing next to Suleiman. Tantawi and another general – believed to be the commander of the Cairo military area – called Washington.....
....Calls for stability and an "orderly" transition of power were, in fact, appeals for Mubarak to stay in power – as he is still trying to do – rather than a ringing endorsement of the demands of the overwhelming pro-democracy movement that should have struck him down."
The Latest From Azmi Bishara (Arabic)
د. بشارة: مطالب المتظاهرين لا تزال مشروعة وراهنة أكثر من أي وقت مضى
عــ48ـرب
"في إطلالته على قناة الجزيرة، مساء اليوم الخميس، قال المفكر د. عزمي بشارة إنه لا يستطيع أن يخفي عواطفه، وإن "الربيع حل مبكرا على الأمة العربية".
واعتبر اليوم أنه يوم عظيم للأمة العربية، مشيرا إلى أن الجيش المصري اختطف اللحظة التاريخية وقبض عليها بشكل جيد، وقام بخطوة دقيقة في ظروف دقيقة، وهو يعلم أن الشعب هو الذي قام بالثورة، وأن وكيل التاريخ هو الجماهير والشعب وهم صانعو التاريخ.
وأضاف الجيش يتحرك كمسوؤل عن سلامة الأمة وكجزء من الشعب، وأن لحظة ذهاب مبارك قد اقتربت، لافتا إلى أن هناك عدة سيناريوهات، ولكن المؤكد منها هو ذهاب مبارك. وردا على سؤال بشأن احتمال بقاء سليمان قال د. بشارة إن الجماهير لا تزال في الميدان، لافتا إلى أن فرح الجماهير هو فرح بذهاب مبارك، وبداية عهد جديد لم تتضح معالمه بعد.
وأضاف أنه من الواضح أن ما حصل هو نتيجة لتحرك الجيش، وبالتالي إذا ذهب مبارك، فيجب أن يذهب معه نائبه عمر سليمان. وأشار في هذا السياق إلى معلومات تتحدث عن عدم وجود توافق بين الجيش وبين الرئيس الذي باتت تصح تسميته بـ"المخلوع"، وأنه من المؤكد أن الجيش يتصرف بمسؤولية أكبر من المسؤولين من العهد البائد أمثال أبو الغيط.
وقال إن الجيش هو محط ثقة الشعب، وبالتالي سيكون حكيما إذا بقي مصغيا لآمال وآلام وعذابات الذين تعذبوا في السجون، مؤكدا في الوقت نفسه على أن لا أحد يريد العودة إلى الحكم العسكري أو إلى مجالس الثورة، وإنما الدخول في عهد جديد من التحول الديمقراطي.
وأكد د. بشارة على أن مطالب المتظاهرين لا تزال مشروعة وراهنة أكثر من أي وقت مضى، وأن المطلوب الآن هو تعيين رئيس المحكمة الدستورية في الرئاسة وتعيين حكومة انتقالية لتسيير البلد نحو انتخابات بموجب دستور تقره جمعية دستورية.
ووجه د. بشارة التحية للرائد أحمد شومان، مشيرا إلى أن حديث الرائد بشأن إسقاط النظام بأكمله ليس صدفة، وأنه من الواضح أن هناك تحركا على مستوى صفوف العسكريين في الجيش باتجاه حماية ثورة ديمقراطية وحماية مكتسباتها
....."
عــ48ـرب
"في إطلالته على قناة الجزيرة، مساء اليوم الخميس، قال المفكر د. عزمي بشارة إنه لا يستطيع أن يخفي عواطفه، وإن "الربيع حل مبكرا على الأمة العربية".
واعتبر اليوم أنه يوم عظيم للأمة العربية، مشيرا إلى أن الجيش المصري اختطف اللحظة التاريخية وقبض عليها بشكل جيد، وقام بخطوة دقيقة في ظروف دقيقة، وهو يعلم أن الشعب هو الذي قام بالثورة، وأن وكيل التاريخ هو الجماهير والشعب وهم صانعو التاريخ.
