President
Hosni Mubarak evidently has the same hearing problem as
Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier. Protesters have
now been calling for him to step down for the 3rd consecutive
week, so what does he do? He fires his Cabinet. Yeah...
that's the ticket, after all, his people need him, don't
ask them, just ask him. He even appointed a Vice President,
his close buddy intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman; actually
the first Egyptian veep in roughly 30 years. So why aren't
the citizens of Egypt excited? What they are demanding is
that he just leave, step down, resign.
It would be best for him to have
his ears checked before the US warships arrive. Quite as
it's kept, there are reports of US warships being sent to
Egypt. The official reason is just in case US citizens there
have to be evacuated. My suspicion is since on of the ships
is said to have 8,000 troops on board, Mubarak's exit may
come sooner than he thinks.
False conscience seems to spread
throughout African dictators as quickly as AIDS or Ebola.
I get the feeling that throughout all the dead bodies, frivolous
imprisonments and torture, these guys have actually convinced
themselves that they're lovable.
The same pretty much goes for Duvalier.
After 25 years he mysteriously returns to his homeland of
Haiti. His spokesman Henry Robert Sterlin said he wanted
to return "to see the effects of the devastating 1/12/10
earthquake." I'm sure if he would have sent a letter,
someone would have sent pictures (never mind that he took
over a year after the quake to return). For Baby Doc-a former
dictator known for political violence, including torture,
starvation and execution (much like his father François
"Papa Doc" Duvalier) by clubbing in the back of
the neck-to suddenly appear with claims of being deeply
hurt in his soul after that earthquake, is like pneumonia
returning after it learned you just had a heart attack.
Like I said, these guys think they're lovable. Duvalier
was at once known to be trimming hedges on the front lawns
of a city in France to squeeze out a living because his
assets were frozen. The French government claims they didn't
know he departed. Can garden boys slip away unnoticed? How
do you explain his being arrested after his arrival and
then being mysteriously released? I believe France is still
kind of sensitive about trying to outright take over Haiti
after getting beat down and kicked out back in the 1700s.
What better reason than to use the all-too-willing Duvalier
to go back in and kick his people back into chaos and confusion
before someone gets an idea to use all that unused earthquake
relief money for the benefit of the Haitians.
Reasons for Duvalier's return was
hotly debated for about a week and a half. One website says
the Swiss ordered him back under threat of having his assets
frozen again unless he takes control accompanied by a squad
of Haliburton mercenaries and local Haitian thugs. My take
is, it's less concern about the results of the quake and
more concern about Haiti's upcoming Presidential Election
that drew Duvalier.
Mubarak's long-enduring leverage
has been his traditionally being the enemy of US enemies;
I'm speaking of the old Soviet Union and radical Islam consecutively.
Egypt has been a US ally since making peace with Israel
in 1978, his problem is the people of Cairo and other cities
in Egypt are now creating their own leverage in their own
way, revolution, the civil disobedience way. Despite the
deaths and even the rise of the Mubarak supporters among
the citizenry (Not really loyalists, but paid riff-raff)
it seems to be gaining momentum. Remember these protesters
just witnessed the overthrow of Tunisia's iron ruler Zine
al-Abidine Ben Ali 3 weeks ago. They know about the rumored
arrest, detainment, and physical abuse of a Facebook activist
Ahmed Maher. The 30-year-old Egyptian is also the leader
of the April 6 Youth. They also know America's record of
either installing, supporting, or at least turning a blind-eye
to brutal regimes.
BlackCommentator.com Columnist Chris Stevenson
is a syndicated columnist, his articles also appear on his
blog; the Buffalo Bullet. Follow him on Twitter(pointblank009) and
Facebook (pointblank009 ) Click here to contact Mr. Stevenson.
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