Once again, Bush nostalgia
Issandr El AmraniOh, come on Saad Eddin Ibrahim, for God's sake:
When a billboard appeared outside a small Minnesota town early this year showing a picture of George W. Bush and the words "Miss me yet?" the irony was not lost on many in the Arab world. Most Americans may not miss Bush, but a growing number of people in the Middle East do. Bush's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan remain unpopular in the region, but his ardent support for democracy was heartening to Arabs living under stalled autocracies. Reform activists in Lebanon, Egypt, Kuwait and elsewhere felt empowered to press for greater freedoms during the Bush years. Unfortunately, Bush's strong support for democracy contrasts sharply with President Obama's retreat on this critical issue.
I understand Dr. Ibrahim has reasons to be grateful towards George W. Bush, who forcefully pressured the Egyptian government to release him when he was on trial in 2002-03. But he should remember that Bush's support evaporated in January 2006 after Hamas' electoral victory (and the Muslim Brothers' electoral advance in Egypt). What reform activists in Lebanon — surely this should be "March 14 partisans", who for the most part did not seem very interested in democratic reform and are quite committed to Lebanon's twisted sectarian system, even if they rightly opposed Syrian interference in their own affairs. More reform activists in Egypt were anti-Bush. I could go on about "reform activists."
Also, no need to cite elections over 2005-06 as proof of reform. Egypt's were deeply flawed. The CIA funded Fatah's campaign in Palestine. Most of these elections were already scheduled — Bush did not order them to be held! There are other problems with the piece, but I'll stop here on the details. Ibrahim concludes:
Democracy and human rights advocates in the Middle East listened with great anticipation to Obama's speech in Cairo. Today, Egyptians are not just disappointed but stunned by what appears to be outright promotion of autocracy in their country. What is needed now is a loud and clear message from the United States and the global community of democracies that the Egyptian people deserve free, fair and transparent elections. Congress is considering a resolution to that effect for Uganda. Such a resolution for Egypt is critical given the immense U.S. support for Egypt. Just as we hope for a clear U.S. signal on democracy promotion, we must hope that the Obama administration will cease its coddling of dictators.
This is ill thought out. Obama has actually this year taken a few steps towards pressuring Egypt.
1. The US expressed disappointment over the renewal of the Emergency Law in May, which is more than the EU, which unbelievably put out the following crap under French and Italian pressure:
"I note Egypt's decision to limit the new State of Emergency to fighting terrorism and its financing and drug-related crimes. However, I strongly encourage the government to speed up the steps needed for the adoption of an antiterrorism law compliant with international human rights standards as soon as possible, noting the government's commitment to this goal in the EU/Egypt Action plan and in other forums".
"Note"? As in, "I note you're not wearing glasses today"? Pathetic.
2. Vice President Joe Biden raised the UNHCR's Universal Periodic Review of Egypt with Mubarak. At least there's a sign they're talking about it.
3. The State Dept. has called for an investigation into the death of Khaled Said. The day after that, a new investigation was ordered.
Bottom line: there's been a slight improvement since last year, but it could go much further. Rather than aping a Congressional resolution on Uganda Ibrahim could have called for specific measures, such as: the imposition of conditionalities for the disbursement of aid and the negotiation of any endowment for Egypt, sending messages that arms sales are conditional on freer elections after the disaster of the recent Shura Council elections, and holding to the Egyptian government to account on its claim that the Emegency Law will only be used in drug and terrorism cases.
Ibrahim had a chance at making a much stronger case with specific recommendations. Claims of "Bush nostalgia" won't win friends in the Obama administration — just among the Washington Post's neoconservative editorial board.
Reader Comments (9)
"Once again," as in, this article ran in the WSJ before the WaPo. Extraordinary.
I would be curious to meet one of these "growing number of people in the Middle East" who miss Bush. I haven't yet. A year after he left office, I still listen to anti-Bush rants almost every day. Dr. Saad has flipped his lid.
Expressed disappointment is sufficient? Did you read the rest of the statement? It's almost exactly the same as the EU "crap" of which you are so critical. The ending is even worse. Maybe you're the one trying to make friends with Obama?
"Egyptian Government also announced today that it would restrict the use of the Emergency Authority to certain categories of cases, and pledged once again to work to pass counterterrorism legislation and lift the State of Emergency. Any move to significantly narrow the application of the Emergency Law would be a step forward if it means greater protection of civil liberties for Egyptian citizens in practice. We are confident that Egypt can draft and adopt effective counterterrorism legislation that conforms to international standards for civil liberties and due process. And the United States urges Egypt to complete this legislation on an urgent basis and to rescind the State of Emergency within the coming months."
The United States understands the challenges that terrorism poses to free societies and we believe that effective counterterrorism measures can be based on legal principles that protect the rights of all citizens."
seriously saad? Really?! Though it's almost worth it to see Arabist trying to find good things about Obama administration's Mideast policy
Seems to be a bit of a trend in the US press recently to say that Obama is little better than Bush - has the shock value of a headline that will make liberals click on it (see Slate also: http://www.slate.com/id/2257150/). Jon Stewart of course had the most honest version, comparing Obama's renditions and detention policy to Bush's and taking him to task for failing to live up to his promise to respect the law.
Abdo - as the suggestions I made at the bottom of the piece do suggest I think Obama could go much further. I have been involved in advocating such things in a variety of ways, not all public. I merely wanted to point out that the administration has started to pay more attention to this issue again - fair's fair.
Like Bush, Saad just seems infatuated with the idea of discrediting himself with every opinion he spits out!
What do you mean "advocating" and "not all public"? I'm not sure I follow...you're a blogger, or a State dept consultant or what?
And what "slight improvement" are you talking about? Are you referring to the increase of drone strikes in Arab and Muslim countries, or the evaporation of funding for local education and student exchange programs?
Your analysis is lacking in substance and transparency.
Blogger, for me at least, is not a profession. I am a journalist and consultant who writes, among other things, about US democracy promotion efforts. I occasionally get asked to give feedback to the US government about its policies, which I do so along the lines you'll read in this blog, which the same people making these policies also read. There is nothing suspicious about this.
As for drone attacks, I don't see how they're related to democracy in Egypt. Completely different issue.
Finally, I don't think the US has any obligation to spend money on education or student exchange programs in Egypt. Personally, as a US citizen, I'd rather cut off all US aid to countries like Egypt and Israel where the problem is not that they don't have money — it's that the money is being spent on corruption and the military. I'd rather have the money spent on countries that really need like sub-Saharan Africa or in the US itself.
This saddens me because I know Saad. I travelled with the man a few years ago on his fated Hezbollah trip that got his so much attention. At the time, I liked him because he was open-minded, and he was determined to seek truth from people up front, without reading bullshit in newspapers from a distance. That being said, it is clear his time away from home might have altered his view. It disappoints me because his ideas are so central to the way I changed my view of the Middle East. I miss the man I knew then, and not who I read about now. I guess we all have to pay the bill to our own interests sooner or later.