وأضاف الجيش يتحرك كمسوؤل عن سلامة الأمة وكجزء من الشعب، وأن لحظة ذهاب مبارك قد اقتربت، لافتا إلى أن هناك عدة سيناريوهات، ولكن المؤكد منها هو ذهاب مبارك. وردا على سؤال بشأن احتمال بقاء سليمان قال د. بشارة إن الجماهير لا تزال في الميدان، لافتا إلى أن فرح الجماهير هو فرح بذهاب مبارك، وبداية عهد جديد لم تتضح معالمه بعد.
وأضاف أنه من الواضح أن ما حصل هو نتيجة لتحرك الجيش، وبالتالي إذا ذهب مبارك، فيجب أن يذهب معه نائبه عمر سليمان. وأشار في هذا السياق إلى معلومات تتحدث عن عدم وجود توافق بين الجيش وبين الرئيس الذي باتت تصح تسميته بـ"المخلوع"، وأنه من المؤكد أن الجيش يتصرف بمسؤولية أكبر من المسؤولين من العهد البائد أمثال أبو الغيط.
وقال إن الجيش هو محط ثقة الشعب، وبالتالي سيكون حكيما إذا بقي مصغيا لآمال وآلام وعذابات الذين تعذبوا في السجون، مؤكدا في الوقت نفسه على أن لا أحد يريد العودة إلى الحكم العسكري أو إلى مجالس الثورة، وإنما الدخول في عهد جديد من التحول الديمقراطي.
وأكد د. بشارة على أن مطالب المتظاهرين لا تزال مشروعة وراهنة أكثر من أي وقت مضى، وأن المطلوب الآن هو تعيين رئيس المحكمة الدستورية في الرئاسة وتعيين حكومة انتقالية لتسيير البلد نحو انتخابات بموجب دستور تقره جمعية دستورية.
ووجه د. بشارة التحية للرائد أحمد شومان، مشيرا إلى أن حديث الرائد بشأن إسقاط النظام بأكمله ليس صدفة، وأنه من الواضح أن هناك تحركا على مستوى صفوف العسكريين في الجيش باتجاه حماية ثورة ديمقراطية وحماية مكتسباتها
....."
Striking Egyptian Workers Fuel the Uprising After 10 Years of Labor Organizing
"Egypt’s pro-democracy uprising is surging after striking workers joined in the protests nationwide. Thousands of Egyptian workers walked off the job Wednesday demanding better wages and benefits. Strikes were reported in Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor and the Suez Canal. We speak to Stanford University Professor Joel Beinin, who, as the former director of Middle East Studies at the American University in Cairo, has closely studied the Egyptian labor movement for years. “This is huge, because there has been for the last 10 years an enormous wave of labor protests in Egypt,” Beinin says. “In the last few days what you’ve seen is tens of thousands of workers linking their economic demands to the political demand that the Mubarak regime step aside.”...."
Defying Regime Threats, Thousands of Workers Join Protesters in Tahrir Square
"Reporting from Cairo, Democracy Now! senior producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous says thousands of workers, including doctors and lawyers, have joined the protests in Tahrir Square. The demonstrators continue to flood the streets despite government threats and just one day before what is expected to the largest day of protests to date..."
بث مباشر: الجيش يتولى السلطة؛ أنباء عن مغادرة مبارك لمصر
"التظــــام سقـــــط؟ اصدرت القوات المسلحة المصرية بعد عصر اليوم بياناً حمل عنوان "بيان رقم واحد" قال فيه ان المجلس الاعلى للقوات المسلحة في حالة انعقاد دائم تأكيدا للمطالب المشروعة للشعب.
