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[click image]In a distinct echo of the tactics they pursued to encourage US intervention in the Balkans and Iraq, a familiar clutch of neo-conservatives appealed Friday for the United States and NATO to "immediately" prepare military action to help bring down the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and end the violence that is believed to have killed well over a thousand people in the past week.
The appeal, which came in the form of a letter signed by 40 policy analysts, including more than a dozen former senior officials who served under President George W. Bush, was organised and released by the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI), a two-year-old neo-conservative group that is widely seen as the successor to the more-famous – or infamous – Project for the New American Century (PNAC).
Warning that Libya stood "on the threshold of a moral and humanitarian catastrophe", the letter, which was addressed to President Barack Obama, called for specific immediate steps involving military action, in addition to the imposition of a number of diplomatic and economic sanctions to bring "an end to the murderous Libyan regime".
In particular, it called for Washington to press NATO to "develop operational plans to urgently deploy warplanes to prevent the regime from using fighter jets and helicopter gunships against civilians and carry out other missions as required; (and) move naval assets into Libyan waters" to "aid evacuation efforts and prepare for possible contingencies;" as well as "(e)stablish the capability to disable Libyan naval vessels used to attack civilians."
[click image]Egypt's new military rulers, promising to guard against "counter-revolution", faced political pressure on Friday to purge the cabinet of ministers appointed by Hosni Mubarak, the deposed president, as thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo.
On the eve of the rally that will also celebrate two weeks since Mubarak's removal, the military, which has promised
elections within six months, assured Egyptians there would be "no return to the past" of the Mubarak era.
At a gathering at Tahrir Square, which was also to remind the military of the people power that ended Mubarak's 30-year rule, activists urged the military to overhaul the newly appointed cabinet and install a fresh team of technocrats.
Protesters want Mubarak to be put on trial and for Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik to be fired.
"Friday is another day of protest to bring together Egyptians who bravely ousted Mubarak but still struggle as
remnants of the old regime try to hang on and ruin the revolution," Sameha Metwali, an activist, said.
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[click image]— universal rights weren't specified nor were free and fair elections defined; Washington won't tolerate either anywhere, including at home ...
As part of Washington's Greater Middle East Project, [Obama's real agenda] includes neutralizing opponents, securing unchallengeable imperial control, preventing democracy, rigging elections to assure it, militarizing the region strategically, exploiting its resources and populations, orchestrating events covertly, and deciding how and when they play out.
In Egypt and throughout the region, they look similar to US-orchestrated color revolutions in Serbia (the 1990s prototype), Georgia (Rose), Ukraine (Orange), Myanmar (Saffron), Tibet (Crimson), Iran (Green), and currently perhaps Tunisia (Jasmine), and elsewhere in the Middle East, color-coded or not.
They all have a common thread: what the Pentagon calls "full spectrum dominance" for total global, space, sub-surface and information control. Whether it succeeds, however, remains uncertain given America's declining world influence and stature, including on Cairo streets. ...
— for sure no democracy according to Reuters quoting a National Security Council participant saying:
"What the US isn't saying publicly is that it's putting its power behind (Egypt's) generals. The goal is to stack the deck in favor of the status quo — a scenario that removes Mubarak, yet is otherwise more about continuity than change."
In other words, Obama's "orderly transition democracy," substitutes rhetoric for constructive change neither he nor others in Washington will tolerate. As a result, people power faces imperial Washington and Egypt's military, united against populist change. ...
Allied with Washington, the Pentagon and US intelligence, [Egypt's military] supports power, not populist change, a dark reality street protesters better grasp to know what's coming from a post-Mubarak regime. Unless challenged, promised reforms will leave entrenched policies in place, enforcing predatory capitalism with police state harshness, what Americans also endure under friendly-face leaders.
[click image]Media reports say that the Israeli Embassy in Cairo has been shut down following the transfer of power from Hosni Mubarak to the Egyptian military.
The report comes while a senior Israeli official said earlier on Friday that it was too soon to speculate about the consequences of Mubarak’s resignation.
“It’s too early to foresee how (the resignation) will affect things,” the official was quoted by Reuters as saying.
