by B. R. GOWANI
Cautious congratulations
Firstly, congratulations to the people of Egypt who displayed courage and patience in sticking to their demand for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and succeeded in doing so. The Egyptian, Saudi, Israeli, the US, and the Arab governments tried their best to delay Mubarak’s exit. But luckily they failed.
And this is not a “revolution” as the US news media has termed it. Mubarak is gone but the rest are still there. One hated person has left the scene but the rotten system is still intact. Remember? The much hated George Bush left the scene two years ago, but his replacement hasn’t brought much change in the US system.
Secondly, we should refrain from romanticizing Mubarak’s departure because that was just a small step; what is to be watched is whether the US friendly Vice President Omar Suleiman and the US supported Egyptian military helps the country to take a giant leap towards a true democracy or not.
Besides, people shouldn’t forget the fact that several of Egypt’s top military leaders were in the US to attend the U.S.-Egypt Military Cooperation Committee meetings and had to cut short their visit because of the uprising. The US friendly and trained armies around the world have a superb record in crushing democratic aspirations of its populations.
Still, let’s hope, that in the coming months the Egyptians realize their dreams they built in the Tahrir Square (Liberty Square) instead of being offered some cosmetic changes by Mubarak’s cohorts.
Wake up Obama – No time to dither
As usual, the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States failed to foresee the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia and the US government followed the same pattern of standing by its dictator “friend” or “our son of a bitch,” to use President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s words, when the Egyptian people rose. President Barack Obama acknowledged the people protesting in Egyptian cities but his government never came out forcefully in favor of the people and instead urged for an “orderly transition,” a gimmick to buy time and to tire out the protesters. The pressure exerted on Obama from the right wingers, the Israeli Lobby, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab governments to ignore the protesters is understandable but not excusable.
Things Obama government need to do
The Obama government has now grasped the fact that the volcano of public anger in the Middle East has begun to erupt and so any attempt to dowse it would not only be futile but will create more hatred for the US.
It needs to comprehend the truth that the US position as the sole world power has not a very long future because the world is gradually moving in the direction where there will be more than one world power. Keeping this future scenario in mind, the US should try to become humble and friendly so that its past deeds don’t come back to haunt it in the shape of victims’ anger, because by then it will not be in a position to call the shots as it would like to do.
It should firmly inform the Israeli leaders that they can no longer deny the statehood to the Palestinian people. They should order all the Jewish settlers to vacate all the settlements from the Palestinian territories and to settle down in Israel. Israel should also allow the Palestinian refugees to return back. The issue of Jerusalem should be resolved too.
The suppressed people in other Arab countries knew the fact, now reinforced with the Egyptian experience, that if they decide to change their governments then they’ll have to rely on their own strength without expecting any help from the US. It is understood that the Obama government is not going to side with the people, but, at least, in the fast changing world, it should not try to favor the tyrants either.
It should discontinue the drone attacks on Pakistan. This will not only earn some goodwill for the US but will also leave the Muslim militants excuse-less.
It should close down the Guantanamo Bay facility, so the traumatic experience of the 171 prisoners can come to an end.
It should pull out of Afghanistan as soon as possible.
It should stop worrying about Iran’s nuclear program and instead should work to make this world nuclear weapons free. This will take care of Israel’s 200 nuclear weapons too.
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com