وقال البيان "انطلاقا من مسئولية القوات المسلحة والتزاما بحماية الشعب ورعاية مصالحه وأمنه وحرصا على سلامة الوطن والمواطنين ومكتسبات شعب مصر العظيم وممتلكاته وتأكيدا وتأييدا لمطالب الشعب المشروعة..انعقد يوم الخميس الموافق العاشر من فبراير 2011 المجلس الاعلى للقوات المسلحة لبحث تطورات الموقف حتى تاريخه. وقرر المجلس الاستمرار فى الانعقاد بشكل متواصل لبحث ما يمكن اتخاذه من اجراءات وتدابير للحفاظ على الوطن ومكتسبات وطموحات شعب مصر العظيم".
وبث التلفزيون المصري صوراً للإجتماع يترأسه وزير الدفاع المشير حسين طنطاوي، علماً ان في الأوضاع العادية يكون الرئيس المصري هو القائد الأعلى للقوات المسلحة ويتولى رئاسة المجلس.
وقال شاهد عيان من رويترز إن حسن الرويني قائد المنطقة المركزية بالجيش المصري قال للمحتجين في ميدان التحرير يوم الخميس ان "كل ما تريدونه سيتحقق". وقالت قناة سي.ان.ان. التلفزيونية الامريكية دون الاشارة الى مصدر ان الرئيس حسني مبارك سينقل سلطاته للجيش.
....."
وقال البيان "انطلاقا من مسئولية القوات المسلحة والتزاما بحماية الشعب ورعاية مصالحه وأمنه وحرصا على سلامة الوطن والمواطنين ومكتسبات شعب مصر العظيم وممتلكاته وتأكيدا وتأييدا لمطالب الشعب المشروعة..انعقد يوم الخميس الموافق العاشر من فبراير 2011 المجلس الاعلى للقوات المسلحة لبحث تطورات الموقف حتى تاريخه. وقرر المجلس الاستمرار فى الانعقاد بشكل متواصل لبحث ما يمكن اتخاذه من اجراءات وتدابير للحفاظ على الوطن ومكتسبات وطموحات شعب مصر العظيم".
وبث التلفزيون المصري صوراً للإجتماع يترأسه وزير الدفاع المشير حسين طنطاوي، علماً ان في الأوضاع العادية يكون الرئيس المصري هو القائد الأعلى للقوات المسلحة ويتولى رئاسة المجلس.
وقال شاهد عيان من رويترز إن حسن الرويني قائد المنطقة المركزية بالجيش المصري قال للمحتجين في ميدان التحرير يوم الخميس ان "كل ما تريدونه سيتحقق". وقالت قناة سي.ان.ان. التلفزيونية الامريكية دون الاشارة الى مصدر ان الرئيس حسني مبارك سينقل سلطاته للجيش.
....."
The Army is Taking Over! The Pharaoh will Be Gone. What Does it Mean??
Army discusses Mubarak's future
Ruling party officials suggest that President Hosni Mubarak may 'meet protesters demands'.
Breaking News From Al-Jazeera
Ruling party officials suggest that President Hosni Mubarak may 'meet protesters demands'.
Breaking News From Al-Jazeera
Al-Jazeera Video: Interview: Mona Eltahawy
"Mona Eltahawy, an award-winning writer and an international public speaker on Arab and Muslim issues, spoke to Al Jazeera, live from New York, on the latest developments in Egypt."
Al-Jazeera Video: Interview with an Egyptian blogger
"Al Jazeera speaks to Hossam El-Hamalawy, a blogger and activist from Cairo, on the strikes set to sweep Egypt."
Real News Video: Who Leads Egyptian Opposition?
Gilbert Achcar: Youth organizations emerging as new leadership in Egyptian democratic movement
Bread, dignity and lies
By Pepe Escobar
"As a part of the mix in raising bread prices, Wall Street greed is a crucial specter in the hunger of the working-class masses now entering the battle in Egypt. And with Vice President Omar "Sheik al-Torture" Suleiman warning that the only alternative to dialogue with the opposition is "a coup", the street sees any mention of talk for what it is; a mirage. No wonder the protests are getting bigger......