The report followed the transfer of power from Mubarak to the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces, which is headed by Defence Minister Gen. Mohammed Tantawi.
Egypt’s main opposition party, the Muslim Brotherhood, called for the establishment of a civilian government and constitution that “guarantees freedom and human rights.”
The transition of power to the military comes while Mubarak, Vice President Omar Suleiman and Prime Minister Ahmad Shafiq are all former military men. Analysts believe despite the transition Mubarak would still remain in power.
This is while millions of Egyptians have for the past 18 days called for the departure of Mubarak and the establishment of a democratic government.
Earlier in the day vigilantes opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in Egypt in a move unprecedented over the past couple of days.
The shooting in El-Kharga came as protestors took over several government buildings in major cities across Egypt on Friday. The last time that live bullets were used against protesters was on Wednesday, when six protesters were killed and hundreds of others were injured — some of them critically.
Reports say protesters have also clashed with security forces and attacked police stations in El-Arish.
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[click image]Former Egyptian museum director Wafaa el-Saddik said the National Museum in Cairo was looted by its own security guards and that the Memphis Museum, south of Cairo, was "completely emptied" by looters.
"I alerted an army general but it was too late," he said.
Looters also emptied an entire warehouse at the Qantara Museum, near the city of Ismailia, that contained 3000 objects from the Roman and Byzantine periods, a tourism police source said.
Egyptian museum official Mohamed Megahed said there had been "immense damage" to the ancient burial grounds of Abusir and Saqqara.
"Only the Imhotep Museum and adjacent central areas were protected by the military. In Abusir, all tombs were opened with gangs digging day and night," he said.This lies in the background of President Mubarak’s appointment of Egypt’s antiquities Tsar, Zahi Hawass, to a cabinet level post. Given Hawass’ own background and connections to the western elites, this is not a surprising move, but it is one that subtly implies that elite’s interest in Egyptian antiquities.
[click image]... The U.S. does not want a people's government in Cairo.
Martin Indyk, a former Clinton Administration official at the U.S. National Security Council with an area of responsible for the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and an individual closely tied to the Obama Administration, told The New York Times that the U.S. must work towards bringing the Egyptian military into control of Egypt until a "moderate and legitimate political leadership [can] emerge." Not only did Indyk call for a military takeover in Egypt, he also used U.S. State Department double-speak. What U.S. officials mean by "moderate" are dictatorships and regimes like Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Jordan, Morocco, and Ben Ali's Tunisia. As for legitimacy, in the eyes of U.S. officials, it means individuals who will serve U.S. interests.6:00pm: The CIA chief reportedly says there is a "strong likelihood" Mubarak will step down tonight.
5:39pm: Huge chant, Tahrir Square seemingly in unison, shouting: "The army and the people in one hand - the army and the people are united."
5:35pm: Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera's correspondent, reports: "Now, for the first time, we are getting the sense that senior military officers are discussing 'national issues', which is a very significant development indeed."
5:30pm: "Ambiguous" statement from military confirms its “commitment and responsibility to safeguard the people and to protect the interests of the nation, and its duty to protect the riches and assets of the people and of Egypt”. Mentioned the demands of the people are “lawful and legitimate”. Understood the military council met separately from Mubarak.
5:23pm: NDP Secretary General Hossam Badrawi says he expects Mubarak to respond to the demands of the people tonight. An official statement from the military is imminent.
5:20pm: A senior military commander is reported to have told protesters that all their demands will be met, but no official confirmation is yet available.
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[click image]Egyptian labour unions have gone on a nationwide strike, adding momentum to pro-democracy demonstrations in Cairo and other cities. ...
The government seems to be scrambling under pressure from major powers and pro-democracy supporters, Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker reported from the city.
She said people in Tahrir Square were angered by a visit from Tamer Hosni, a famous Arab pop star, on Wednesday morning.
Hosni previously made statements telling the demonstrators to leave the square, saying that Mubarak had offered them concessions. "His comments really did not go down very well," our correspondent said. The crowd reacted angrily and the military had to intervene to keep them away from him.
