US worked to install Mubaraks chief torturer in power

Horhey · May 10, 2012

"When a favored dictator is endangered, as happens over and over, Washington follows a fairly straightforward procedure: Support him as long as possible. If it is no longer possible, for example, if the army turns against him, then issue ringing declarations about our yearning for democracy and then work hard to keep the former system of domination and control in place, as much as possible. Examples abound: Somoza, Marcos, Duvalier, Chun, Ceausescu, Mobutu, Suharto, and others. That the same procedure was followed in the case of Mubarak should surprise no one."

-Noam Chomsky
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Glenn Greenwald observes:

The Obama administration paid pretty lip service to the Egyptian revolution but then worked to install Mubaraks chief torturer Omar Suleiman in power, who, for obvious reasons, is viewed with great disfavor among Egyptians. That propaganda ruse fooled one of its chief targets (the American electorate) but failed miserably among Egyptians, who knew exactly what the U.S. was up to.
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Apparently, the New York Times understands the meaning of the term "stability"..

The New York Times: In Egypt, U.S. Weighs Push for Change With Stability

WASHINGTON Vice President Omar Suleiman of Egypt says he does not think it is time to lift the 30-year-old emergency law that has been used to suppress and imprison opposition leaders. He does not think President Hosni Mubarak needs to resign before his term ends in September. And he does not think his country is yet ready for democracy.

But, considering it lacks better options, the United States has strongly backed him to play the pivotal role in a still uncertain transition process in Egypt. In doing so, it is relying on the existing government to make changes that it has steadfastly resisted for years, and even now does not seem impatient to carry out.

After two weeks of recalibrated messages and efforts to keep up with a rapidly evolving situation, the Obama administration is still trying to balance support for some of the basic aspirations for change in Egypt with its concern that the pro-democracy movement could be hijacked, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton put it, if change were to come too quickly.

The result has been to feed a perception, on the streets of Cairo and elsewhere, that the United States, for now at least, is putting stability ahead of democratic ideals, and leaving hopes of nurturing peaceful, gradual change in large part in the hands of Egyptian officials starting with Mr. Suleiman who have every reason to slow the process.

The United States has certainly had long ties with Mr. Suleiman, 74, who headed Egyptian intelligence from 1993 until he was named vice president last month. For years he has been an important contact for the Central Intelligence Agency and a regular briefer for visiting American officials, who appear to have valued his analysis of Egypts relations with neighbors and domestic challenges, as diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks make clear.

But among the protesters and opposition groups in Egypt, there is deep skepticism that Washington is demanding enough of Mr. Suleiman.

Similarly, a meeting with opposition groups on Sunday led by Mr. Suleiman was seen by many Egyptian activists as nothing more than political theater that yielded no concrete steps toward reform. In a statement afterward characterized by opposition figures as propaganda Mr. Suleiman offered some of what the administration sought, but left himself a lot of wiggle room.

In the statement, he said a committee will be formed from members of the judicial authority and a number of political figures to study and recommend constitutional amendments and related laws. The work is supposed to be completed by the first week of March.

But the recommendations do not appear to be binding on the government; in the end, they would have to be approved by a Parliament that took office after an election last year that American officials say was clearly fixed to benefit Mr. Mubaraks party.

The document promised that the state of emergency will be lifted based on the security situation and an end to the threats to the security of society. This is similar to what Mr. Mubarak has said for decades. The state of emergency has never been lifted.

The statement also says that media and communications will be liberalized and no extralegal constraints will be imposed on them. But liberalized is never defined, nor is it clear that Egypt is willing to allow the free flow of information over the Internet.

The White House took no issue with Mr. Suleimans statement; administration officials said it looked like the setting of some clear goals. On Monday, Mr. Obama said Mr. Suleimans talks with opposition leaders the day before were making progress.
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Horhey · May 11, 2012

Do a lot of people not know who Mubarak is or something? Should I have titled the thread differently?

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US worked to install Mubaraks chief torturer in power

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US worked to install Mubaraks chief torturer in power

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US worked to install Mubaraks chief torturer in power