G.O.P. Hopefuls Leave Egypt Crisis To the President

[actourdreams]

WASHINGTON - A parade of prospective Republican presidential candidates has been visiting the Middle East in recent months, making pilgrimages that are the first steps in a methodical process of building credibility in foreign policy

Comments

[haruhiko]

that the removal of Mr. Mubarak could lead to instability and the possible rise of an Islamist government.

The fact that the "M"SM keeps parroting this bullshit idea unquestioningly is really fucking disgusting.

Also:

Amazingly, there was little evidence of hostility towards America although, given the verbal antics of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton these past eight days, there might have well been. One almost felt sorry for Obama. Had he rallied to the kind of democracy he preached here in Cairo six months after his investiture, had he called for the departure of this third-rate dictator a few days ago, the crowds would have been carrying US as well as Egyptian flags, and Washington would have done the impossible: it would have transformed the now familiar hatred of America (Afghanistan, Iraq, the "war on terror", etc) into the more benign relationship which the US enjoyed in the balmy 1920s and 1930s and, indeed, despite its support for the creation of Israel, into the warmth that existed between Arab and American into the 1960s.

But no. All this was squandered in just seven days of weakness and cowardice in Washington - a gutlessness so at odds with the courage of the millions of Egyptians who tried to do what we in the West always demanded of them: to turn their dust-bowl dictatorships into democracies. They supported democracy. We supported "stability", "moderation", "restraint", "firm" leadership (Saddam Hussein-lite) soft "reform" and obedient Muslims.

This failure of moral leadership in the West - under the false fear of "Islamisation" - may prove to be one of the greatest tragedies of the modern Middle East. Egypt is not anti-Western. It is not even particularly anti-Israeli, though this could change. But one of the blights of history will now involve a US president who held out his hand to the Islamic world and then clenched his fist when it fought a dictatorship and demanded democracy.

(SOURCE)

[celtic_thistle]

DING DING DING

[thecityofdis]

Robert Fisk never fails to turn me on.

[thecityofdis]

Hahaha, that's awesome! I was leaning toward using some of his stuff (Pity the Nation in particular) in my thesis, but in the end didn't have time to incorporate all the things I wanted to. But he is still made of win.

[haruhiko]

He is deffo amazing

[erunamiryene]

Had he rallied to the kind of democracy he preached here in Cairo six months after his investiture, had he called for the departure of this third-rate dictator a few days ago, the crowds would have been carrying US as well as Egyptian flags

Please tell me no one ACTUALLY expected America to do the RIGHT thing?

[devil_ad_vocate]

Not to be argumentative, but maybe Obama had an inkling that we should just GTFO of their business for a few days, and let them decide their own future.

I think the days of us expecting people to carry US, or Russian, or anyone else's flag - are coming to an end.

[erunamiryene]

No, that's fair enough. :)

[actourdreams]

Yeah. "Oh good, democracy - wait, not our kind of democracy, bad!"

[devil_ad_vocate]

Could you please make your response BIGGER and BOLDER so no one will misunderstand you?

[haruhiko]

~♥~♥~SURE THING, MATE!~♥~♥~