"I think the Muslim Brotherhood is not anything to be afraid of in the upcoming (Egyptian) political situation and the evolution I see as most likely," Carter said. "They will be subsumed in the overwhelming demonstration of desire for freedom and true democracy." And he thinks the military will act to hold onto power, but honorably after that.
[Asharq al-Aswat] Everyone believes that the wealth of the former Egyptian president's family is valued at 70 billion dollars, as the British Guardian newspaper reported. Some of our Arab media re-published this information without bothering to question the source of the story, or its background. Of course the speculated amount is incorrect, and the story itself has some laughable details.
When the Guardian published the report regarding the ousted president's wealth, and that of his family, specifically before he left office, estimating it at 70 billion dollars, the world was astounded. At the time, rational minds were afraid to say this figure was incorrect, and the news spread like wildfire. Some of our media reported the story as if it was genuine, including media outlets in Egypt, and al-Jazeera loudly proclaimed the news. For the many who still don't know, most of the report published by the Guardian was based on a previous story written in an Algerian newspaper, "al-Khabr", in late 2009. The original piece was published against the backdrop of the football row which broke out between Algeria and Egypt.
The Algerian newspaper "al-Khabr" was the most important source in the Guardian's story, regarding the wealth of the Mubarak family. When the Guardian published the article, it did not say that al-Khabr was an Algerian newspaper, but instead referred to it as an Arab newspaper. [This was significant] because the British newspaper did not highlight that the report was written against the backdrop of media campaigns between Egypt and Algeria. It also stated that the report was published last year, whereas in fact it is older than that.
Interestingly, and in order to illustrate my point, I conducted a search on the internet and found a comment by a blogger on the website "Iraqi Voice", dated 24/11/2009, and written under the pseudonym "Silent Tears 1". Here I transcribe the comment in full: "developments have escalated in multiple forms, the football crisis has extended to now include all affairs: political, economic, cultural, labour and technical, as well as international, with Gamal Mubarak's threat to take the issue to the international forums, to complain about Algeria. Through their respective media, both countries have initiated a phase of digging up the past, and [speculating] what lies in their counterparts' vaults, in terms of the billions held in global banks. This is what the Algerian newspaper "al-Khabr" did when investigating the finances of President Mubarak!"
The anonymous individual was warning that the confrontations between the two countries had reached the level of media mud-slinging, which cannot be considered credible. Yet the bulk of what was re-published from the Guardian story in our media did not alert us to this fact. The Egyptian media, for example, still demands an investigation into the 70 billion dollars, not realising that the original story was part of a media battle in which Egypt itself participated in 2009, resulting from a crisis about football. What a black comedy this is! [For the record] the New York Times newspaper has quoted U.S. officials saying that the rumours regarding Mubarak's fortune are greatly exaggerated, and that the family wealth could range between 2 and 3 billion dollars!
The intention here is not to defend Mubarak, but rather to defend our intelligence, which is not being respected by some of our Arab media, when they distort the news. After this scandal there must be another revolution in our region, this time within our own media, because it is an intrinsic part of our crisis.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/16/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
[For the record] the New York Times newspaper has quoted U.S. officials saying that the rumours regarding Mubarak's fortune are greatly exaggerated, and that the family wealth could range between 2 and 3 billion dollars!
I think that's high. Hundreds of millions is more likely - consider that the Sultan of Brunei, with his access to $8b in oil revenues per year for many decades, is worth just north of $10b. Mubarak was president, not king. He needed to pay off armies of underlings to stay in power. And unlike Brunei, Egypt has no exportable oil.
#2
It's not what you've got, it's what people think you've got, that matters. If I were Mubarak, I'd prefer if people thought I had 70 billion. 2 - 3 billion is like.... nothing.
THERE is something painfully predictable about the course of the unrest sweeping the Arab world.
In Bahrain's case, the minority Sunni Muslim leadership has watched helplessly as the protest tsunami rolled from Tunisia across Egypt and now to the warm waters of the Gulf.
The first response was to head off the unrest by offering each family $US2700 - in effect, to buy their silence. A similar tactic worked in Kuwait, but it came too late to placate Bahrain.
Members of the disgruntled Shia Muslim majority are venting decades of pent-up frustration against the regime and sense that victory is within their grasp.
When they mobilised on Monday outside the capital, Manama, the authorities turned to plan B: using force to silence the protest.
Riot police fired rubber bullets, teargas and birdshot at demonstrators. Arrests were made and Ali Mushaima, one of the protesters, was killed by police. This was a tragic and stupid mistake. Predictably, his funeral became the focus of the second day's protests, when another demonstrator was killed. This deadly cycle could go on and on.
King Hamad Bin Isa al-Khalifa is now trying to calm his subjects. In a rare speech, he offered his condolences and promised reforms, but the concessions are probably too late.
