Mubarak Knockout

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Explaining the Egyptian Revolution to Americans

Explaining the Egyptian Revolution to Americans

Also while we are on the topic of Egypt, here is an excellent rebuttal from Alex Pareene on the thoroughly repugnant Richard Cohen who thinks Egyptians can’t handle Democracy:
Richard Cohen: Egyptian democracy will be “a nightmare”

(Salon.com)

Nothing saddens Richard Cohen more than the sight of hundreds of thousands of Egyptians peacefully protesting. The longtime Washington Post columnist is sad because those childish Arab Muslims might end up with a democracy, but they don’t know how democracy works. Here is how democracy works: We like it unless “the people” want something that complicates our current foreign policy objectives.

Cohen is just broken up about this. “Egypt, once stable if tenuously so, has been pitched into chaos.” “The dream of a democratic Egypt,” he says, “is sure to produce a nightmare.” It is sure to. Such a nightmare it will be. Just not anywhere near as pleasant as these last 30 years of “stability” have been, for everyone.

Cohen is totally an expert on Egypt and Muslims, because he is a longtime opinion columnist for the Washington Post, and not at all a blinkered idiot. Egypt “lacks the civic and political institutions that are necessary for democracy,” he tells us. And you can’t argue with that. I mean, do Egyptian newspapers even run syndicated Richard Cohen opinion columns? Do they have “Dancing With the Stars,” to teach them how voting works?

My take on all this is relentlessly gloomy. I care about Israel. I care about Egypt, too, but its survival is hardly at stake. I care about democratic values, but they are worse than useless in societies that have no tradition of tolerance or respect for minority rights. What we want for Egypt is what we have ourselves. This, though, is an identity crisis. We are not them.

No. We are not them, at all. Because they are Muslims. We all know Americans could handle democracy because we were super good at respecting the rights of minority groups. But the Egyptians are sometimes resentful of or even violent against minority groups, so no democracy allowed for them. (While some Coptic Christians worry that a more Islamic Egyptian government would be less friendly to Copts, demonstrators are stressing an inclusive, nationalist message, and there’s evidence that Christians are themselves involved in the protests. The right-wing CBN has even filed a report on the growing “bond” between Christians and “their Muslim neighbors” in Egypt.)

Cohen is concerned that the Muslim Brotherhood — which “runs the Gaza Strip” under the name “Hamas,” he tells us — will take control of Egypt and attack Israel, at which point “the mob currently in the streets will roar its approval.” That “mob” certainly does seem pretty bloodthirsty. They clearly want all-out war with the region’s sole nuclear power. Pretty sure that’s what these demonstrations are about. “I’m actually pretty cool with Mubarak but I really wish we were waging war against Israel right now” — An Egyptian protester.

Cohen seems to understand that the Brotherhood, while involved in the demonstrations, did not organize them, and he has been told that the majority of the demonstrators have no ties to the group, but he thinks that might just be because they are sneaky. “It has been underground for generations — jailed, tortured, infiltrated, but still, somehow, flourishing. Its moment may be approaching.” Scary!

And why should we all be super-scared of them? “The Islamists of the Brotherhood do not despise America for what it does but for what it is.” Thanks, Richard Cohen, for explaining who these Islamists are, and what they despise about us. It’s not our lengthy history of propping up the dictator who brutally repressed them — they hate us for our freedom. (You may compare Richard Cohen’s history of the Muslim Brotherhood to that an an actual expert on the subject, if you wish.)

This column is so full of winning lines, I have to stop myself from quoting the entire thing. There is literally an “I like democracy, but” part: “Majority rule is a worthwhile idea. But so, too, are respect for minorities, freedom of religion, the equality of women and adherence to treaties, such as the one with Israel, the only democracy in the region.”

I’m sorry, I can edit that one to more clearly express Cohen’s actual point: “Majority rule is a worthwhile idea. But so, too … [is] respect for… Israel….”

These are the last lines:

America needs to be on the right side of human rights. But it also needs to be on the right side of history. This time, the two may not be the same.

The “right side of history” might not be the “right side of human rights.” Got it? Sometimes you have to be on the “wrong side” of “human rights,” and history will totally understand.

Poor Egypt. Maybe you will be grown-up enough in the eyes of Richard Cohen to handle a democracy someday, but right now, it’s just not in the cards.

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Israel prefers Egypt’s Suleiman to succeed Mubarak: WikiLeaks

Secret US diplomatic cables have revealed that Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman was long seen by Israel as the preferred candidate to succeed President Hosni Mubarak.