And this would be only the beginning; a truly sovereign Egyptian government won't possibly behave as a subservient US satrapy. But now there's no turning back. The street knows that it simply can't pack up and go home - as the regime badly wants.
They know that in the dead of night Suleiman could order his immense "secret" goon squad to ship the hundreds of thousands of them to the torture chambers he runs on behalf of the CIA, such as Abu Zaabal, or the maximum-security dungeon Scorpion, so they can be waterboarded, or electro-shocked upside down, or forced to lie in a electrified bed frame, or be beaten by electric cattle prods, or be anally raped by specially trained dogs, or have their spines hyper-extended to the point of fracture, or be kept for days in the dreaded "tiny coffin" cage, or simply be left to rot wrapped head to toe in duct tape, like a mummy.
And Suleiman would be there to supervise it all. All in secret, of course, so the "international community" would not be disturbed in their silent praise of "stability". "
"As a part of the mix in raising bread prices, Wall Street greed is a crucial specter in the hunger of the working-class masses now entering the battle in Egypt. And with Vice President Omar "Sheik al-Torture" Suleiman warning that the only alternative to dialogue with the opposition is "a coup", the street sees any mention of talk for what it is; a mirage. No wonder the protests are getting bigger......
And this would be only the beginning; a truly sovereign Egyptian government won't possibly behave as a subservient US satrapy. But now there's no turning back. The street knows that it simply can't pack up and go home - as the regime badly wants.
They know that in the dead of night Suleiman could order his immense "secret" goon squad to ship the hundreds of thousands of them to the torture chambers he runs on behalf of the CIA, such as Abu Zaabal, or the maximum-security dungeon Scorpion, so they can be waterboarded, or electro-shocked upside down, or forced to lie in a electrified bed frame, or be beaten by electric cattle prods, or be anally raped by specially trained dogs, or have their spines hyper-extended to the point of fracture, or be kept for days in the dreaded "tiny coffin" cage, or simply be left to rot wrapped head to toe in duct tape, like a mummy.
And Suleiman would be there to supervise it all. All in secret, of course, so the "international community" would not be disturbed in their silent praise of "stability". "
Muslims and Christians Protest as One
by Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani, February 10, 2011
"CAIRO – Over recent years, Egypt has witnessed mounting tension between its Muslim majority and its sizeable Coptic Christian minority. But in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the site of ongoing mass protests against the ruling regime, members of both faiths chant in unison: "Muslim, Christian, doesn’t matter; We’re all in this boat together!"
Since Jan. 25, Egyptians countrywide have hit the streets in the hundreds of thousands – even millions – to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and his 30-year-old regime. The first week of demonstrations was marked by almost daily clashes between police and protesters, in which hundreds were killed and thousands injured......
Many of those now supporting the uprising – of both faiths – say they blame the regime for most if not all recent sectarian tension.
"The regime is responsible for the sectarian problems suffered by Copts," Kamel was quoted as saying. "Proof of this is that no church was attacked during the unprecedented absence of security (following the police withdrawal)."
"This corrupt government was behind 90 percent of the problems between Egypt’s Christian and Muslim communities, which had coexisted in harmony for hundreds of years," agreed Rageb.
Boutros said: "This uprising won’t only bring freedom to Egypt; it will also do much to dispel sectarian tension – of which the ruling regime was the only beneficiary.""
"CAIRO – Over recent years, Egypt has witnessed mounting tension between its Muslim majority and its sizeable Coptic Christian minority. But in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the site of ongoing mass protests against the ruling regime, members of both faiths chant in unison: "Muslim, Christian, doesn’t matter; We’re all in this boat together!"
Since Jan. 25, Egyptians countrywide have hit the streets in the hundreds of thousands – even millions – to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and his 30-year-old regime. The first week of demonstrations was marked by almost daily clashes between police and protesters, in which hundreds were killed and thousands injured......
