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2013-04-20 Government
U.S. Fears Arab Spring Hopes Being Crushed
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Posted by Fred 2013-04-20 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11126 views ]  Top

#1 ... ya think?
Posted by Mikey Hunt 2013-04-20 00:28||   2013-04-20 00:28|| Front Page Top

#2 In other news; Mafeking has been relieved and Baden-Powell continues his letter writing campaign.
Posted by Besoeker 2013-04-20 00:43||   2013-04-20 00:43|| Front Page Top

#3 Pigs can't fly --- what a surprise!!!
Posted by g(r)omgoru 2013-04-20 02:46||   2013-04-20 02:46|| Front Page Top

#4 He who is willing the Fates will lead, he who is unwilling they drag. - Seneca
Posted by Procopius2k 2013-04-20 07:39||   2013-04-20 07:39|| Front Page Top

#5 Fears?
Posted by Thor Phereng8716 2013-04-20 09:41||   2013-04-20 09:41|| Front Page Top

#6 The "Arab Spring" isn't just one set of conditions in one country. While Islamists have pushed to the fore in the countries who've tossed their old (literally) dictators, the results haven't been uniform.

Morocco: Islamists in parliament, king remains in power. When Islamists push, liberals shove back. I wish we had better press coverage, because it's an interesting process.

Mauretania: Ould Whatsisname out, cracking down on Qaeda stomping back and forth across its burnin' sands. Who ever heard of the place a few years ago?

Mali: Half the country stolen away by Tuaregs, who then had their ill-gotten gains hijacked by AQIM. La Belle France steps in and chases them out in approximately no time flat.

Algeria: Same old regime in power, but AQIM (ex-GSPC) no longer controls territory.

Tunisia: Islamist Ennahda government, Salafists acting up sufficiently for most people to be sick of Islamism.

Libya: Qadaffy & Sons gone, slowly emerging from a state of anarchy. Benghazi's a problem center, as are a few revanchist tribal areas, but Tripoli's going about the process of turning into an actual country.

Egypt: Mubarak gone, Moslem Brüderbund in power, large segments of the population already sick of them. Sinai's a problem area because of Qaeda infiltration.

Yemen: Saleh's out of power, his influence (and relatives) slowly being discarded. Qaeda took Zinjibar and most of Abyan, plus lots of other territory in the south while Saleh was being dumped--he helped them do it, so he could have a threat to point to--and then when Saleh was out the Yemeni army tossed Qaeda with relative ease. Houthis present a problem because they're Iranian catspaws, and the southern independence movement presents a problem because it's genuine.

Bahrain: Shiites gripe against Sunni king with Iranian support. Low-grade fire that'll likely burn out with time and moderation from the regime.
Posted by Fred 2013-04-20 10:25||   2013-04-20 10:25|| Front Page Top

#7 As one can see from Fred's most excellent synopsis, the whole problem with the ME is the Juices. (yeah, that's snarkasm)

Actually, despite all the turmoil, I read this as a net positive. Egypt, for example, is going to crash hard, but the people will realize the Mozzie Bruders are just the same old thugs in a new package. It will eventually become tiresome. How long is eventually? Ah, there's the rub!
Posted by SteveS 2013-04-20 11:12||   2013-04-20 11:12|| Front Page Top

#8 RE: Egypt here.

The essay about Israel above provided some info that I'd missed previously.

Israel, with the Chinese, are in effect building direct competition for the Suez canal with what sounds like a train from Eilat to the Med.

Given the ructions around Suez this could be a real downer for Egypt's finances as if another one was needed.
Posted by AlanC 2013-04-20 11:32||   2013-04-20 11:32|| Front Page Top

#9 You mean the food riots turned out to be just....food riots?

Posted by no mo uro 2013-04-20 12:44||   2013-04-20 12:44|| Front Page Top

#10 Sorta No Mo... the food riots had the underlying cause in Climate Change. The US took all the Egyptians maize and turned it into cheap motion lotion for our SUVs. It was BusHilters idea. If the 1% had paid their fair share (1%) well things might have been different.

Posted by Shipman 2013-04-20 15:18||   2013-04-20 15:18|| Front Page Top

#11 and the Joooo locust plague
Posted by Frank G 2013-04-20 16:41||   2013-04-20 16:41|| Front Page Top

#12 ..... well yeah, obviously.
Posted by Shipman 2013-04-20 16:48||   2013-04-20 16:48|| Front Page Top

#13 Shipman, you're freaking me.
Posted by no mo uro 2013-04-20 17:10||   2013-04-20 17:10|| Front Page Top

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