 President Shimon Peres shaking hands with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman during their meeting in Tel Aviv on November 4, 2010.


According to an August 2008 cable released by WikiLeaks and published by the Daily Telegraph newspaper on its website, a senior adviser from the Israeli Ministry of Defense told US diplomats in Tel Aviv that the Israelis believe Suleiman would likely serve as “at least an interim president if Mubarak dies or is incapacitated.” A US diplomat who classified the cable, Luis Moreno, wrote that although he deferred to the Embassy in Cairo for Egyptian succession scenario analysis, “there is no question that Israel is most comfortable with the prospect of” Suleiman. The cable quoted the adviser to Israel’s defense ministry, David Hacham, as saying an Israeli delegation led by Defense Minister Ehud Barak was “shocked by Mubarak’s aged appearance and slurred speech,” when it met him in Egypt. “Hacham was full of praise for Soliman, however,” it said.

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From the bbc website:

The number of those on Tahrir Square has been swelling each day and dropping back overnight. Meanwhile, leaked US diplomatic cables carried on the Wikileaks website have revealed that Mr Suleiman was named as Israel's preferred candidate for the job after discussions with American officials in 2008.
As Egypt's intelligence chief, he is said to have spoken daily to the Israeli government on issues surrounding the Hamas-run Gaza Strip via a secret "hotline". 

Complete article

Egypt's Vice President Omar Suleiman was long seen by Israel as the preferred candidate to succeed President Hosni Mubarak, secret U.S. diplomatic cables published Monday suggested.

According to an August 2008 cable released by WikiLeaks and published by the Daily Telegraph newspaper on its website, a senior adviser from the Israeli Ministry of Defense told U.S. diplomats in Tel Aviv that the Israelis believe Suleiman would likely serve as "at least an interim president if Mubarak dies or is incapacitated."

A U.S. diplomat who classified the cable, Luis Moreno, wrote that although he deferred to the Embassy in Cairo for Egyptian succession scenario analysis, "there is no question that Israel is most comfortable with the prospect of" Suleiman.
The cable quoted the adviser to Israel's defense ministry, David Hacham, as saying an Israeli delegation led by Defense Minister Ehud Barak was "shocked by Mubarak's aged appearance and slurred speech," when it met him in Egypt. "Hacham was full of praise for Soliman, however," it said. Suleiman was spelled Soliman in some of the leaked cables.

Hacham added that he sometimes spoke to Suleiman's deputy several times a day via a "hotline," according to the cable.
On Sunday, Suleiman met several major opposition groups, including the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, for the first time and offered new concessions including freedom of the press and the release of those detained during the country's recent violent protests.

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More IDs captured from Mubaraks thugs

Egypt in Crisis : Improvised Headgear

Christians guarding praying muslims in egypt

Demonstrators detain policemen/ govt-hired thugs

As the man was dragged kicking and screaming to one of Tahrir Square’s makeshift prisons, cries of “kill him!” filled the air.

Some anti-government protesters tried to protect the man, who was taken underground to be kept in Sadat Station.

His captors said he was a policeman--one of at least 120 suspected security officials and criminals captured by demonstrators as of this afternoon.

According to Ahmed Naguib, who has been coordinating the media on behalf of the protesters, most of them were handed over to the military after being kept in temporary jails. He said: “We caught people on death row, people who have escaped from prison as well as thugs and policeman.”

Throughout last night, mobs of demonstrators could be seen dragging suspected criminals or police through Tahrir Square to the Sadat Station prison. Occasionally the suspects would be beaten, but some demonstrators tried to protect their captives.

Naguib said: “It’s extremely hard to protect them if they are dragged through the square. People here have been shot at and are very angry.”

Many suspect that plainclothes police have been behind much of the violence since pro-Mubarak factions swept through Tahrir Square yesterday.

Near the square’s Al-Tahrir Street entrance, a small collection of police and security officials’ confiscated IDs were on display. There was also a collection of weapons reportedly seized from the captives, including petrol bombs, a knuckle-duster and a 2ft-long sword.

According to Naguib, one of the people being held today included a major in the state security apparatus. He said activists were unwilling to release him because he was considered such a danger.

Ahmed Wahba, a 41-year-old demonstrator who saw some of the prisoners being caught, said: “The Mubarak regime is stupid. Look how peaceful everyone is being here. They are asking for basic human rights, equality and social justice, but Mubarak is trying to organize violence.”

