Tuesday 1 February 2011

Failing The Egyptians

I do sigh whenever something happens around the globe and the news suddenly shows a White House spokesman spouting Americas view on what should be done. How i wish someone would turn around, as China now do, and point out the many injustices in America and lecture them about what they should do. Glass Houses indeed.
We have had Hillary Clinton on television today giving the Obama's administrations take on events in Cairo and stating what they want to see and how the President should go about achieving it.
The truth is, America want the dictator Mubarak to keep the highest seat because the Egyptian President is friendly to Israel, and for some unfathomable reason, America likes to blindly prop up whoever happens to be in power in the Israeli Government.
America has effectively been saying to Egyptians for the past 3 decades, yes we are aware how corrupt your leader is, but because he is our best friends friend, you just have to put up with it.
The West, not just America, has a history of backing corrupt officials of elsewhere as long as they get something out of it. Tyrants such as King Abdulah of Saudi Arabia, Gaddafi in Libya, Hu Jintao in China, Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and even Equatorial Guineas Teodoro Obiang Mguema, a man described as worse than Robert Mugabe, is considered a friend. Previously Saddam Hussein and even Bin Laden and his pals were a recipient of Western aid and support until it all turned sour.
Consider the lukewarm reaction from the West to the Egyptian uprising, Obama putting out a statement about Mubarak delivering on his promise of reforms, no backing for the Egyptian people looking to rid themselves of a brutal leader.
Contrast this to Iran when thousands of protesters came out on the streets of Tehran to challenge the result of the Iranian presidential election, Barack Obama said he was 'appalled and outraged' and 'along with all free nations, the United States stands with those who seek their universal rights.'
Now the bogeyman of Islamist fundamentalists 'taking over Egypt' has been raised by some and the scaremongering stories of how the World will have to deal with another Iran and what that means for the US losing one of its few friends in the Middle East (not to mention $8bn worth of trade) and endangering Israel.
It's time the West, particularly the US and UK, stopped interfering in other countries and allowed them the universal rights that America was so keen on enforcing in Iran and Burma.
The Egyptians are fighting for freedom, democracy and a bit of dignity but the world’s biggest democracies are failing them.
The Egyptian protesters congregating in Tahrir Square would be correct to think that universal rights are only for those who don't sell oil, are friendly to the West and Israel or allow western airfields in their country. If you scratch the West's back then you can expect to be backed regardless of how much of a corrupt dictatorship you are as long as you don't stray from the West's script.

6 comments:

Nog said...

I don't think anyone is trilled at how slowly things are going in Egypt. But the US Government can't run him out itself without looking like a colonizer or whatever.

Most Americans I know (and I myself) support democratic reforms in Egypt.



-Nog

Chris said...

Would the US Government want to run him out anyway?

Cody Bones said...

Will there be a retraction?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8297151/Egypt-protests-Washington-forces-Hosni-Mubarak-to-step-down.html

Lucy said...

It's the Western Governments not the citizens nog. I doubt if you could find a decent number of citizen anywhere outside of Egypt that would want Murabak ruling over them, but Western Governments have seemed happy to support him.

Not a retraction as i wrote this before the US special envoy showed up but maybe a big thank you to me from the White House for pointing out the duplicity of their actions with certain despots. Maybe i will get one of those medals Tony Blair got although i will want it posted if Bill Clinton is presenting it.

Anonymous said...

ain't it odd, americans spouting american view points... hmmm, aybe it makes sense.

maybe you should gripe to your news sources instead of us!

q

Cheezy said...

'Realpolitik' (the principle that underpins almost everyone's foreign policy, not just the American one) would suggest that the USA would hardly be kissing goodbye to an obedient client leader like Mubarak unless his downfall was fairly inevitable...

"We are on the side of the Egyptian people, as we have been for more than 30 years"... So said Hillary Clinton the other day...

Hmmmm... Debatable!