[click image]The United States government's scenario for an end to the political chaos in Egypt appears to be this: President Hosni Mubarak travels to Germany for a "prolonged health check" that would offer the 82-year-old a dignified departure. Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that secret talks to that effect were being held between the US government and Egyptian military officials.
According to information obtained by SPIEGEL ONLINE, plans for a possible hospital stay in Germany are far more concrete than had been assumed so far. Talks are already being held with suitable hospitals, particularly with the Max-Grundig-Klinik Bühlerhöhe in the southwestern town of Bühl near Baden-Baden, SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned from sources close to the clinic. The hospital management declined to comment.
The luxury clinic has an excellent reputation, as well as a respected oncology department, and says on its website it offers "first-class medical care" and the "comfort and service of a top hotel." Patients are accommodated in suites up to 200 square meters (2,152 square feet) in size. Former Ukrainian President Vickor Yushchenko and former Russian Economics Minister German Gref have been treated there.
Oddly, not a single journalist raised this extraordinary connection with US government officials — nor the blatant conflict of interest it appears to represent.
Mr Wisner is a retired State Department 36-year career diplomat – he served as US ambassador to Egypt, Zambia, the Philippines and India under eight American presidents. In other words, he was not a political appointee. But it is inconceivable Hillary Clinton did not know of his employment by a company that works for the very dictator which Mr Wisner now defends in the face of a massive democratic opposition in Egypt.
So why on earth was he sent to talk to Mubarak, who is in effect a client of Mr Wisner's current employers?How many American politicians with a national platform over the last thirty years have failed to convert their political standing into great personal wealth? Perhaps only those who began their political careers with great wealth. Ex-Presidents and their wives and top aides are routinely lavished with many millions of dollars from media companies and other corporations for books, speeches and other services (Obama didn't even wait to become President to capitalize on his political celebrity), while a large portion of ex-members of Congress and administration officials with any real power feed at the trough of corporate largesse in exchange for peddling their influence. It would literally be impossible to list all the top officials from both parties who have quickly converted their political influence into vast personal wealth over the past two decades; it'd be much quicker to list the few who haven't.
And that's to say nothing of the virtually limitless political power automatically wielded by those with great private wealth, who own America's government institutions and literally write most of its laws.
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[click image]In Egypt, the die is now in the process of being cast and most sheeple (especially the young university-class air heads hysterically spouting off about "freedom" [LOL] to western news media — they can't think, only parrot and go into denial) are too lazy and dumb to realize it, because they are obsessed with eating, TV, money and ego while their nations, freedoms and children's future are stolen from them under their noses without their even realizing it. Gulag candidates.
[click image]Former vice president Dick Cheney late Saturday praised beleaguered Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as a "good friend" to the United States, and called for an evenhanded US response to continuing unrest in Egypt.
"I think President Mubarak needs to be treated as he's deserved over the years, because he has been a good friend, not only to the United States but a lot of other folks that we do business with," Cheney said a gathering in Santa Barbara, California to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of late US president Ronald Reagan.
"He's been a good friend and ally of the United States and we need to remember that," Cheney said.
Despite those words of support, on the issue of whether Mubarak can or should hold on to power, the former vice president added: "There comes a time for everyone to hang it up and move on."
"That's a decision only the Egyptians can make," Cheney said.
He made his remarks as US President Barack Obama stepped up a diplomatic effort for a quick transition of power in Cairo.
Obama underscored the need for "an orderly, peaceful transition, beginning now," the White House said in a statement on Saturday as a 12-day protest for an end to Mubarak's 30-year-rule showed no sign of abating.
Some 300 people have been killed since anti-Mubarak demonstrations erupted on January 25.
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No one has to "marry" anyone else politically; no one has to embrace every tenet or belief that an anti-imperialist ally might hold. You simply have to say: "All of us, regardless of our other views, believe this truth to be self-evident: dismantling the empire will bring immediate and enormous benefits to our nation and to the world."
If in your travels you meet the Buddha, throw him through your tv set.
—Davis Fleetwood
I've found that culture, however useful and important, is neither the foundation nor the ceiling of human experience, even if it is commonly used for walls.
I really consider President and Mrs. Mubarak to be friends of my family. So I hope to see him often here in Egypt and in the United States. —Hillary Clinton
