We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, February 11, 2011

U.S.-Egyptian military partnership comes under stress [8:18 AM Seattle time]

by Tom Curry from MSNBC

This is a rare article coming from US media that deals with the close relationship of the Egyptian military and US authorities. It is clear the Mubarak and the Egyptian police state are hideous creatures of US imperialist designs in the Middle East. Although this article doesn't go quite that far, if one has been awake and aware of events since WWII history, one can reach no other conclusion. 

Egypt, of course, is not the only example of such imperialist policies, but Egypt is one of the key linchpins of US control over the Middle East. Therefore, the political actors of the US ruling class and their Empire must maintain control of Egypt. These imperial actors also feel very constrained by all the "democratic" themes behind which they rule the Empire to give it a veneer of legitimacy. Hence, their public pronouncements are increasingly at odds with what is happening on the ground.

Obama continues to make public noises about how Mubarak should take steps toward a democratic transition while we occasionally learn from other voices in the Empire that state unequivocally that the US must support Mubarak and his regime. Thus, we saw this early in this drama that Frank Wisner was sent by capitalist interests to Egypt to advise Mubarak to stay the course. (See also this.) US Vice President Biden said that Mubarak should not step down and that he was no dictator. Other US satraps such as leaders in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE in the Middle East have likewise urged US support for Mubarak's regime and, of course, Israel likewise. 

Typically, when one of US sponsored dictators loses control of their citizens, the US merely replaces them with another. This is the strategy of choice and I'm sure that this is what the US ruling class political operatives are trying to accomplish. But this course of action has been muddled by other Empire actors and by the actions of the brave people of Egypt. There is always a tension between those in the ruling classes who wish to maintain the "democratic" facade and those who are more fascist oriented and who are more inclined to use their instruments of force by supporting Mubarak's regime. 

The US authorities seem to be losing control of the situation; hence, the title of this article, "U.S.-Egyptian military partnership comes under stress". It appears that the relationship between the Egyptian military and the people of Egypt will determine the final outcome. The longer this stalemate continues, the more likely that the lower ranks of the military will be won over by the heroic people of Egypt.

(Just learned that Egyptian military has taken over in Egypt.)