Via Friday-Lunch-Club
"...That Mubarak was a loyal ally of the United States is not in dispute. It was of course in Mubarak’s personal self-interest to be a loyal ally, but this is true for most superpower allies and doesn’t disqualify them from expecting a bit of empathy when their survival is on the line.....,
....despite its enthusiastic embrace of the “freedom agenda,” the Bush administration was fully prepared—morally and otherwise—to make use of Egypt’s repressive machinery, reportedly surrendering terrorism suspects via rendition for interrogation, including torture. More recently, Mr. Obama warmly kissed Mr. Mubarak on both cheeks when he visited Cairo less than two years ago—and the Egyptian leader's conduct had hardly changed between 2009's kisses and 2011's kick. International politics frequently presents ugly choices and sometimes it is impossible to avoid throwing friends under the wheels of history. But displaying visible pleasure about it the way that President Obama did suggests both a lack of strategic clarity and a serious moral flaw....
Unschooled in history and swept up in uncontrolled excitement, many journalists began to make misleading comparisons with Central European revolutions of 1989. But those revolutions were directed against client regimes of a rival superpower, the Soviet Union. Because these regimes were hostile to America and a product of foreign domination, there was every geopolitical and moral reason to support the protestors. Also, being vocally and reliably pro-Western, the Central Europeans and their genuinely peaceful revolutions were no-brainers in deserving American support. In contrast, current unrest in the Middle East has so far been directed primarily against moderate pro-Western governments, not American opponents. And its outcome is far from clear..."
Posted by G, Z, or B at 4:22 PM
Uprooted Palestinian
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