SOURCE

What next for Egypt?

Mubarak Thug's ID, Captured by Protesters

As morning breaks in Egypt Mubarak-hired thugs are attacking protesters with gunfire, many dead already. Fears are there will be a massacre all morning. The proof is here that the "pro-Mubarak" demonstrators "clashing" with anti-Mubarak freedom fighters are all security forces out of uniform and criminals let of out jail and paid to attack peaceful people.

This was Tweeted from Tahrir Square today, a security forces ID captured from a plainclothes thug who the protesters caught. We can use it to remind the world with one image that the "chaos" is actually a brutal attack by Mubarak. Let's make this goon famous. Post it everywhere.

Buttresses Nicholas Kristoff's vital report.

Translation of ID reads: "- The Arab republic of Egypt The Interior Ministry Police Number 2003/1/3//2003/0007503 Department General Sub-division/22 Name Kareem Ahmed Al-Sayed Ahmed Card Number (blurred, maybe 1501120) civil file m/al-qanater al-khayria/ (unclear) expiry date 2012/03/01 Below picture: director of general directory of (unclear) (signature) Lewa (police rank) Mr Mohammed Saleh"

Subject is an officer.

Egyptian women protesting in the current civil unrest

Leil-Zahra Morada has been collecting images of Egyptian women in the current demonstrations. The rest of the album can be seen here

Mubarak’s new deputy linked to CIA rendition program

By Agence France-Presse
Monday, January 31st, 2011 -- 9:20 pm

WASHINGTON — The man named by President Hosni Mubarak as his first ever deputy, Egyptian spy chief Omar Suleiman, reportedly orchestrated the brutal interrogation of terror suspects abducted by the CIA in a secret program condemned by rights groups.

His role in the controversial "war on terror" illustrates the ties that bind the United States and the Egyptian regime, as an unprecedented wave of protests against Mubarak's rule presents Washington with a difficult dilemma.

With Mubarak in jeopardy, Suleiman was anointed vice president last week and is now offering wide ranging talks with the opposition in a bid to defuse the crisis.

Suleiman is a sophisticated operator who carried out sensitive truce negotiations with Israel and the Palestinians as well as talks among rival Palestinian factions, winning the praise of American diplomats.
For US intelligence officials, he has been a trusted partner willing to go after Islamist militants without hesitation, targeting homegrown radical groups Gamaa Islamiya and Jihad after they carried out a string of attacks on foreigners.A product of the US-Egyptian relationship, Suleiman underwent training in the 1980s at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School and Center at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

As spy chief, Suleiman reportedly embraced the CIA's controversial "extraordinary rendition" program, in which terror suspects snatched by the Americans were taken to Egypt and other countries without legal proceedings and subjected to interrogations.

He "was the CIA's point man in Egypt for rendition," Jane Mayer, author of "The Dark Side," wrote on the New Yorker's website.

After taking over as spy director, Suleiman oversaw an agreement with the United States in 1995 that allowed for suspected militants to be secretly transferred to Egypt for questioning, according to the book "Ghost Plane" by journalist Stephen Grey.

Human rights groups charge the detainees have often faced torture and mistreatment in Egypt and elsewhere, accusing the US government of violating its own legal obligations by handing over suspects to regimes known for abuse.

In the run-up to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the CIA relied on Suleiman to accept the transfer of a detainee known as Ibn Sheikh al-Libi, who US officials hoped could prove a link between Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda.

The suspect was bound and blindfolded and flown to Cairo, where the CIA believed their longtime ally Suleiman would ensure a successful interrogation, according to "The One Percent Doctrine" by author Ron Suskind.
A US Senate report in 2006 describes how the detainee was locked in a cage for hours and beaten, with Egyptian authorities pushing him to confirm alleged connections between Al-Qaeda and Saddam.
Libi eventually told his interrogators that the then Iraqi regime was moving to provide Al-Qaeda with biological and chemical weapons.

When the then US secretary of state Colin Powell made the case for war before the United Nations, he referred to details of Libi's confession.

The detainee eventually recanted his account.

Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/mubarak-deputy-cia-rendition/

Juju's message to Mubarak

8 Year old Saudi girls' thoughts on President Mubarak of Egypt and the current protests.

FYI: The hotel reference is related to what she thought were the buildings on fire.

Egyptian Revolution (?)

Young childing standing up to Police Force

Human shield protecting Cairo Museum

Walk like an Egyptian!

