2-9-11TheSetUpOrTheSellOut_long

The set up or the sell out? These are one of those times that I hope I am wrong, but I don’t think I am. The crisis in Egypt seems to be reaching a point ripe for massive military and police repression, not only in Tahrir Square in central Cairo, but to punish a people who have had the impertinence to call for the removal of their brutal rulers.

I’ve had that feeling since the U.S., Egypt’s main money bags, I mean backer, sent split signals in statements both public and private that suggest they actually like the status quo, but, perhaps, with a little cosmetic surgery. A nip here, a tuck there and voila!, isn’t this Egypt, new and improved, gorgeous?

That’s because the military regime in power since 1956 has been vital to U.S. interests since the 1979 peace treaty with Israel. A truly democratic Egypt, even one purged of the Muslim Brotherhood, would repudiate the hated treaty and threaten Israel/U.S. hegemony in the region.

The present system stems from the “Free Officers” movement that toppled King Farouk I back in 1952, which was composed of the Arab nationalists Gamel Abdel Nasser and Anwar El Sadat, president Mubarak’s immediate forbear.  Farouk, infamous for his love of cocaine and women, pretty much destroyed the appeal of kings in Egypt. Nasser appealed to Egyptians because he wielded the sword, not in service to foreigners, but in Egypt’s defense, and in support of Arab nationalism.

As for Egypt’s role as a modern day client state of U.S. imperial power, consider the words of Bob Baer, a former CIA Middle East operative: “If you want a serious interrogation, you send the prisoner to Jordan. If you want them to be tortured, you send them to Syria. If you want someone to disappear, you send them to Egypt.”

The U.S. has subsidized and supported military dictatorships and police states in the Middle East for decades. If you think they’re just going to change the channel because of protests, well, you’re naïve. When the Obama administration calls for a calm, peaceful transition from a military dictatorship to a democracy, it’s like calling for rainbows and unicorns with Skittles.  The Egyptian security apparatus has a certain expertise. It hurts people, and it’s good at it.

Again, I hope I’m wrong; I just don’t think I am.

From Death Row, this is Mumia Abu Jamal.