Remarks by Republican House Speaker John Boehner that the Obama administration handled "a very difficult situation in Egypt about as well as possible" is proof that when it comes to US imperial needs such as ensuring the flow of oil through the Suez Canal, both political parties in America have the same agenda. Controlled by the same AIPAC ( American Israel Public Affairs Committee) defense industry and oil interests, the remarks by Boehner reveal that any republican politician in control of the Executive branch would have done the same thing as the Obama administration did in reacting to the popular uprising in Egypt.
In addition to the concession that the Obama administration handled the situation in Egypt as well as possible, the chain smoking tanned politician from Ohio revealed how ignorant he is to what the over paid contractors and government employees of the national security state apparatus are doing. The remarks by Boehner that the uprising "surprised everyone," including U.S. intelligence officials, is a euphemism for saying that the US was surprised that the dreaded secret police or Mukhabarat were not able to suppress the revolution.
According to previously classified U.S. State Department cables, US officials were very aware of power of the Mukhabarat to suppress and intimidate any kind of opposition in Egypt. One cable even declared that the police force and security service in Egypt were wholly out of control. The cables suggested that torture was routinely used against ordinary criminals, Islamist detainees, opposition activists and bloggers.
As reported by the previously classified U.S. State Department cable:
The March 2009 cable also discussed the role of bloggers in Egypt and that several bloggers were taken into custody for their denouncements of the Mubarak regime and police brutality of the Mukhabarat.
While the speech by Boehner was meant for an American audience ignorant of the Wikileaks cables, for this blogger, his statements were a confirmation that both political parties in America care more the status quo interests in the Middle East than they do about democracy and the will of the majority population in Egypt and other countries.
In addition to the concession that the Obama administration handled the situation in Egypt as well as possible, the chain smoking tanned politician from Ohio revealed how ignorant he is to what the over paid contractors and government employees of the national security state apparatus are doing. The remarks by Boehner that the uprising "surprised everyone," including U.S. intelligence officials, is a euphemism for saying that the US was surprised that the dreaded secret police or Mukhabarat were not able to suppress the revolution.
According to previously classified U.S. State Department cables, US officials were very aware of power of the Mukhabarat to suppress and intimidate any kind of opposition in Egypt. One cable even declared that the police force and security service in Egypt were wholly out of control. The cables suggested that torture was routinely used against ordinary criminals, Islamist detainees, opposition activists and bloggers.
As reported by the previously classified U.S. State Department cable:
"The police use brutal methods mostly against common criminals to extract confessions, but also against demonstrators, certain political prisoners and unfortunate bystanders. One human rights lawyer told us there is evidence of torture in Egypt dating back to the time of the pharoahs. NGO contacts estimate there are literally hundreds of torture incidents every day in Cairo police stations alone," one cable said.
Under Hosni Mubarak's presidency there had been "no serious effort to transform the police from an instrument of regime power into a public service institution", it said. The police's ubiquitous use of force had pervaded Egyptian culture to such an extent that one popular TV soap opera recently featured a police detective hero who beat up suspects to collect evidence.The public ignorance displayed by Boehner that the uprising surprised everyone is an excuse for the politician to request more money for the national security state apparatus while cutting domestic programs like home heating grants for poor people in the winter time. As Wikileaks cables revealed in March 2009, US Officials well well aware of the Internet being used as a political mobilization tool when the US cable discussed the April 6, 2008 strike orchestrated through Facebook.
Some middle-class Egyptians did not report thefts from their apartment blocks because they knew the police would immediately go and torture "all of the doormen", the cable added. It cited one source who said the police would use routinely electric shocks against suspected criminals, and would beat up human rights lawyers who enter police stations to defend their clients. Women detainees allegedly faced sexual abuse. Demoralized officers felt solving crimes justified brutal interrogation methods, with some believing that Islamic law also sanctioned torture, the cable said.
The March 2009 cable also discussed the role of bloggers in Egypt and that several bloggers were taken into custody for their denouncements of the Mubarak regime and police brutality of the Mukhabarat.
1. KEY POINTS — (C) Egypt's bloggers are playing an increasingly important role in broadening the scope of acceptable political and social discourse, and self-expression.
-- (C) Bloggers' discussions of sensitive issues, such as sexual harassment, sectarian tension and the military, represent a significant change from five years ago, and have influenced society and the media.
-- (C) The role of bloggers as a cohesive activist movement has largely disappeared, due to a more restrictive political climate, GOE counter-measures, and tensions among bloggers.
-- (C) However, individual bloggers have continued to work to expose problems such as police brutality and corporate malfeasance.
2. (C) Comment: The government generally allows bloggers wide latitude in posting material critical of the GOE.
Exceptions to this policy are bloggers who directly insult President Mubarak or Islam, and the government has arrested and jailed bloggers who have crossed these red-lines. The GOE has also arrested activists, such as XXXXXXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXXXXXX, who have used blogging to organize and support protests (refs A and C). Activists are increasingly writing blogs to advance their political aims. Contacts accurately point out that bloggers have ceased to function as a cohesive activist movement. It is noteworthy that bloggers did not play a significant role in the most recent example of mass cyber-activism — the April 6, 2008 strike orchestrated through Facebook (ref G).
While the speech by Boehner was meant for an American audience ignorant of the Wikileaks cables, for this blogger, his statements were a confirmation that both political parties in America care more the status quo interests in the Middle East than they do about democracy and the will of the majority population in Egypt and other countries.
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