Many of those now supporting the uprising – of both faiths – say they blame the regime for most if not all recent sectarian tension.
"The regime is responsible for the sectarian problems suffered by Copts," Kamel was quoted as saying. "Proof of this is that no church was attacked during the unprecedented absence of security (following the police withdrawal)."
"This corrupt government was behind 90 percent of the problems between Egypt’s Christian and Muslim communities, which had coexisted in harmony for hundreds of years," agreed Rageb.
Boutros said: "This uprising won’t only bring freedom to Egypt; it will also do much to dispel sectarian tension – of which the ruling regime was the only beneficiary.""
Let’s Go to Plan B
by Philip Giraldi, February 10, 2011
"Albert Einstein is often quoted as saying that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is a definition of insanity. He might have been describing the foreign policy of the United States of America. In the past week we long suffering citizens have seen our government stand by the dictator in Egypt, then call on him to go, and most recently support his staying on while at the same time publicly demanding that some transition start immediately. All of which is not doing the same thing over and over except when one considers that the US Department of State and White House have followed precisely the same dysfunctional pattern when dealing with other client states throughout the Middle East and in Central Asia.....
Well, however one spins it, it is now clear that the United States policy of propping up "stable" regimes of any stripe throughout the Middle East and elsewhere is failing, while a series of ad hoc responses to the crisis have done little more than make the White House position incoherent. Time to go to Plan B, but don’t be surprised if Plan B is not acceptance of the fact that the basic premise of interventionism was wrong. Plan B as devised in the Clinton State Department will be more of the same old stuff only with different packaging in an attempt to fool the wogs. She will say we want democracy everywhere but it has to be carefully managed to make sure that other tyrants do not emerge from the process. For tyrant substitute any group that is opposed to either US or Israeli policy....."
"Albert Einstein is often quoted as saying that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is a definition of insanity. He might have been describing the foreign policy of the United States of America. In the past week we long suffering citizens have seen our government stand by the dictator in Egypt, then call on him to go, and most recently support his staying on while at the same time publicly demanding that some transition start immediately. All of which is not doing the same thing over and over except when one considers that the US Department of State and White House have followed precisely the same dysfunctional pattern when dealing with other client states throughout the Middle East and in Central Asia.....
Well, however one spins it, it is now clear that the United States policy of propping up "stable" regimes of any stripe throughout the Middle East and elsewhere is failing, while a series of ad hoc responses to the crisis have done little more than make the White House position incoherent. Time to go to Plan B, but don’t be surprised if Plan B is not acceptance of the fact that the basic premise of interventionism was wrong. Plan B as devised in the Clinton State Department will be more of the same old stuff only with different packaging in an attempt to fool the wogs. She will say we want democracy everywhere but it has to be carefully managed to make sure that other tyrants do not emerge from the process. For tyrant substitute any group that is opposed to either US or Israeli policy....."
The Revolt in Egypt is Coming Home
A GREAT PIECE
by John Pilger, February 10, 2011
"The uprising in Egypt is our theater of the possible. It is what people across the world have struggled for and their thought controllers have feared. Western commentators invariably misuse the words "we" and "us" to speak on behalf of those with power who see the rest of humanity as useful or expendable. The "we" and "us" are universal now. Tunisia came first, but the spectacle always promised to be Egyptian.
As a reporter, I have felt this over the years. In Cairo’s Tahrir (Liberation) Square in 1970, the coffin of the great nationalist Gamal Abdul Nasser coffin bobbed on an ocean of people who, under him, had glimpsed freedom. One of them, a teacher, described the disgraced past as "grown men chasing cricket balls for the British at the Cairo Club." The parable was for all Arabs and much of the world.....
