B. R. GOWANI
People demonstrate against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in front of the White House in Washington DC. Getty/Day Life
In 1953, the democratically elected government of Dr. Mohammed Mosaddegh was overthrown by the United States’ CIA, and the Shah of Iran was reinstalled. From 1953 until February 1979, his autocratic rule was supported by every US government in power. When in late 1978, anger against the Shah’s rule spilled out on the streets, President Jimmy Carter called Iran an “island of stability.” When the Shah was forced to finally abdicate, most people around the world were happy to see him go. The euphoria didn’t last long as the religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini displayed his Islamic stance and people witnessed helplessly as the Shah’s torture police SAVAK were replaced by Khomeini’s Islamic goons. The women who had apolitical freedoms during the Shah’s rule were now being forced to wrap up in chadors.
The Shah went into exile in February, and in October 1979, entered the US for medical treatment. He finally ended up in Egypt, where he had first begun his exile. Hosni Mubarak was the Vice President then. The Iranian government had demanded that the Shah be sent back to Iran. In November, the enraged Iranians took 65 US citizens hostage, and later released 13 women and black captives. The US presidential candidate Ronald Reagan and his campaign team exploited this issue successfully. Carter lost his bid for a second term and the remaining 52 hostages were released after 444 days—within minutes after Reagan was sworn in as the 40th US President.
It has been over a week now that the people of Egypt have been demonstrating for the dismissal of President Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptians were encouraged by the Tunisians’ successful ousting of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The US government, a staunch supporter of Mubarak for 30 years now, is urging a “peaceful transition.” While Vice President Joe Biden thinks Mubarak is not a “dictator,” Farid Zakaria, the Time magazine Editor-At-Large, says Mubarak is a “dead man walking.”
But it appears likely that the US government wants this dead man to stay in the presidential coffin until the next presidential elections due in September 2011. The US and Mubarak probably hope that the people’s anger and energy would die off by then. To defuse the current situation, Mubarak has appointed a US-friendly vice president. (His department was responsible for torturing people who were arrested and illegally sent to Egypt by the US, under the “rendition to torture” program.)
Just as Carter was wrong to support the Shah, President Barack Obama is totally wrong in not supporting the people currently opposing Mubarak for a number of reasons:
Most of the people demonstrating are not communists or socialists so the US doesn’t have to worry about that. Besides, the Cold War ended in the early 1990s.
The anti-US sentiments among the protestors which were absent until now are gradually becoming visible. And the delay in openly supporting the Egyptian people could cost the US more in the long run.
The delay could also prompt the Islamic brotherhood to jump in openly. They may not be that strong but these kind of close knit parties are good at hijacking such movements.
The Islamic parties are usually good at helping distressed people in a timely manner with social programs. Many stores and gas stations are currently closed, and so are the banks. The hardships have begun. The members of the Islamic parties may have begun helping people cope with these hardships.
The Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud has openly expressed its desire for Mubarak to stay in power. He knows that Mubarak’s exit would encourage Saudi citizens to demand an abolition of the monarchy by similar uprisings.
This is the 10th year the US is fighting the “war on terror” in Afghanistan and has killed thousands of innocent civilians without gaining any substantial victory. One can understand that the US establishment is not always looking for victory; sometimes victory means an exit. So if an exit is not on the agenda, then, of course, continuation of the war is the best remaining option. Getting involved in a new “war”, if it comes to that, is not an option for the US.
The US war against the Taliban in Afghanistan has contributed to strengthening the Islamic militancy in Pakistan. Pakistan may have a democratically elected government, but the street power is in the hands of the Islamic militants. And if the Islamic Brotherhood hijacks the current protest movement in Egypt, then it will be a good omen for the Saudi rulers because they will have found a new ally, however, it will be a very bad omen for several countries.
A note:
Many governments, including the US, are worried about the tremendous power of rapid communications, including the cell phone, internet, twitter, and Face book. They have some control to shut these off but they may be planning ways to totally shut off ALL communications when dire need arises. The need for this was demonstrated during the current crisis when the Egyptian government cut off internet service; Egyptians called people in neighboring countries via land lines and asked for their messages to be put on the internet. In anticipation of Tuesday’s one million strong protest by the people, the government has silenced the cell phones.
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com