Yesterday, for some unknown reason, I took and posted a picture of an ancient cave painting in what is present day Lascaux, France. Today, while reading about Libyan history, I learned that there are such paintings in Libya, esp in a place called Tadrart Acacus. Better resolution
Let a man in a garret but burn with enough intensity and he will set fire to the world.
-- Antoine de Saint Exupéry (best know as the author of The Little Prince)
Two memorial journals were filled during the vigil following Greg's death. One page read: "It's raining now, the day after your courageous, determined, peace-filled death. It snowed last night and now there's a circle of stars surrounding snow flows of every color ... It's beautiful. We continue to live in hope that your action and our actions will stop this war, this madness, the killings and that as we approach the 3rd millennium, we will truly live in peace. Wherever you are, you will be in my heart forever. Peace and love to you." Whoever wrote that was trying to give Levey's being life.
In his news conference yesterday, Obama appeared to suggest that hundreds of protesters were not killed by the Mubarak regime in the last several weeks. Obama said, "what has been true in Egypt is -- should be true in Iran, which is that people should be able to express their opinions and their grievances and seek a more responsive government. What's been different is the Iranian government's response, which is to shoot people and beat people and arrest people. And, you know, my hope and expectation is, is that we're going to continue to see the people of Iran have the courage to be able to express their yearning for greater freedoms and a more representative government." Transcript from CNN; Video excerpt from Democracy Now.
This closely paralleled what I heard McCain say on Sunday. As he stepped out of the CBS studios, I was set to question him. Another reporter asked about Iran, and McCain said that in contrast to Egypt, Iran is a “more oppressive, repressive police state that knows no restrictions. We saw last time, they don’t hesitate to shoot and kill people in the streets. Obviously, the Egyptian military was not ready to do that.”
I corrected McCain in the course of asking him my question -- "There were hundreds of killings at the hands of the police over the last two weeks, sir" -- but he didn't correct himself or apologize. See the video:
The facts are rather stark: In Iran, during the protests in 2009, Human Rights Watch documented about 10 people killed. In Egypt, since Janurary 25, there have been over 300.
I did ask McCain: “Do we owe the Egyptian people an apology for having backed a tyrant for 30 years?”
He replied: “Hindsight is 20/20. … There’s many ways this government has been helpful to us ... I can’t apologize for what happened in Indonesia, for what happened in the Philippines, for what happened Romania.” Too bad, because apologizing might be the first step to bringing the dictator backing to a halt.
Obama claims: "But there are certain universal principles that we adhere to. One of them is, we don't believe in violence as a way of -- and coercion as a way of maintaining control." Think for a moment about how that sounds to an Afghan who has had a loved one killed by a U.S. drone attack. Or a Palestinian who has been wounded by U.S.-backed Israeli occupiers. Or, for that matter, an Egyptian who knows the U.S. backed the Mubarak regime for decades.Obama's "universal values" have a way of not being universal. He loves talking about how bad Iran is, but he was asked twice about Saudi Arabia in his news conference yesterday -- ie: "what concerns do you have about instability, especially in Saudi Arabia, as the demonstrations spread?" -- and he didn't mention the country. Compared to Saudi Arabia, Iran is a Jeffersonian paradise.
The dismissal of cheap blood is commonplace. Also yesterday, Obama gave George H W Bush the "Medal of Freedom." Exactly twenty years ago, the elder Bush launched the Gulf War, leading to the direct killing of thousands, the devastating sanctions on Iraq for over a decade and a series of disasters that are still causing great suffering. Just this past weekend marks the 20 years since the US bombed the Amariyah Shelter. The voiceover in the White House ceremony that honored Bush said he "built a broad international coalition to expel a dictator from Kuwait" as well as how his "humility and his decency reflects the very best of the American spirit."
Obama and McCain's comments are just a symptom. Let's hear the stories of the people who were killed by Mubarak's thugs, not just the stories of a few U.S. journalists, or a Google executive who was in detention virtually the entire time.
I've also felt ill at ease with pictures of Egyptians, perhaps at the behest of the military now running the country, "cleaning" the blood of those killed in the protests. Seems to me it should be memorialized, not "cleaned."
Certain victims are routinely invisible. It's remarkable that the victims of Mubark's thugs over the last several weeks -- even while occasionally rhetorically celebrated -- are among them.
Sam Husseini is founder of WashingtonStakeout, his latest personal writings are at http://husseini.posterous.com
Hussein's extraordinary ambitions. This fellow is being described as Hitler. As a dictator.
