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May 23, 2013
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 Dispatches From Cairo: Game of DeathPosted on Feb 5, 2012
(Page 2) Recent days have been clouded by tear gas clinging to battered streets where police and the people battle. People choking, throwing up, throwing rocks, ferrying the injured on motorcycles to quickly established field hospitals. A Twitter-organized volunteer system of food and blanket delivery snapped back into function with practiced efficiency. Helmeted members of the CSF have been out in large numbers, notably armed with a new supply of USA-made tear gas stamped “March 2011.” A huge reserve of expired canisters of U.S. tear gas had impressively been used up in the previous months. The people have heaved down a part of the cement-block wall erected by the military to protect the Ministry of the Interior. Protesters are still there working out their anger as I write this, but the overwhelming sentiment of Egyptians since Wednesday is depression. As of this moment, in all of Egypt there have been fewer than 20 reported deaths in protest-related violence since the outrage at the stadium. It seems a light number to us. Some of the revolution’s dead were boys who had desired martyrdom, their images now gracing marches and squares in the swelling ranks of martyr-heroes, but this new massacre didn’t work that way. Recently, we have seen photos of positive, beaming teenagers and other young people happily attending a major football match, some for the first time. Their Facebook pages, full of innocent enthusiasm, also bear witness to the hollow loss of their futures. Advertisement The atrocity at the stadium indeed worked to the advantage of the SCAF if the authorities instigated it in an effort to turn the people away from focusing on the longtime privilege of Egypt’s elite. The budget of the military makes up 30 percent of the gross national budget, and the SCAF’s favored sons hold vast industries and other properties in a country where most inhabitants are poor, unskilled and illiterate. It has never been difficult to spin the common people in circles, and it does not require plans of excessive cleverness (although these plans now sometimes backfire under the scrutiny of Internet-aware young people). The nation’s parliament of fledgling legislators has set special meetings on Wednesday’s sad events. The usual suspects are being called out. Meanwhile, a people shamed by seemingly senseless violence are striking back against the boogeymen they know: the SCAF, mysterious third parties, “Mubarak’s Children” felool (leftovers). It is a dreary continuation of mobilization without foresight. And as Egypt held much of the world’s attention over the last week, forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad slaughtered hundreds of his own people in the Arab Spring’s most horrific massacre yet. In Homs, whole families were murdered, children beheaded. Rockets landed on the anti-government neighborhood of Al-Khalidiyeh. Even Egyptians caught up in their own troubles were stopped in place as the news from Syria flew on Twitter in real time. Across the world, demonstrators attacked a number of Syrian embassies. Among them was the one in Egypt, where the assault was led by Egyptians and Syrians who will not accept the slaughter of their brothers. Blankets and other supplies flow through the revolutionaries’ volunteer stations to multiple fronts now. The people want an end to the military regimes in both Egypt and Syria regardless of what is inside the regimes’ black boxes. They want an end to Assad and his butchering of a Syrian opposition they support. They want freedom, bread and dignity. They want to tear it all down. There are people and tents and empty tear-gas canisters and rubble in the acrid haze of Mohammed Mahmoud Street in front of the Ministry of the Interior. The people still shout hoarsely for the death of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi. There are effigies and signs and the occasional Molotov cocktail sailing through the air to explode in fire. Saturday was the Prophet’s Birthday. It is not supposed to be a religious or largely observed holiday. Usually people give each other sweets, and children get penny toys. My neighbor gave me a bag of halwa and other candies, but most people didn’t even notice the holiday this year, as distracted as they were by the grimness of the current wave. I remember last year’s Melad (Prophet’s Birthday). The revolution was still in the passionate uproar of its beginnings ... and the neighborhood’s kids were smiling from a sugar rush. But the news of the day was not all bad. Two American female tourists who were kidnapped in Sinai Egypt last week were returned safely Saturday and reported that they had not been harmed. They said they were treated “like family” by their Bedouin kidnappers, with whose relatives they shared pleasant dinners. They are continuing their vacation. We are praying that all the people will be delivered from their devils and that somewhere in this chaos someone will remember to ask the right questions, and show the way, and not get swept up, and survive long enough for the people to understand and follow. After the prayers are done, in my head I still see the Facebook pages of two smiling 15-year-olds who died after attending their first major football game; I still hear the mother of a dead 17-year-old sobbing at a train station. And in the physical world I still hear the sounds of tear-gas guns reverberating in the street. … Happy Prophet’s Birthday to you.
