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

Monday, August 6, 2012

US Intervention Continues to Undermine Egyptian Revolution

Click here to access article by Suzanne Adely, Corinna Mullin and Azadeh Shahshahani from Truthout.

The information contained in this article is not news to many followers of this blog, however it does confirm what I foresaw happening last year when US agents rushed to Egypt at the breakout of the protests.  See this, this, and this.

It also touches on some key features of US imperial rule which combines neoliberal policies enforced through their control of international financial institutions--World Bank and IMF--with the forging of ties with the military establishments of target countries by the provision of generous military aid, training, and social relations through perks such as junkets to the US.

It is clear to me that something like the latter method has been employed within the US. I am thinking of the generous supply of military equipment, training, and other perks supplied to local police forces by federal agencies, particularly the Department of Homeland Security. This has progressed to a stage where local governments cannot exercise much control over their local police forces. As a consequence we are seeing more aggressive and abusive behavior by police departments against protestors, immigrants, poor people, and Muslims. We have recently seen evidence that the Dept. of Homeland Security have coordinated strategies with local police agencies against Occupier protests across the country.