As a tyrant. As a dangerous guy in that region. And nobody is asking why. Because this
dictator has been around for fifteen years. What has suddenly in 1990 compelled his
ambition, that requires three hundred and fifty thousand American troops to control? That
did it?No one has named the Camp David Accords. And Saddam Hussein's ambitions are
directly attributable to the Camp David Accords.Remember the following. Since the decline of the Ottoman Empire (in other words,
since the beginning of the nineteenth century), Egypt has played the role of the regional
influential in the Arab world. Politically, culturally, even militarily, Egypt has led the
Arab world (and ideologically). The Camp David Accords' supreme achievement was to
isolate Egypt from its Arab milieu. When Anwar Sadat signed that piece of paper, his hope had been that this would lead
to the return of Egyptian territory to Egypt... which he did get. And two, a modicum of
justice for the Palestinians. So that, over time, his isolation will be ameliorated. And that
minimum that was promised to Sadat in the Camp David Accords was not honored. In
fact, the maximum was dishonored.To remind you of one reality alone, Carter, and [Harold] Saunders, and William B.
Quandt-the three American negotiators from top to the bottom (with Carter at the top,
Saunders in the middle, and Quandt at the bottom)have testified and recorded in their
books that in the last three days of the Camp David negotiations, the negotiationshad broken down on one issue. And the issue was Sadat's insistence that there should
be written in the Camp David Accords that Israel will put up no more settlements in
the West Bank and Gaza. And [Menachem] Begin would say, "I am willing to agree
on it informally, but won't do it in writing." And Carter weighs in and says, "You
must understand Begin's difficult position. I give you guarantee that there will be no
settlements."And then that day they signed the piece of paper in front of the television camera,
on prime time television. And Anwar Sadat and Begin and Carter kissed each other.
(Sadat was particularly fond of kissing.) And then he went down and kissed his friend,
Barbara Walters. And told Barbara Walters that there will be peace and comprehensive
peace-in the Middle East. This was confirmed by Carter and Begin. And the next day,
around afternoon, Israel announced the setting up of new settlements. And Carter called
poppycock.But much more than that. It is after Camp David that the settlement process escalated. It
is after Camp David that 60 percent of Palestinian lands were expropriated in the West
Bank. It is after Camp David that nearly 80 percent of Palestinian water came under the
Israeli occupying authority's control. And it was after Camp David that nearly eighteen
thousand books were banned in the West Bank and Gaza. And it is after Camp David that
Palestinian local leaders began to be deported (in violation of the Geneva Conventions).Have you noticed what I have just said? It is after Camp David that the four elements
of life, without which no community can survive, came under organized assault by the
Israeli military occupation authorities. Those are: land, water, culture, and leaders. What
underlies this extraordinary event called the Intifada is not merely Palestinian heroism,
or its will to liberation. It is Palestinian desperation, and its will to survival. Literally, I
mean, survival.Now, obviously, Camp David meant moral, ideological, political isolation of Egypt
from its Arab milieu. There would be a political vacuum in the Middle East after Camp
David. And smaller players-like Syria and Iraq-would love, would aim at, would have the
ambition, to fill that vacuum.PDF source.
2- He did declare that ex minister of information and others were restricted from travel outside Egypt, until outstanding submitted complains of their deeds is fully investigated.
3- UK deputy minister of foreign affairs declared, upon being asked, that he cannot lay any blockage on Mubarak's deposits/funds unless asked to do that by the Egyptian authorities.
4- I am convinced ,as has been reported, that Mubarak's delay in stepping down , was to buy time to buy real estate and other property which could be harder to trace than usual bank funds.
5- It makes great sense if you can nudge and persuade some of the Egyptian revolutionaries you know and you reference in you releases, or their connections, that they should IMMEDIATELY SUBMIT COMPLAINS TO EGYPTIAN AUTHORITIES DEMANDING THAT THE GOVT START IMMEDIATE REQUEST TO ALL POTENTIAL COUNTRIES TO TRACE AND BLOCK ANY FUNDS AND PROPERTIES IN MUBARAK'S NAME ,HIS FAMILY'S AND HIS COTERIES' AND RESTRICTING HIM FROM LEAVING EGYPTIAN SOIL.. Thus holding the govt responsible to do that, until investigations re claims of theft and illegal gain are resolved. That would not be any different from what the govt did to the ex minister of information and others of lower rank.
At last, in an attempt to appease the revolutionaries , the High Council of the Armed forced dissolved the Peoples' Council and the Shura Council.
Also suspended the application of the constitution and formed a committee to review amendable items.