Fear of Lord Knows What requires that the historical truth of American and British "diplomacy" as largely responsible for the suffering in the Middle East is suppressed or reversed. Forget the Balfour Declaration that led to the imposition of expansionist Israel. Forget secret Anglo-American sponsorship of Islamic jihadists as a "bulwark" against the democratic control of oil. Forget the overthrow of democracy in Iran and the installation of the tyrant Shah, and the slaughter and destruction in Iraq. Forget the American fighter jets, cluster bombs, white phosphorous, and depleted uranium that are performance-tested on children in Gaza. And now, in the cause of preventing "chaos," forget the denial of almost every basic civil liberty in Omar Suleiman’s contrite "new" regime in Cairo.
The uprising in Egypt has discredited every Western media stereotype about the Arabs. The courage, determination, eloquence, and grace of those in Liberation Square contrast with "our" specious fear-mongering with its al-Qaeda and Iran bogeys and iron-clad assumptions, bereft of irony, of the "moral leadership of the West." It is not surprising that the recent source of truth about the imperial abuse of the Middle East, WikiLeaks, is itself subjected to craven, petty abuse in those self-congratulating newspapers that set the limits of elite liberal debate on both sides of the Atlantic. Perhaps they are worried. Across the world, public awareness is rising and bypassing them. In Washington and London, the regimes are fragile and barely democratic. Having long burned down societies abroad, they are now doing something similar at home, with lies and without a mandate. To their victims, the resistance in Cairo’s Liberation Square must seem an inspiration. "We won’t stop," said the young Egyptian woman on TV, "we won’t go home." Try kettling a million people in the center of London, bent on civil disobedience, and try imagining it could not happen."
"The uprising in Egypt is our theater of the possible. It is what people across the world have struggled for and their thought controllers have feared. Western commentators invariably misuse the words "we" and "us" to speak on behalf of those with power who see the rest of humanity as useful or expendable. The "we" and "us" are universal now. Tunisia came first, but the spectacle always promised to be Egyptian.
As a reporter, I have felt this over the years. In Cairo’s Tahrir (Liberation) Square in 1970, the coffin of the great nationalist Gamal Abdul Nasser coffin bobbed on an ocean of people who, under him, had glimpsed freedom. One of them, a teacher, described the disgraced past as "grown men chasing cricket balls for the British at the Cairo Club." The parable was for all Arabs and much of the world.....
Fear of Lord Knows What requires that the historical truth of American and British "diplomacy" as largely responsible for the suffering in the Middle East is suppressed or reversed. Forget the Balfour Declaration that led to the imposition of expansionist Israel. Forget secret Anglo-American sponsorship of Islamic jihadists as a "bulwark" against the democratic control of oil. Forget the overthrow of democracy in Iran and the installation of the tyrant Shah, and the slaughter and destruction in Iraq. Forget the American fighter jets, cluster bombs, white phosphorous, and depleted uranium that are performance-tested on children in Gaza. And now, in the cause of preventing "chaos," forget the denial of almost every basic civil liberty in Omar Suleiman’s contrite "new" regime in Cairo.
The uprising in Egypt has discredited every Western media stereotype about the Arabs. The courage, determination, eloquence, and grace of those in Liberation Square contrast with "our" specious fear-mongering with its al-Qaeda and Iran bogeys and iron-clad assumptions, bereft of irony, of the "moral leadership of the West." It is not surprising that the recent source of truth about the imperial abuse of the Middle East, WikiLeaks, is itself subjected to craven, petty abuse in those self-congratulating newspapers that set the limits of elite liberal debate on both sides of the Atlantic. Perhaps they are worried. Across the world, public awareness is rising and bypassing them. In Washington and London, the regimes are fragile and barely democratic. Having long burned down societies abroad, they are now doing something similar at home, with lies and without a mandate. To their victims, the resistance in Cairo’s Liberation Square must seem an inspiration. "We won’t stop," said the young Egyptian woman on TV, "we won’t go home." Try kettling a million people in the center of London, bent on civil disobedience, and try imagining it could not happen."
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