Obama Can Do in Egypt What Bush Couldn’t in Iraq
Published in El Mundo
(Spain) on 25 February 2011
by Martín Varsavsky (link to original)
(Spain) on 25 February 2011
by Martín Varsavsky (link to original)
Translated from
by Sarah Moore.
Edited by Gillian Palmer.
The Egyptians have fought valiantly, having thrown out Mubarak and giving power to the military. But it turns out that the Egyptian military is well-controlled by the U.S., as it was the Americans that financed and trained them. It is estimated that the U.S. has given the Egyptian army about $40 billion. So the Egyptians, whether they know it or not, have given considerable power to the U.S. during the revolution. In Latin America and other parts of the world, giving more power to a military body that relies on the U.S. would have meant a huge step backward. That’s why this situation will have to change soon, in favor of the Egyptians. And the best thing that can happen to the U.S. and the E.U. this time is that they will be the facilitators of progress.
The Egyptians deserve a transparent and easy transition toward democracy; the U.S. has to be careful not to be associated with the Egyptian military, but rather with the democratic forces that, hopefully, will take over. The U.S. should also try to avoid the emergence of the other Mubarak, a military man like Hugo Chávez who, after trying to take power by military means, traded his uniform for civilian clothes and came to power, but governed as a soldier. The Egyptians, the U.S., Obama and Clinton can all gain something from this revolution, but there are still many obstacles to overcome.
After the failure that was the attempt of promoting democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. has the opportunity to do well in Egypt. It can spend much less money on this project: a few billion dollars compared to a billion spent in Iraq and Afghanistan. Stabilization can be found in Egypt and thus prevent the rise of terrorist groups like Hamas that could arise as a result of discontent. Egypt can become what Iraq never became. Egypt is still one of the poorest countries per capita and it urgently needs money to stabilize it. What the government should now do is prevent food shortages and ensure the supply of basic necessities to all its people. Help from the U.S. and the E.U. will be needed to carry this out.
Obama can do in Egypt what the Neocons tried to accomplish, without success, in Iraq. Aid to Egypt in these times will surely be recognized worldwide. As we all want to do our part as things calm down, we can start thinking about traveling to Egypt on vacation. Apart from visiting a beautiful country, we can help our own economy a little.
The Egyptians deserve a transparent and easy transition toward democracy; the U.S. has to be careful not to be associated with the Egyptian military, but rather with the democratic forces that, hopefully, will take over. The U.S. should also try to avoid the emergence of the other Mubarak, a military man like Hugo Chávez who, after trying to take power by military means, traded his uniform for civilian clothes and came to power, but governed as a soldier. The Egyptians, the U.S., Obama and Clinton can all gain something from this revolution, but there are still many obstacles to overcome.
After the failure that was the attempt of promoting democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. has the opportunity to do well in Egypt. It can spend much less money on this project: a few billion dollars compared to a billion spent in Iraq and Afghanistan. Stabilization can be found in Egypt and thus prevent the rise of terrorist groups like Hamas that could arise as a result of discontent. Egypt can become what Iraq never became. Egypt is still one of the poorest countries per capita and it urgently needs money to stabilize it. What the government should now do is prevent food shortages and ensure the supply of basic necessities to all its people. Help from the U.S. and the E.U. will be needed to carry this out.
Obama can do in Egypt what the Neocons tried to accomplish, without success, in Iraq. Aid to Egypt in these times will surely be recognized worldwide. As we all want to do our part as things calm down, we can start thinking about traveling to Egypt on vacation. Apart from visiting a beautiful country, we can help our own economy a little.
There is a stipulation in the Qur’an that God rotates the days between the nations. He also brings to power a weak and subjugated people and He tests who among the nations does better performance. Europe and America too have their terms to be replaced by others. The best example of this divine plan is evidenced from the Exodus of the Jews and the emergence of the Arabs from obscurity and backwater. It is now the turn of China and other Third World countries to emerge with resurgence and to compete in showing to God who performs better to deserve His blessings and grace.
President Bush was an upstart and an embodiment of evil. He gave a free hand to the Zionists thugs and let loose a wave of terror and tragedy in occupied Palestine. His Iraq war was deemed unilateral and illegal. Iraq is an integral component of the Arabs’ union. They simply need embracing modern democracy that is played by the rules. In a genuine democracy, people are sovereign rulers and creation of this awareness is the top priority in the manifesto of the ruling party. Democracy works in the best interests of the people as we see happening in the European Union.
America and the E, U., need to shun the old colonial psyche and start fostering geopolitical interaction with mutual bilateral relations. There is no need to prolong war in Afghanistan as also a military confrontation with Al Qaida. As for the Taliban, they are a menace and a nuisance to themselves. Afghanistan’s destiny lies in its location as a conduit for transit of trade and commerce to and from the emerging central Asia. Do the Taliban fit into a democracy and a modern country? Afghanistan is integrally linked with Pakistan and Pakistan’s both sea and land routes provide a hub for transshipment of trade and commerce emanating from Bangladesh and India to central Asia. This simply required the sham and puppet democracies of the SAARC countries to be replaced with functioning democracies that are played by the rules.
America needs to stop pursuing the outdated policy of making allies and concentrate on improving the lot of its own people. It is a shame that millions of American Africans are illiterate and that America is guilty of misdeeds and frauds in managing the lands of the American Indians who live in territories that are sovereign by treaties. If this Pandora’s Box opens, America might be in real trouble in showing its face as a civilized nation.