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By truedigger3, February 10, 2012 at 9:55 am Link to this comment
Re: By Mark E. Smith, February 10 at 12:30 am
Mark,
With all due respect, no offense intended, your last post lacks logic and commonsense.
Report thisThe US does not need “veneer” to support any government or dictators that are currently in favour. The world is full of dictators, kings and Sheikhs who are supported by the US without any “veneer” of “Democracy” whatsoever.
Mubarak was “elected” and there was a council of “elected” representatives.
The record of the US with its so called “friends” is dismal and not encouraging. The SCAF will not be the last “friend” of the US who get shafted.
The SCAF might fight for its survival and take a chance by confronting the Muslim Brotherhood head on and let the chips fall as may be. That requires resolve and acumen they might have it or might not.
Again as they say TIME WILL TELL.
By Mark E. Smith, February 10, 2012 at 1:30 am Link to this comment
Sorry, Truedigger, but that’s not how the US government does things.
When the US government wanted regime change in Iraq, it invaded Iraq.
When the US government wanted regime change in Libya, it invaded Libya.
If the US government wanted regime change in Egypt, it wouldn’t be talking about elections, it would be dropping bombs.
Don’t listen to what they say, watch what they do.
Report thisBy truedigger3, February 10, 2012 at 1:15 am Link to this comment
Re:By Mark E. Smith, February 9 at 8:56 pm
Mark Smith wrote:
The US is sending $1.3 billion a year to SCAF, not to the Muslim Brotherhood. The US is sending weapons to SCAF, not to the Muslim Brotherhood.
—————————————————————————
Mark,
That was in the past and now it is a NEW CHAPTER. The relation between SCAF and the US is deteriorating rapidly as the US is insisting that the SCAF relinquish power to the “democratically elected” party which is the Muslim Brothehood Party “Freedom and justice” and is threatening SCAF of cutting the yearly $1.3 Billion and who knows maybe much worse threats.
Report thisAs they say TIME WILL TELL and again I hope I am wrong because Egypt and many people are liable to get severely hurt if the Muslim Brotherhood assume power in Egypt. I hope I am wrong.
By Mark E. Smith, February 9, 2012 at 9:56 pm Link to this comment
Truedigger, the US in not bent on bringing the Muslim Brotherhood to power. The US wants the Muslim Brotherhood to play the part that the Democrats and Republicans play in the US, as puppets of the ruling military junta, obedient to the ruling military junta, giving the ruling military junta everything it wants, constantly increasing the military junta’s budget, and providing a sham “civilian government” to make it look as if there’s a democracy instead of a ruling military junta.
If you want to understand what the US really wants, follow the money. The US is sending $1.3 billion a year to SCAF, not to the Muslim Brotherhood. The US is sending weapons to SCAF, not to the Muslim Brotherhood. And look up the word “power” in the dictionary. Power does not mean either obeying a military junta or being assassinated as JFK was. The real power in the US is the military-industrial complex and the multinational corporations it serves, not the impotent puppet civilian government it controls.
Report thisBy truedigger3, February 9, 2012 at 8:41 pm Link to this comment
Re: By Mark E. Smith, February 9 at 6:17 pm
Mark,
I didn’t equate wise with right! There is a big difference.
Report thisYou are partially right but not totally right!
Of course I know that “friendship” in international politics does not gurarantee anything, especially with the all mighty powerful, as history proved.
Do you have any practical alternative. Did you want Egypt to confront the US and face immediate destruction or hope for the best since history sometime takes unexpected turns!.
