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Hindsight Is 20/20

Politics & Legal > The Middle East Unrest
 

The Middle East Unrest


Remember this?  It's the people in East Berlin tearing down the Berlin Wall after living under the oppressive thumb of the Soviet Union for fifty years.  Jews, Muslims, Christians, and athiests all participated that day
And everyone in America--Republicans, Democrats, Liberals, Conservatives--collectively cheered when the Wall fell, freeing these people at last.
Yet, when the citizens of Egypt, who have lived under equally ruthless dictatorsbegan to try to change their government, rightous, uninformed bigots criticized the Obama Administration for being a "Muslim lover" because he encouraged Mubarek to step down.  Even Bush recognized his ruthlessness and spoke out against it when he was President.
They give the flimsy excuse that Mubarek has been a "friend" to the United States, keeping the treaty with Israel that Sudat signed.  I can promise you Mubarek would have dumped the U.S. quicker than a fox can sneak in a henhouse if we hadn't been bribing him every year to the tune of $2 billion dollars.
We saw Mubarek's true colors when he withdrew the support of the police to protect the average citizen, had his "plain clothes" secret police shoot down unarmed demonstrators, sent cars, men on horses and camels racing through the Demostrators to kill people, and even opened the prisons, loosing murderers, rapists, burglars, and scum to ravage the city.
However, because of "Muslim" phobia that some of the most biased in our country have, they immediately began screaming that the Muslim extremists will now seize control of Egypt.
That demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of Egyptian society, which has for generations been a country whose government relies on the military.  Sadat came from the military ranks, Mubarek came from the military ranks.  And the military is decidedly secular, completely opposed to a fundamentalist Muslim government.
It took withdrawal of support by the military for Mubarek to finally admit defeat and resign.  And the military is now ruling while a committee rewrites its Constitution in favor of a Democratic government.
This is totally different from what happened in Iran, which has a much heavier religious presence in its government and always has.  A religious revolution transformed Iran; a civil revolution transformed Egypt.
Of course, there will be Muslims in the government; the country is after all 98% Islamic.  But let's not lose sight of the fact that the Islam religion is second only to Christianity in numbers.  Millions of Muslims are peace-loving people.
Yes, there may be a few fundamentalist Muslims to get elected; but they will be in the minority.  This is NOT a country where the fundamentalist right exerts political influence and never has been.
As to the "domino" effect, we are seeing demonstrations now in other countries in the Middle East.  It is not for us to judge.  We live in a society where we can criticize our government, call our President and the legislative leaders every filthy name in the book, demonstrate with guns on our hips without fear of reprisal, vote those out whom we do not like, and never have to worry about arrest or reprisal for any of this.
Let these people work out their problems and quit criticizing.  Some will succeed; most will fail because of the totalitarian state in which they live.  It is their country and their problem.  The more who become Democratic, the better we will be. 
It is oppression that breeds and encourages terrorist groups...not Democratic societies.


posted on Feb 18, 2011 8:16 AM ()

Comments:

I so agree with your post and Jondude's comments. War is insanity.
comment by elderjane on Mar 2, 2011 4:30 AM ()
Right you are, Joan. PBS "Frontline" will focus on the Egyptian revolution on their next program, "Revolution in Cairo." It will be broadcast Tuesday, Feb. 22, usually at 9 p.m. Check your local listings. Don't miss it!
comment by marta on Feb 20, 2011 4:34 PM ()
Mubarak and Libya's Qaddafi are of the same ilk. All smiles and pleasantness, but ruthless on the inside. This is a timeless pattern of paternal (god-like) leadership.
comment by solitaire on Feb 20, 2011 6:43 AM ()
yes, rotten to the core but glossy red on the outside.
reply by redimpala on Feb 20, 2011 8:56 AM ()
Eisenhower warned us about being the cops of the world. It has wasted our national treasury as well as the genius of our youth who were fed to the slaughter of many wars 'fought for democracy.' - actually they were wars fought to preserve the power of our puppet dictators. How many Einsteins did we lose on those battlefields? Look to the costs of our recent wars... hundreds of millions each year... and ask the Repubs why they aren't cutting those costs out of the budget.
comment by jondude on Feb 19, 2011 5:40 AM ()
If the Repubs were really serious about reducing the deficit, they would be screaming that we get out of these useless wars. Policing the world is NOT a mindset that I find the least bit worthwhile. As you so aptly put it, "How many Einsteins have we lost?" The money we have spent pales in comparison to the heartache of families and to the waste of our future leaders.
reply by redimpala on Feb 20, 2011 9:01 AM ()
If we can learn any lesson from these events, I hope it will be the one that teaches us to let people solve their own damn problems in other countries without interfering in their affairs. If Egypt wants Sharia Law, it is Egypt's business, not ours.
comment by jondude on Feb 18, 2011 2:43 PM ()
I could not agree more. What business is it of the United States what kind of government eventually has or any other country, for that matter.
reply by redimpala on Feb 18, 2011 4:14 PM ()

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