U.S. Chamber of Commerce Backs Egyptian Dictator
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has shown its true colors. Again. This shouldn’t be surprising, but with the explosive political turmoil in Egypt, America’s biggest lobbying group for “Freedom!” is quietly working to help the Mubarak regime keep those lowly Egyptian rabble-rousers under its thumb.
What happened to “Freedom!” and “Watering the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants?” And for two years we’ve been swamped with constant references to the Boston Tea Party. I guess it’s only a “tea party” if the protesters are corporate lobbyists and their useful idiots; it has nothing to do with millions of enraged desperate people rebelling against a dictator.
If the U.S. Chamber of Commerce could be projected back to the 1700s, they’d be helping King George III against those motley protesters in that uppity colony.
Labels: Egypt protesters, Mubarak, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
posted by Tom Harper @ 7:29 PM
11 Comments:
I wouldn't give you yesterdays newspaper for any teabager. The whole thing is based on lies.
I am reminded of Iran in the late 1970s and the twisted image painted here in the States of what was actually going on when the Shah was in power. Had our country lived up to the principles it loves to shout in everyone's face, maybe just maybe, we wouldn't be worrying about another nuclear power today.
Egypt has all the pieces in place to become another Iran. We need to be very careful which horse we back if any. The Chamber is not helping.
In my opinion, the US Chamber of Commerce has no conscience other than a focus on the bottom line. The perfect tool of Capitalism.
This has been part MCMXVIII of 'he may be a bastard, but he's our bastard.'
Would you expect anything else from a whore?
Reading Tom's post, the "he may be a bastard…" is the one that immediately came to mind for me too. And I see the parallel to the final days of the Shah. But why miss another opportunity to be on the wrong side of history?
I'm glad to see the Obama administration's public statements to the effect that Mubarak must respond to the legitimate demands of his people, but that implies that Mubarak is somehow part of the solution and fails to recognize that he's long since reached his sell-by date.
In Qatar a couple of weeks ago Hilary Clinton admonished Arab governments to accelerate democratization, fight corruption and open up real opportunities for their overwhelmingly youthful populations. That makes it all the more unfortunate that her statement on Tuesday that "the Egyptian government is stable" just confirmed the presumption of those in Egypt and elsewhere that when push comes to shove, the US is putting its money on the dictator.
Tim: Yesterday's newspaper is much more valuable.
MRM: Iran is a very apt comparison. The Shah of Iran was possibly the wealthiest person in the world, and one of the world's most powerful ruthless dictators. And he still got overthrown by a ragtag coalition of devout Muslims and leftist students.
The U.S. government considered the Shah an ally just because he was anti-communist. We backed the wrong horse then and we'll probably do the same thing again this time with Egypt.
Randal: Is that all? I thought there were more previous chapters than that.
Demeur: That's an insult to whores everywhere.
GC: Very good point, that Mubarak has passed his sell-by date. I'm glad Obama is at least giving lip service to the democracy movement in Egypt. But like all high-ranking U.S. politicians, he's totally in hock to the global corporations and shadowy organizations that are running things.
I hope we don't end up getting dragged down by Mubarak like we did with the Shah of Iran; especially now that Yemen, Jordan and Lebanon are all exploding with the same turmoil that got the Tunisian dictator overthrown. There are some heavy changes afoot, and our government needs to roll with it and adapt.
Too bad Americans are too brainwashed to take to the streets and demand democracy.
The US invariably sides with dictators, unless they admit they're commies, not counting the Chinese, of course.
Blackwater SS-trained Interior Ministry goons have been our allies in rendition and torture. US-made armor and tear gas fill the streets. How dare those people think they can demand regime change without the US dictating the conditions?
It's going to get ugly.
Dave: If the people of Egypt and Tunisia were as sheeplike and unquestioning as Americans, they'd all be slouched in front of the TV, cheering along with the pro-government demagogues. "Those protesters hate their own country; they're just being stirred up by outside agitators." Etc.
Blackwater will probably start recruiting some new employees, with all the new jobs being created for them in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan...
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce should have to register with the FBI as a subversive organization. It's more dangerous to freedom and democracy than the Communist Party USA ever was.
Obviously, it's not just dangerous to our freedom and democracy, but a global menace.
I've never considered Mubarak a "dictator" in the classical sense. He's actually more of a "president of tourism", since that is what accounts for roughly 85% of Egypt's economy. I think what we are seeing now is more the anger, desperation and frustration of the country's young & unemployed than any real push for "freedom." Egypt's economy was in dire straits just a couple of months after 9/11 when I was there in November 2001, and was told by an employee of the Cairo Museum that on any normal day in any normal year, we would have had to wait in line for 2 hours or more to see the King Tut exhibits. We walked right in that day, and there was no one else around at all. I've heard that tourism improved somewhat, but never to the levels of pre-2001.
Right now, Egypt is where we are headed - right into the tinderbox of public unrest over unemployment and a stagnant economy that shows no signs of improvement, only they have the fanatical muslim factoring in now that the fuse has been lit. This could easily go badly for the entire region, because whatever tours were planning to run next month (when the weather is perfect) have most likely been cancelled, and the country will be empty of money-carrying tourists again, fueling the cycle.
SW: I agree about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. They've gone way beyond anything having to do with commerce or business. They exist solely to prop up corporate conglomerates and the crony capitalism that's destroying the country.
Bee: That's really cool; you've been to Egypt. I've been to Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan (mid '70s) but never any of the Arab countries. It's really weird when a place you've been to is suddenly all over the news, like it is for me when Iran and Afghanistan is in the news.
You're probably right about the protests and riots. I'd guess they're more about economic desperation than "freedom." I hope their tourism can make a comeback eventually.
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