Sorry. Nobody can say that, dude...
Dude its world net daily. Its very likely its incredibly false. There's conservative biased news sources and then there's world net daily. Of course there's liberally biased news sources too but I'm not sure they have a match to world net daily. Basically take anything you read there with a grain of salt. They're probably following Glenn Beck's weird worldwide communist islamist caliphate new world order conspiracy theory mumbo jumbo as a cue. Glenn Beck has been so off the walls this week I'm not wondering if he isn't back on drugs again and isn't in need of a nice in-patient stint at rehab.
brista, this news is being covered by many more media outlets than just that one...
The headlines are sensationalized almost beyond recognition, but yeah, some of the Ayers/Dohrn crord showed up in Egypt about 13-14 months ago and asked to be permitted to cross the border from Egypt into Gaza. Mubarek allowed a few of them to do so, but not nearly as many as wanted to. The reason for this little media-stunt was to dramatize the fact that Israel allows very few people to cross into Gaza from Israel.
The "Manchurian President" headline is nonsense, too, but does anyone really doubt that Mubarek and his supporters feel betrayed by Obama? Not saying anybody should feel sorry for him, but Mubarek has been Egypt's dictator for nearly 30 years, and has been firmly pro-US all throughout. I am sure that, in his mind, that should be worth some political loyalty now.
I can't blame Muburek for feeling betrayed. A lot of this isn't making sense. Some claim Muburek to be a "Pupper Dictator" for the US. So why get rid of him now?
Saddam Hussein was a puppet dictator for the U.S. and we got rid of him. What made Mubarak think he was immune to such arbitrary behavior once he fell out of favor with the new administration?
(02-10-2011 01:18 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ]Saddam Hussein was a puppet dictator for the U.S.
Quote:and we got rid of him
Thank God.
Quote:What made Mubarak think he was immune to such arbitrary behavior once he fell out of favor with the new administration?
Once he took over Egypt in 1981, Mubarek never started any wars, and -- sometimes in the open, sometimes behind the scenes -- he took America's side in the wars that other people started. He probably thought that was worth something, especially when Option B in Egypt falls somewhere between Pure Chaos and the Muslim Brotherhood.
I agree that Saddam was a stupid choice. I'm glad he's gone, and I'm sure that all of Iraq, except for the minority no longer in power, is glad he's gone too. But the U.S. used him to overthrow the legitimate government, after he spent his exile in Egypt, and that government wasn't unfriendly to the U.S. either. It wasn't one of this nation's brighter moves...
No. Mubarak never started any wars. But when has that stopped anyone in power from making moves they felt in the best interest of the people paying them not to think?
Now the only question is are the military leaders competent men, with the best interest of the people at heart? Or is this just a grab for the power to subjugate the nation of Egypt? I don't know myself. So I guess we'll find out shortly...
(02-11-2011 11:28 AM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ]Now the only question is are the military leaders competent men, with the best interest of the people at heart? Or is this just a grab for the power to subjugate the nation of Egypt? I don't know myself. So I guess we'll find out shortly...
My thoughts exactly.
Hopefully the Egyptian Transitional GVT speeds up the election process.
I figure the question of competence will be whether these men got their jobs in the military by ability, or the ability to suck up. That is usually the best way. Competent men are rarely popular in the upper eschelons of the military, since their superiors see them as a threat to their position - except in time of war, when they are valued for the ability the incompetent political lackeys fear...
I spent my time in the military at the end of the Vietnam War. I saw first hand the attrition of officers who gained battlefield promotions. Men who were passed over time and again by people far less competent once the war ended...
FWIW, one of my colleagues interned at the State Department prior to taking the job with the Congressman. At State they have long had a good deal of confidence in the Egyptian military leadership to do the right things at a proper pace in this type of event. Mubarak may have appointed these guys but most of them aren't as loyal to him as they appeared. They're professionals much like their U.S. counterparts.
Nothing against brista or his colleague, and I am sure that there are some good, capable people in the State Department out of all the thousands that work there in some capacity. But, if seeking wisdom or guidance on what's going on in Egypt, I wouldn't trust Foggy Bottom anymore than a Ouija board.
I tend to agree. I can think of several highly public blunders made the by State Dept without much effort, and I have memory problems...
None taken. Let's just say in the land of the Feds we're cautiously optimistic. Granted I'm not speaking on the record for the Congressman, but just our take around the office.
"cautiously optimistic" was the Conventional Wisdom when the Ayatollah took over Iran 32 years ago. If anything, the CW was even more cheerful than that. Someone remind me how that turned out.
Hope for the best, expect the worst.