The grievances of Bahrain's protest movement are longstanding and their demands simple: a new constitution that reflects the rights of the Shia majority, the release of all political prisoners, freedom of the press, an independent judiciary and a halt to the granting of Bahraini citizenship to boost the Sunni population.
At this stage, opposition groups are not demanding the ruling Sunni monarchy be replaced.
Bahrain is a country of 500,000 people, but the stakes could not be higher. The emirate hosts the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet and is a leading banking and commercial centre.
Most importantly, the battle taking place between the two branches of Islam is reflected in what is happening in Iraq, in Lebanon and what could happen in the oil-rich eastern provinces of Saudi Arabia.
Where Bahrain goes, others could follow.
If Bahrain falls to the demonstrators we can expect Iran to be all over them like a cheap suit. If Bambi fails to ensure an independent Bahrain he'll quickly lose the other Gulf States and, of course, the Saoodis. Quick as a wink Iran will control the Persian Gulf.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/16/2011 09:32 ||
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Hat tip Gates of Vienna
So that one section of the population can benefit from long-standing social entitlements, another that is to say the young people who are our children is deprived of all its rights. It's by Portuguese about Portugal, but the relevance is universal
#1
By referring to employment and pensions as "rights" it appears as if the author still clings to the myth that Socialism is a system of perpetual progress. However, reality suggests that Socialism must be practicably managed through programs of dimminished expectations. Therefore, as the cyclical failures arise people must be conditioned to find a class of people to blame - not the system of Goverment. Here the author insinuates that a priviledged generation has stolen the rights of it's offspring. Ironically, these are the exact same rights the State promised the now oppressors. Funny how that works - ain't it?
[Asharq al-Aswat] Certainly what happened in Tunisia was a source of inspiration for the young people who came out to participate in the " January 25th Revolution" in Egypt, and thus two Arab regimes were tossed in a very short space of time. The leaders of both regimes had seemed highly entrenched in their positions, and two months ago no one would have imagined the scenario that took place. After much talk and speculation about who will be next, everyone has looked to other Arab countries. Yesterday, demonstrations and festivities with opposition forces occurred on the streets to show that Iran is a potential candidate to be swept away by the impact of what happened, especially in Egypt.
It was both ironic and amusing that the Iranian Supreme Leader, and the Iran's diminutive President, praised the revolution in Egypt, and the end of President Mubarak's reign. They believed it would pave the way for an Islamic regime throughout the Middle East, yet the Iranian state media declined to mention that demands [in Egypt] were related to freedoms, democracy and the eradication of corruption. Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... having interpreted the Supreme Leader and President's comments as a form of permission, the Iranian opposition requested to go out onto the streets and march in support of what happened in Egypt and Tunisia. Their request was refused, and they were considered to have been motivated by external forces to incite chaos...thus adding another charge to the list of accusations leveled at the opposition in Iran.
There has been a great deal discussion and analysis regarding the "domino effect" theory, and the potential transmission of what happened in Egypt and Tunisia on to other countries. It is certain that what happened will have its impacts, for it was a political earthquake, especially in Egypt, but conditions vary from one country to another. Tunisia inspired the youth in Egypt, but this was not a case of imitation; signs of discontent in Egypt had been clear in recent years. The revolutionary movement had organized forces, strikes, and protest groups by the dozen, until the situation reached its boiling point, and we saw how the scenario panned out.
Iran had its own revolution which took place in 2009, following the presidential elections there. It was called the "Green Revolution", in reference to the "Green Movement" in Iran. The country witnessed street battles and bloody festivities for several days until they were eventually suppressed, and restrictions were placed upon opposition figures and leaders. If the young people in Tunisia and Egypt had been inspired by Iran, as the Iranian Supreme Leader claimed, then they were most likely to be inspired by the 2009 "Green Revolution", which used the same methods and means as them, such as "Facebook" and "Twitter". It was also similar in terms of its fundamental principles, with a youth movement yearning for freedom and democracy. At the time, the authorities resorted to cutting off means of communication on the internet and blocking websites, just like what happened in Egypt for several days. However, The infamous However... the "Green Revolution" was unsuccessful in Iran, due to the religious, ideological, and institutional domination of the Revolutionary Guard.
It is difficult now to determine the strength and continuity of the demonstrations that took place in Iran yesterday, and whether they can be resolute. However it is certain that there is a desire for freedom there, in light of what happened in 2009, and that a democratic Iran would be an important addition to the stability of the region. It is also certain that there are young people in Iran who follow what is happening in the world, and who look forward to a better future. They are likely to wonder: Why did [the revolution] succeed in Egypt and Tunisia, but not for us? Why did the army side with the people in those countries, and protect them, whilst the Revolutionary Guards behave in a different manner altogether?
Posted by: Fred ||
02/16/2011 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
