"You forgot that democracy (...) is allowed for
those who belong to the Islamists to benefit from its fruits only on one
condition — you be a slave for the West's ideology, action, policy and
economy,"
This is a quote from the leader of Al-Qaida, admonishing the Muslim Brotherhood for thinking they could appease the US and still bring in Islamic rule. You can disagree with his general logic but the factual basis for the quote looks pretty solid. Not only has the US and the rest of the West supported the coup (albeit in an underhanded and mealy-mouthed fashion) but they have form. A few years ago we heard constant lectures from the US and the EU on the need for democracy among the Palestinians as a condition for peace talks with Israel. Then when the Palestinians elected Hamas in fair elections the CIA sponsored a military coup in Gaza which failed. That was followed by a successful coup in the West Bank; which was immediately supported by the US and the EU.
The message is clear. The West wants democracy in the Arab world, but only if the 'right' leaders are elected. Hence the lack of enthusiasm for the Syrian rebels.
He also criticises Egypt's secular camp which has abandoned democracy and the peaceful transfer of power, resorting instead to the "Americanized military".
Again he is 100% on the money. And this is actually a more serious problem. The earlier point, that the leadership of the West is utterly hypocritical about the Middle East is old news. They only care about the supply of oil and the security of Israel. The Arab world will never get off it's knees so long as it relies on the good intentions of the great powers. That has always been true for every people in every time. The USA achieved independence not because of the great Powers but due to self-reliance, as did the Irish, as did the Vietnamese, as did the old Eastern Europe. So long as the Arab world contains the old rotten middle class, connected to the army, desirous of the status quo and deferential to US interests, there will be no change. And Al Qaida is part of this problem. So long as anti-western nationalism is tied up with militant Islam it is easy to split the urban westernised middle-class from the Arab poor. But if a leader of the stature of Nasser, an Arab nationalist with support from secular and Islamic groups, were to appear, with genuine popular support, then (as before with Nasser) we would see real change. Change which would be "of the people, by the people, for the people".
This is a quote from the leader of Al-Qaida, admonishing the Muslim Brotherhood for thinking they could appease the US and still bring in Islamic rule. You can disagree with his general logic but the factual basis for the quote looks pretty solid. Not only has the US and the rest of the West supported the coup (albeit in an underhanded and mealy-mouthed fashion) but they have form. A few years ago we heard constant lectures from the US and the EU on the need for democracy among the Palestinians as a condition for peace talks with Israel. Then when the Palestinians elected Hamas in fair elections the CIA sponsored a military coup in Gaza which failed. That was followed by a successful coup in the West Bank; which was immediately supported by the US and the EU.
The message is clear. The West wants democracy in the Arab world, but only if the 'right' leaders are elected. Hence the lack of enthusiasm for the Syrian rebels.
He also criticises Egypt's secular camp which has abandoned democracy and the peaceful transfer of power, resorting instead to the "Americanized military".
Again he is 100% on the money. And this is actually a more serious problem. The earlier point, that the leadership of the West is utterly hypocritical about the Middle East is old news. They only care about the supply of oil and the security of Israel. The Arab world will never get off it's knees so long as it relies on the good intentions of the great powers. That has always been true for every people in every time. The USA achieved independence not because of the great Powers but due to self-reliance, as did the Irish, as did the Vietnamese, as did the old Eastern Europe. So long as the Arab world contains the old rotten middle class, connected to the army, desirous of the status quo and deferential to US interests, there will be no change. And Al Qaida is part of this problem. So long as anti-western nationalism is tied up with militant Islam it is easy to split the urban westernised middle-class from the Arab poor. But if a leader of the stature of Nasser, an Arab nationalist with support from secular and Islamic groups, were to appear, with genuine popular support, then (as before with Nasser) we would see real change. Change which would be "of the people, by the people, for the people".
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