Time running out for Mubarak

Prayer of the Oppressed

Farewell Mubarak

Australian Police?

VICTORIA'S police association has fired back at an Indian cartoonist who depicted members of the force as white supremacists, calling his artwork "highly offensive" and "outrageous".

The cartoon, published in Tuesday's edition of Delhi's Mail Today, shows an Australian police officer dressed in a white hood as a member of the Ku Klux Klan, saying: "We are yet to ascertain the nature of the crime".

The cartoon was in response to homicide investigators in Victoria stating they could not yet say if the murder of 21-year-old Indian student Nitin Garg in a Melbourne park was racially motivated.

Greg Davies, secretary of Victoria's Police Association, said the cartoon was "stupid" and unhelpful.
"Cartoons in Australia are normally done by people who are either clever or witty and this one's neither," he told reporters in Melbourne on Friday.

"All it does is stir racial hatred amongst Indians, certainly in India and, one would imagine, some of them here."

He said the cartoon was "highly offensive", especially to homicide squad detectives who are working tirelessly to catch Mr Garg's killer and determine a motive for the late-night stabbing.

"To suggest that there's any sort of `go slow' in an investigation into this tragic murder because of a racial reason is just outrageous," Mr Davies said.

Mr Davies said if he had the chance to speak with the cartoonist he would tell him the art work should never have been published.

Mr Garg's murder has sparked a renewed debate about the safety of foreign students in Australia.
Some local Indian leaders say racism is a significant issue for Indians who study in Australia.

Victorian Police Minister Bob Cameron dismissed the cartoon as an unneeded distraction from a major crime investigation.

"We are a tolerant place and Victorian police are very tolerant and this business about racism is just wrong," he told Fairfax Radio on Friday.

"Police go about their business in a normal way.

"They get the evidence, they assess the evidence ... to accuse police of having a closed mind when, in fact, what police have said is 'we have an open mind to all possibilities' just demonstrates that this is totally off the table when it comes to common sense."

The Indian government has predicted the attack will affect relations between the two countries, and although it has ruled out sanctions, it has once again pressed Australia to ensure the safety of its citizens.

Victoria Police has declined to comment on the cartoon controversy.

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Iqbal Ka Pakistan - Zaid Hamid Episode 1

 Mr. Zaid Hamid is a security consultant and strategic defense analyst. He is the founder of BrassTacks, a unique Pakistani Think Tank devoted to the study of regional and global political events and their implications for Pakistan's security and interests. As an expert on the subject, he is frequently invited to speak on national television networks, and runs his own dedicated program on the News1 channel, named "BrassTacks with Zaid Hamid". This program has pioneered a new trend in currents affairs programming in Pakistan, where he skillfully knits together the undercurrents of apparently disconnected global events, and builds a bigger perspective on the threats that we face and where our true national interests lie.


For further information about Zaid Hamid click here

End of the World?

Shares markets gripped by Dubai debt uncertainty

Problems at The World? Development company Nakheel's stand-out project

Worries over Dubai's debt problems have rattled Europe's share markets for a second day running.

The main share indexes in London, Paris and Frankfurt all opened more than 1% lower before recovering.
The moves followed news from the state-owned Dubai World that it would delay repaying some of its debt. Earlier, Asia's markets had fallen sharply.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei fell 3.2% to 9,081.52. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index ended down 4.84% at 21,134.5.
Dubai World is the centrepiece of the Gulf state's economy. David Buik, senior partner at BGC Partners, said: "You can't just say to the world: 'I don't want to pay my debts'. There is no income coming in from any of these properties. I think this is shocking PR."
Holiday hiatus
The news shook markets that are recovering from the collapse of the US housing market and contagion that threatened to rupture the global financial system last year.

WHAT IS DUBAI WORLD? The emirate's flag bearer in global investments Has a central role in the direction of Dubai's economy Assets include DP World, which caused a storm when trying to take over six US ports Property arm Nakheel built The Palm Islands and The World developments

It was the timing of the announcement as much as the lack of clear information that heightened nerves. The first news emerged late on Wednesday, as the Muslim world was preparing for its Greater Eid celebrations.
It also coincided with the closedown of the world's most important share market, with US markets winding down for Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.
Uncertainty of the scale of banks' exposure to Dubai hit banking shares at first. However, bank shares recovered strongly throughout Friday morning.

