Barack Obama’s Adventures in Egypt’s Wonderland
By Larry Johnson on February 13, 2011 at 11:45 PM in Current Affairs
* Bumped Up *
Who knew? Lewis Carroll is still alive but is now writing his marvelous works of fantasy for Barack Obama rather than waste any more literary effort on young Alice Liddell. Who better than Carroll, who pioneered the art of literary nonsense in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, to launch a new genre for Barack Obama–political nonsense?
So we have the cable channels and the internet, not to mention Twitter, all a flutter over the euphoria and joy of the dawn of democracy in Egypt. Hell, this foolishness is not confined only to Democrats or to Barack Obama, I heard a clip of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham getting all teary eyed over the wonder of the dawn of political life in Egypt. Only thing lacking was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir belting out Handel’s Hallelujah chorus.
We are now officially in upside down land. Lewis Carroll’s Alice would feel quite at home with the bizarre logic now being spouted by leading politicians and pundits. You see? The Egyptian military has dissolved the Egyptians Parliament, voided the Egyptian Constitution and declared itself in charge for the next six months (at least). Now if that ain’t frigging DEMOCRACY in action I don’t know what is.
According to the New York Times:
The statement by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, read on television, effectively put Egypt under direct military authority, thrusting the country into territory uncharted since republican Egypt was founded in 1952. Though enjoying popular support, the military must now cope with the formidable task of negotiating a post-revolutionary landscape still basking in the glow of Mr. Mubarak’s fall but beset by demands to improve Egyptians’ many hardships.
Since seizing power from Mr. Mubarak on Friday, the military has struck a reassuring note, responding in words and actions to the platform articulated by hundreds of thousands in Tahrir Square. But beyond more protests, there is almost no check on the sweep of military rule. Its statement said it would form a committee to draft constitutional amendments — pointedly keeping it in its hands, not the opposition’s — though it promised to put them before a referendum.
While opposition leaders welcomed the moves, some have quietly raised worries about the future role of an institution that has been a pillar of status quo in Egypt, playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in preserving its vast business interests and political capital.
Once upon a time this kind of act would have been called a military coup. Didn’t matter whether it was benign or malicious–if the military suspended normal law and procedure and put itself in charge then the resulting rule of government was commonly referred to as a Military Government. But not in Barack Obama’s new fantasy world of political nonsense. Nope! This is democracy in action. The people have spoken and we should celebrate.
So let’s extend this logic to Iran. Let’s say a million Iranian’s take to the streets demanding change. Let’s say that poor Ahmadhinejad, who is a weak example of a Mubarak type figure, resigns and flees to a resort on the ocean. Let’s say the Revolutionary Guard suspends Iran’s legislature, suspends the constitution and promises (double pinky swear) to hold elections in six months. That is democracy in action?
The silliness surrounding the reaction in the West, especially in the United States, to the political drama unfolding in Egypt is staggering. Self-delusion is a symptom of mental illness. Pretending that Egypt is embracing democracy because the military has taken power is the kind of insanity and bizarre logic that was the hallmark of the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll’s underground fantasy. My biggest problem is that Barack Obama and Lindsey Graham are not children. But goddamn!! They sure are thinking and reacting like children enthralled by a wonderful story of fantasy without appreciating that they are part of an historical event that is likely to shift the Middle East in the direction of Islamic extremism. There is nothing entertaining about that.
by Ronald Scott
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