As I said the US is hellbent on shafting the SCAF and bringing to power the Muslim Brotherhood, which will signal a very dark destructive period in Egypt future. The prognosis for Egypt is not good at all and I hope I am wrong!
By Mark E. Smith, February 9, 2012 at 7:17 pm Link to this comment
Truedigger, the US trains SCAF officers, pays SCAF $1.3 billion a year, and supplied SCAF with more than twenty tons of tear gas just before the “elections.”
If you think it is a wise policy to maintain good relations with the US because it is the world’s only superpower, you must believe that might makes right. Do you? Do you prefer scorpions to butterflies because scorpions are more powerful? Would you rather have scorpions than butterflies in your garden?
Many countries tried to maintain good relations with the US. Iraq did, Libya did, but in the end it didn’t help them at all. As John Foster Dulles once said, “The US doesn’t have friends, it has interests.” It may be in the US interest to befriend you one day and the next day it may not. Scorpions are more powerful than butterflies, but they don’t make good friends and it isn’t wise to get too close to them.
Report thisBy truedigger3, February 9, 2012 at 4:10 pm Link to this comment
Re:By Mark E. Smith, February 7 at 8:42 pm
Mark Smith wrote:
“SCAF is kept in power, armed, trained, and paid by the US to protect Israel.”
——————————————————————————
Mark,
On what basis you are basing such false and unfair accusation.
Report thisYes, the policy of Egypt in the last 30 years was and is peaceful coexistence with Israel and consequently good relations with the US which was and is the wise policy since the US is the only Super Power in the world!!
SCAF is the only glue that is holding Egypt together.
Unfortunately, the US is hell bent on bringing the Radical Islamist the Muslim Brotherhood to power which will signal a dark future, bloodshed and destruction to Egypt first of them is the loss of Sinai Penninsula in contrived war provoked by Israel.
By zoskia, February 9, 2012 at 2:43 pm Link to this comment
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9690344.stm An interesting,short interview with DR Gene Sharp and the BBC…About Violence and repressive governments.
Report thisBy Mark E. Smith, February 7, 2012 at 9:42 pm Link to this comment
What is going on in Syria appears to be a repeat of what happened in Libya.
In Libya we were told that Gaddafi had killed peaceful protesters. It turned out to be a lie and the “peaceful protesters” turned out to be violent Al Quedah terrorists trained by the CIA who had violently attacked the Libyan government. 100,000 deaths later, with Libyan oil in the control of western corporations and the Libyans deprived of their drinking water, which Gaddafi had spent billions to provide, and the free health care, higher education, housing, and other benefits he had given them before the US invasion, when Libya had the highest standard of living in Africa, the truth is starting to come out.
I’m sorry that some Egyptians are apparently falling for the same scenario again in Syria. Most of those I follow on Twitter have not—this time they recognize CIA propaganda for what it is. But then I work diligently at unfollowing the gullible, so my Twitter timeline is different from others.
Whatever Assad may have or may not have done, it is nothing compared to what will happen if the US and NATO are allowed to invade Syria. There were a few of us back when the Libyan propaganda began and the CIA-trained “rebels” were asking for NATO intervention, who kept trying to remind them of Iraq, but they already knew about Iraq and they wanted to do the same to Libya, which they did.
I guess you can fool some of the people all of the time.
SCAF is kept in power, armed, trained, and paid by the US to protect Israel.
Neither US Americans nor Egyptians can ever dream of the benefits that Libyans had under Gaddafi. Assad isn’t that benevolent, but he does have a lot of support in Syria, and if the US and NATO go in and slaughter a few hundred thousand Syrians, the survivors will cherish his name.
Report thisBy Howard, February 7, 2012 at 2:20 pm Link to this comment
well, tuf to make the usual complaint that its all
Report thisIsrael’s fault.
THEN there would be 678 comments !
By gerard, February 7, 2012 at 1:41 pm Link to this comment
When we don’ comment, it isn’t because we are not interested, concerned, worried.
Report this