SOURCE: BBC.CO.UK

Taliban is USA Army

Pro-Israel lobby group bankrolling Tories, film claims

50% of MPs in the shadow cabinet are Conservative Friends of Israel members, according to Channel 4's Dispatches

Channel 4's film alleges that William Hague faced threats of a withdrawal of funding from CFI after he described a retaliatory attack by Israel on Lebanon in 2006 as 'disproportionate'. Photograph: Martin Godwin

Pro-Israeli organisations in Britain look set to see their influence increase if the Conservatives win the next election, a film scrutinising the activities of a powerful but little-known lobby warns today.
At least half of the shadow cabinet are members of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), according to a Dispatches programme being screened on Channel 4. The programme-makers describe the CFI as "beyond doubt the most well- connected and probably the best funded of all Westminster lobbying groups".
Inside Britain's Israel Lobby claims that donations to the Conservative party "from all CFI members and their businesses add up to well over £10m over the last eight years". CFI has disputed the figure and called the film "deeply flawed".
The programme also describes how David Cameron allegedly accepted a £15,000 donation from Poju Zabludowicz, a Finnish billionaire who chairs Bicom (the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre). Zabludowizc, the film reveals, has business interests in an illegal West Bank settlement. He also gave £50,000 to Conservative Central Office. Zabludowicz says his contributions "are a matter of public record".
William Hague allegedly accepted personal donations from CFI board members totalling tens of thousands of pounds after being appointed shadow foreign secretary. More than £30,000 from CFI supporters went to the campaign funds of members of Cameron's team who were first elected in 2005, the film claims, using publicly available information.
The programme-makers say that while this is legal, it is not well-known.
The CFI director, Stuart Polak, told the Guardian the figure of more than £10m is not supported by any facts. "It is fictitious, misleading and damaging to the reputation of CFI and its supporters," he said.
"CFI as an organisation has donated only £30,000 since 2005. Each of these donations has been made transparently and publicly registered. In addition to this £30,000, it is undoubtedly the case that some of our supporters have also chosen, separately, to donate to the party as individuals."
Two years ago a controversial study by American academics Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer explored the influence of the Israel lobby over US foreign policy. But Britain's pro-Israel organisations have been subjected to far less scrutiny.
"The pro-Israel lobby … is the most powerful political lobby," Michael Mates, a Conservative MP and privy councillor, told the film-makers. "There's nothing to touch them."
Hague fell out with CFI after describing Israel's 2006 attack on Lebanon – in retaliation for a Hezbollah raid – as "disproportionate" and allegedly faced threats to withdraw funding from Lord Kalms, a major Tory donor and CFI member, the film reports.
Cameron later gave an undertaking not to use the word again, the programme claims. At a CFI dinner this June the party leader made no mention of the death toll in the Gaza war – 1,370 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. Instead he commended Israel because "it strives to protect innocent life".
Sir Richard Dalton, a former British diplomat who served as consul-general in Jerusalem and ambassador to Libya and Iran, said: "I don't believe, and I don't think anybody else believes these contributions come with no strings attached."
Labour Friends of Israel, another key group, is described as being "less unquestioning in its support of the Israeli government than CFI". But it has taken more MPs on free trips to Israel than any other group – more than 60 since 2001.
CFI has also flown over 30 Tory parliamentary candidates to Israel on free trips in the last three years.
Dispatches describes how when the presenter Jonathan Dimbleby criticised a pro-Israel campaign against the BBC's Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen, Dimbleby was the subject of a complaint and, according to the programme, is now under investigation by the BBC. This point was denied in a statement later from the BBC's press office: "Any suggestion that Jonathan Dimbleby is the subject of an investigation by the BBC is incorrect."
Bicom, like the party-affiliated groups, organises briefings and trips to Israel for journalists, including Guardian staff. It sought to dismiss the significance of Zabludowicz's interest in a shopping mall in Ma'aleh Adumim, a settlement built on territory occupied in the 1967 war and which Israel would hope to retain.
Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, has rebuffed demands by Barack Obama for a settlement freeze.
Bicom's chief executive, Lorna Fitzsimons, said: "The private business interests of any of our funders – including our chairman – have absolutely no impact on Bicom's work.
"We are an independent organisation and we guard our reputation fiercely. We work with journalists to help them better understand the Middle East.
"We show Israel, warts and all, from the left to the right and we have a strict policy that on every journalist trip we go to the Palestinian Authority to give journalists unfettered access to Palestinian voices."
• This article was updated on 16 November 2009 to include a BBC denial issued later in the day about Dispatches' assertion that Jonathan Dimbleby was under investigation.

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