Most Popular
1. It’s a New Macro, the Gold Market Knows It, But Dead Men Walking Do Not (yet)- Gary_Tanashian
2.Stock Market Presidential Election Cycle Seasonal Trend Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
3. Bitcoin S&P Pattern - Nadeem_Walayat
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
4.U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - Raymond_Matison
5. How to Profit from the Global Warming ClImate Change Mega Death Trend - Part1 - Nadeem_Walayat
7.Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - Nadeem_Walayat
9.It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - Stephen_McBride
10.Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - Richard_Mills
Last 7 days
Stock Market Brief in Count Down to US Election Result 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Gold Stocks’ Winter Rally 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Why Countdown to U.S. Recession is Underway - 3rd Nov 24
Stock Market Trend Forecast to Jan 2025 - 2nd Nov 24
President Donald PUMP Forecast to Win US Presidential Election 2024 - 1st Nov 24
At These Levels, Buying Silver Is Like Getting It At $5 In 2003 - 28th Oct 24
Nvidia Numero Uno Selling Shovels in the AI Gold Rush - 28th Oct 24
The Future of Online Casinos - 28th Oct 24
Panic in the Air As Stock Market Correction Delivers Deep Opps in AI Tech Stocks - 27th Oct 24
Stocks, Bitcoin, Crypto's Counting Down to President Donald Pump! - 27th Oct 24
UK Budget 2024 - What to do Before 30th Oct - Pensions and ISA's - 27th Oct 24
7 Days of Crypto Opportunities Starts NOW - 27th Oct 24
The Power Law in Venture Capital: How Visionary Investors Like Yuri Milner Have Shaped the Future - 27th Oct 24
This Points To Significantly Higher Silver Prices - 27th Oct 24
US House Prices Trend Forecast 2024 to 2026 - 11th Oct 24
US Housing Market Analysis - Immigration Drives House Prices Higher - 30th Sep 24
Stock Market October Correction - 30th Sep 24
The Folly of Tariffs and Trade Wars - 30th Sep 24
Gold: 5 principles to help you stay ahead of price turns - 30th Sep 24
The Everything Rally will Spark multi year Bull Market - 30th Sep 24
US FIXED MORTGAGES LIMITING SUPPLY - 23rd Sep 24
US Housing Market Free Equity - 23rd Sep 24
US Rate Cut FOMO In Stock Market Correction Window - 22nd Sep 24
US State Demographics - 22nd Sep 24
Gold and Silver Shine as the Fed Cuts Rates: What’s Next? - 22nd Sep 24
Stock Market Sentiment Speaks:Nothing Can Topple This Market - 22nd Sep 24
US Population Growth Rate - 17th Sep 24
Are Stocks Overheating? - 17th Sep 24
Sentiment Speaks: Silver Is At A Major Turning Point - 17th Sep 24
If The Stock Market Turn Quickly, How Bad Can Things Get? - 17th Sep 24
IMMIGRATION DRIVES HOUSE PRICES HIGHER - 12th Sep 24
Global Debt Bubble - 12th Sep 24
Gold’s Outlook CPI Data - 12th Sep 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Egypt: Washington Has Finger on the Trigger for More Bloodshed

Politics / Middle East Jan 30, 2011 - 06:09 AM GMT

By: Finian_Cunningham

Politics

Egypt’s capital Cairo and other major cities across the country are increasingly looking like battlefields as president Hosni Mubarak tries to tighten his grip on power in the face of nationwide protests calling for his abdication.

Reports of more than 50 civilians killed and more than 1,000 injured over night in police and army violence did not deter ten of thousands of people defying the now nightly curfew and secret arrests. Nor did that deter huge crowds from amassing on central streets of Cairo and Alexandria the following the day, which revealed the charred remains of government buildings, armoured cars and other debris, evidencing fierce clashes between armed forces and demonstrators,


Using a mix of heavy-handed state violence and seeming political concessions, the US-backed Mubarak is assiduously trying to quell widespread anger among Egypt’s masses, who are calling for an end to his 30-year-old iron-fisted rule.

In a televised address to the nation, Mubarak announced the sacking of his government cabinet and made vague promises of social reforms to ease the burden of poverty, unemployment and other grievances that are endemic in Africa’s and the Arab region’s most populous state.

But so far, the mass of demonstrators do not seem to be buying his offer of reform, insisting that Mubarak and his regime must stand down. If anything, his concessions seem to be only emboldening the people who view the manoeuvres akin to a retailer offering belated slashes in sale prices – so that’s how much you’ve been ripping us off up till now.

As Michel Chossudovsky points out, the linchpin in this volatile, potentially explosive situation is the US government (1). Mubarak was brought to power, stayed in power and remains in power thanks only to massive US political, economic and military support. He is powerless without Washington’s say-so.

Significantly, within minutes of Mubarak’s speech, US president Barack Obama made a televised address reiterating Washington’s support for its “important ally” – meaning “faithful servant”. Hypocritically, Obama claimed that the US supports the Egyptian people’s “universal rights” while flatly ignoring their primary demand for Mubarak to quit.

Obama urged the Egyptian leader to refrain from using state violence to contain the situation that is rocking the country. But such urging rings hollow and cynical, given the latest disclosure by Wikileaks of diplomatic cables between the two countries that confirm long-held suspicions that Washington is fully aware of Mubarak’s atrocious human rights record. Incarceration without trial, extrajudicial killings and torture of Egyptian citizens deemed to be opponents of the regime are “routine and pervasive”. But as the Worldwide Socialist Website notes, the US connection to Mubarak’s police state goes further than mere awareness. The US is complicit in the state’s use of murder and torture of its citizens. (2)

While the Egyptian state was already escalating its use of lethal violence and repression as Obama was speaking, the trigger for more bloodshed is held by Washington. If the protest movement calling for sweeping social and economic reforms goes further and begins to frame its demands in the bigger picture of opposition to US imperialism in their country and across the entire region, then that may be the point at which Washington gives its henchman in Cairo the signal to take the gloves off.

Egypt as with other countries across the Middle East and North Africa is at a critical crossroads. Will the masses be bought off with seeming reforms from their elites and persuasions from Washington (top US official Stephen Hadley is reportedly in talks with opposition groups) – or will they push for revolution? The coming days may see the answer and we will know it if the massive arsenal of US-supplied weapons in that country start blazing.

In this, the US public and across the world has a crucial role. People must see the nefarious role of the US and other Western governments in Egypt and connect the plight of the Egyptian people and others across the region with their own struggle against economic hardship under these same governments.

NOTES:

(1) http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=22993

(2) http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/wiki-j29.shtml

Finian Cunningham is a journalist and musician www.myspace.com/finiancunninghammusic

Finian Cunningham is a frequent contributor to Global Research.  Global Research Articles by Finian Cunningham

© Copyright Finian Cunningham, Global Research, 2010

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre for Research on Globalization. The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements contained in this article.


© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in