Hope in Egypt

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20661758#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

I'm encouraged by the diligent protests in Egypt. The protesters aren't falling for weak promises. However, I would like to hear a concerted call among protesters for property rights, free speech, freedom of religion, etc, because unless the Egyptian people can demand a Constitution that limits the power of someone like Morsi, all rulers will grab power. David Ignatius was on a program this morning blaming the problems on Morsi the individual, as if someone else from the Muslim Brotherhood might have done things differently.

When centuries of despotism have characterized the politics of a region, and when politics have been religionized by  tyrants who've perverted the religion to give the elite few complete control over religious adherents, then it takes more than protesting in the streets over one individual. The system has to be completely reformed, or it will be one tyrant after another, and if Morsi can get the military to back him, the persistent protests will be squashed -- and according to their Constitution, the military reaction will be warranted.

The American Left and the Arab Spring

As the Left continues to berate Republicans for being so optimistic regarding Romney's election chances here at home, they forget how they passionately praised the Arab Spring uprising in Eqypt as cooler headed sceptics warned that the Muslim Brotherhood is more wintery than springish.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/egyptian-opposition-leader-pharaoh-morsi-must-rescind-recent-edicts-or-cycle-of-violence-likely-to-begin/

Morsi is a dictator, and the entire region is structurally and intellectually designed for tyranny. Until there is a grassroots movement to institute economic freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, property rights, etc, there will one dictator after another with civil wars in between.

Up with Chris Hayes 9/15/2012 -- Do they even believe what they say?

Chris Hayes was out this morning and Sam Seder took his place. Reza Aslan and a few other foreign relations experts were on --- they first talked about the mideast riots, but only as a prelude to Romney-bashing. MSNBC is absolutely the most biased, dishonest, phony news outlet in major media. Granted, a lot of their programs are opinion shows, but now all the shows have opinions and they are all alike with the same Democratic Party talking points.

The experts all pontificated on how ignorant Americans are regarding mideast complexities. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm beyond tired of being told how much I don't know about the real mideast. The ironic part was that the guests talked about how the rioters are a very small faction among millions who aren't radicalized, then later in the program a real Egptian lady was interviewed, and she said the media (the government) was using the anti-Islam film as a way to stir up hatred and violence. Yes, I see, it is complex. The moderates want to agitate poor radicals to hate America and Israel even more. So far, though, I fail to see what I've misunderstood.

It appears that the money we give Egypt and Libya could be used to protect our embassies, at least. But in all this madness, and in all of Obama's convoluted messages, the one thing that is truly despicable is Mitt Romney's response. What was his repsonse? It hardly matters.

Morning Joe 9/13/2012 -- Now Yemen

On Morning Joe today, the crew took more pot shots at Mitt Romney for his criticism of Obama's response to the Egyptian/Libyan riots. Romney spoke to the issue before the ambassador  in Libya was killed, but now pundits and political operatives are saying Romney should have waited to make a statement because of the deaths, showing how incompetent he is in foreign affairs. This is not about Romney.

GOP moderates are even using Romney's statement as a political weapon. The bigger concern is the waste of lives in the mideast as America keeps a presence in the region. J. Christopher Stevens is a high profile tragedy, but his death is no more tragic, nor his life more valuable, than the thousands of young soldiers and innocents who have died in the mideast wars.

Richard Haas and Joe Scarborough were discussing this morning whether the radicals rioting are supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, and whether the governments in Libya and Egypt are moderate, whether they are our allies or enemies. This is insane. The people in these countries are irrational. These countries are unravelling and it's not our problem. John McCain was interviewed on Morning Joe today, and it's sickening to listen to him speak of Egypt and Libya as countries we should help because they are vital to our national interests. McCain would intervene in every mideast country it seems, but McCain's vision of spreading democracy is a failed vision. These countries are free to live as they please as long as they don't attack us. America being in the middle, always stirring the pot, even if unintentionally, is not helping or making attacks less likely.

America has been intervening in the mideast and nothern Africa since the beginning of our country and our interventions have caused more harm to us than benefit. In this region where irrationality reigns, there are no solutions or benefits, only corruption, betrayal, violence, blackmail, religious intolerance and hatred. Maybe there are moderate elements in the mideast who want to live in modernity and trade peacefully with others, but they aren't in control. We have to leave this region and stop pouring money into it, especially when we're broke. 

Now radicals in Yemen are attacking the embassy there. It's time to leave.

Morning Joe 9/12/2012 -- Egypt and Libya

On Morning Joe the main topic for the first part was the Egyptian and Libyan riots and takeover of our embassy -- plus a US ambassador in Libya is reported to have been killed. The radicals were enraged because of an obscure mockery of Allah or something like that. This is enough.

The Morning Joe crew took this opportunity to criticize Mitt Romney's response which called President Obama's response weak. The Morning Joe crew's criticism of Romney was half-hearted, because they know he's right.

I'm not a foreign policy expert, and no on at the White House calls me for foreign policy advice, but I see a few things rather clearly. It's obvious that Islamic radicals in Egypt and Libya and all over the mideast and northern Africa will show offense at anything that rallies illiterate, ignorant people in the region, so trying to word our responses so as to avoid offending the radicals is futile.

It's time we talked to the region as a whole as adults, telling the leaders that we've had enough, and that we're withdrawing all our financial and military support. We should also let them know that we will not stop Israel from defending itself. We should make it clear that we have no intentions of disrepecting or respecting their religion as a part of our foreign policy toward the mideast -- it's none of our business what religion they adide by, that we are neutral on religious matters. It shoudl be made clear that the US is going to completely open up energy production to the private sector. We should let the nations of the region know that we're more than willing to trade openly with any of them, but we'll no longer play cat and mouse military games that waste the lives of young Americans. If any faction in any country attacks the US we'll respond with incredible force, then we'll leave after we've severely punished those who attacked and those who supported the attacks. We will no longer try to mend the mistakes of the past, because the history of the region is so convoluted that all efforts at mending have failed. We'll either start from the present and work forward, or we'll have nothing to do with the troublemakers regarding negotiations and problem-solving.

All the above would be called insanity by the likes of Lindsay Graham and John Mccain, but their policies have failed, so I think it's time to leave the region alone until sane players arise who want to go forward in the 21st century with peaceful relations and free trade. The region will not simply implode -- Turkey and others with great interests in the region will work out the problems over a period of time. America is not the country to be in the middle of this region.