Arabs Challenge Israeli Hasbara

Arabs Challenge Israeli Hasbara By RAMZY BAROUD

Addressing the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, Netanyahu labored desperately to link some imagined Iranian designs into the future of Egypt. "The leaders in the West and the leaders in Tehran do not want the same future for Egypt," he claimed, according to the Jewish Tribune (February 24).

"American and European leaders want an Egypt that is free, democratic, peaceful and prosperous…On the other hand, leaders in Tehran want to see an Egypt that is crushed by that same iron despotism that has crushed human rights in Iran for the last three decades," he said.

I guess the world has forgotten about simple logic. Or, at least Mr. Netanyahu apparently believes this is true.

The US and 'the west' has controlled Egypt since Jimmy Carter had his little get together at Camp David. From that time forward ...

1) Egypt has been the second largest recipient of US 'foreign aid', behind only Israel.
2) The Egyptian military stopped buying Soviet weapons of death and destruction, and instead started buying US and western weapons of death and destruction.
3) The CIA developed close ties to Egyptian 'intelligence' and 'internal security'. Beginning under Bill Clinton in the 90's, the US so trusted Egyptian intelligence that they became our torturer of choice. See the case from Italy about rendition, and the wikileaks cables for published details. The US wanted the fig leaf that said we didn't torture, so instead we shipped our desired victims over to the Egyptians and just watched and listened as they attached the electrodes and made the screaming begin.

The bottom line is that the US and European leaders have had a great deal to say about what has gone on in Egypt for the last 30 years, and certainly for the 20 years since the fall of the Soviet Union. We were giving massive aid to a struggling economy. Which means we had the leverage to get what we wanted whenever we wanted it. We were closely tied to the Egyptian military. Since they used our 'stuff', we had them by the short hairs if they ever tried to do something we didn't like. And, we were obviously closely tied to Egyptian intelligence and police.

From this situation, basic logic says that what you saw in Egypt under the end of the Mubarak regime was exactly what US and European leaders wanted to see in Egypt. A brutal dictatorship that was subservient to the US and friendly to Israel. Rigged 'Elections' where opponents were banned and the great leader gets 90% of the vote. Secret police and torture aimed at keeping the population under control.

The US had a great deal to say about what Egypt looked like for 30 years. To see what US and European leaders really want for Egypt, one only needs to look at the results of those 30 years.