So far has resisted dissolving the Mubarak appointed govt, is refusing to annul the Emergency law in effect,.and is refusing to free political prisoners.
General feeling I get from Egyptian Satellites is an attempt to quench the euphoria and accompanying celebrations.egs:
1- We should respect the persona of the outgoing President, after all he has been our president and we should see that he stays on Egyptian soil for his remaining years; let us grant him dignity!!
2- They are full of praises to the current PM Ahmad Shafiq for his fairness. frankness and good intentions and his fulfillment of justice
Asking Egyptian Regime Ambassador: “Mubarakism without Mubarak?”
Shortly before questioning Egyptian regime’s ambassador to the U.S., Sameh Shoukry, we received the following email from Aida Seif El Dawla (with the Nadeem Center for Victims of Torture) in Cairo:
Mubarak has fallen. The regime didn’t. We still have the same cabinet appointed by [Mubarak]. The emergency state is still enforced. Old detainees are still in detentions and new ones since the 25th of January remain missing. There is no public apology for the killing. We hear several executives are being prosecuted, including minister of Interior Habib El Adly. Process not transparent. Parliament has not been dissolved. Nor has the Shura council. etc.
We read the quote to Shoukry and asked: “Mubarakism without Mubarak — is that what the Egyptian people are going to have now?”
McCain: Claims Iran More Prone to Violence than Egyptian Regime; Won’t apologize for list of dictators U.S. government has backed
(Infact, in Iran, during the protests in 2009, Human Rights Watch documented about 10 people killed. In Egypt, there have been over 300.)
We also read Aida Seif El Dawla’s statement to McCain; noting that hundreds of protesters were infact killed by Egyptian regime forces.
He called for a “transition government” inclusive of “pro-democratic” forces.
I asked: “Do we owe the Egyptian people an apology for having backed a tyrant for 30 years?”
McCain: “Hindsight is 20/20. … There’s many ways this government has been helpful to us,” specifically citing Israeli politics toward the Palestinians, like the siege of Gaza that the Mubarak regime coordinated with Israel.
McCain added: “I can’t apologize for what happened in Indonesia, for what happened in the Philippines, for what happened Romania.”
This was a rather remarkable comment. In part because it highlights that McCain recognizes that this backing dictators is a pattern in U.S. policy, that he refuses to apologize for, virtually guaranteeing its continuation.
It also mirrors recent comments by Noam Chomsky: “The United States, so far, is essentially following the usual playbook. I mean, there have been many times when some favored dictator has lost control or is in danger of losing control. There’s a kind of a standard routine—Marcos [Philippines], Duvalier [Haiti], Ceausescu [Romania], strongly supported by the United States and Britain, Suharto [Indonesia]: keep supporting them as long as possible; then, when it becomes unsustainable—typically, say, if the army shifts sides—switch 180 degrees, claim to have been on the side of the people all along, erase the past, and then make whatever moves are possible to restore the old system under new names. That succeeds or fails depending on the circumstances. …”
We challenged McCain’s endorcement of embracing dictators until they are no longer useful, after an exchange, he declined to meaningfully respond, simply saying he “understood your view on it.”
He also stated that for years he’s been aware of the abuses in Egypt, backing a process with Russ Feingold, somewhat contradicting an earlier claim that “hindside is 20/20.”
Gingrich: Do we back dictators like Mubarak so we can attack Iraq and Israel can dominate the Palestinians?
Can I just say that we’re very, very glad to have President Mubarak here. He is a very, very important ally, friend, and adviser. And many things that we’ve done, including Desert Shield, would not have been possible without the help of Egypt.
Later in the interview, Gingrich stated: “Egypt has been a staging area for us for a long time now. And Egypt has been vital to Israeli security.”
So, I asked: “We back dictators like Mubarak, who oppress their own people, so that we can attack Iraq and the Israelis can dominate the Palestinians. Why isn’t that a fair summary of what’s happened over the last 30 years?”
Gingrich called this a “fairly grotesque summary.”
Gingrich, initially when asked if he knew Israel had nuclear weapons said “of course.” However, he later backtracked, saying it was a “guess” since the Israeli nuclear weapons program could be a “Potemkin village.” [Addition: a friend comments that perhaps Gingrich would care to join one of the "9/11 Truth" groups.]
Should the U.S. apologize the the Egyptian people for materially backing a tyrant for 30 years? Gingrich: “I don’t think the U.S. has much to apologize for, I think we’ve been a force, basically for good in most of the planet.”
[originally published on Washington Stakeout on Feb. 13, 2011; posted on posthaven Nov. 13, 2015]