Comments on: UPDATE II: Egypt In Economic Context (‘A Wave of Global Inflation’)

By: Mike Marks

Mike Marks — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 17:01:07 +0000

The economic conditions in Egypt appear to be self inflicted. It’s is not clear to me what the forces in the Egyptian streets represent. My guess is the people in the streets represent a wide variety of interests from economic, to political freedoms, to Islamic fundamentalists, to name a few.

In the end it may not matter. If Murbarak decides to crush the rebellion (refer to Tinamen Square) then Egypt will continue on it arc of economic decline. On the other hand if Mubarak steps down the transfer of power to a new government must be done in a careful, clear, orderly way. In the short term a so called power vacuum will exist. It is not clear to me whether the Muslim Brotherhood has enough power/support to take over either through a direct coup or through the ballot box.

I don’t believe it is in anyone’s best interests if Egypt becomes another Islamic Theocracy.

It also appears that the United States has been supporting both sides in this situation. I realize that foreign policy in operation can be pretty ugly business. However, I still think our fundamental principles (however lost they may be) should still guide our actions abroad. I don’t believe that trying to manipulate the political conditions in Egypt is what President Washington meant by avoiding entanglements in foreign powers.

By: Dan Jeffreys

Dan Jeffreys — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 16:42:04 +0000

It doesn’t matter how many times our government promotes democracy in the middle east and they get a Hamas-like out come, they keep trying it over and over again expecting a different result. Didn’t I once hear that as the definition of insanity?

Dan

By: Sioux

Sioux — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 15:23:45 +0000

If the Muslim Brotherhood takes over in Egypt, that 50% unemployment will go through the roof. Do I care – not really – they are reaping what they have sowed, as you say. I wonder how tourism will be affected – who in their right mind would want to visit the pyramids with that group in charge – doubt if the MB cares about that either.

If you can call Barry’s words “intervention” then yes, he is sticking his nose in to give “moral” support to Mubarek’s enemies. Would he send troops there? Of course not.

By: Henry Bowman

Henry Bowman — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 14:44:59 +0000

“the country’s inefficient state-run industries, its bloated public sector, and its large military investments resulted in inflation, unemployment, a severe trade deficit, and heavy public debt.”

Sounds remarkably like the current U. S. of A. With regard to “American exceptionalism”, it seems to be that one of the major ways that the U.S. has historically been exceptional was in its relatively free-market approach to domestic problems (the U.S. has historically used tariffs to excess). This has helped the country in a myriad of ways. Under FDR and his recent clone, Barack Obama, the country is headed down the sewer. The best one can say about Obama is that he is an economic illiterate, although one really wonders how anyone could be as dim-witted as he appears (though Krugman is a good example of such). Another real possibility is that Obama is simply malevolent.

By: Myron Skeptic Pauli

Myron Skeptic Pauli — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 09:51:46 +0000

When rebellion comes, tyrants in power MUST suppress it brutally or it will snowball until Hosni flees and collects the remains of his Swiss bank account. Ask Hafez Assad who gunned down 20,000 to maintain power in Syria. President Buchanan’s dithering only allowed “the rebels” to get established in spite of other advice:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/shoot-him-on-the-spot/

and then it was up to Lincoln to decide to either allow the South to be peacefully independent or to send hundreds of thousands of men to their death:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/the-south-rises-again-and-again-and-again/

As Raimondo notes, for every Havel or Washington, there are dozens of Napoleons (“benign” tyrants) and dozens of Maos (“malignant” murderous tyrants). Few should be optimistic that Egypt will wind up with any Abdul Jefferson … EITHER the Army will back Mubarak and bust heads, the Army with evolve a “kindler gentler” Replacement Mubarak like when the Polish Communists “replaced” Gomulka with Gierek, or the doo-doo really hits the fan and Egypt could get some Moslem Brotherhood “Democracy Theocracy”.

In any case, the American response will be completely IRRELEVANT and counterproductive. One might as well have Netanyahu cutting commercials for Mubarak’s “re-election”!

And when Americans find their own finances gone, IT COULD GET UGLY HERE TOO!

By: Bob Schaefer

Bob Schaefer — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 04:59:04 +0000

Headline from the Daily Telegraph —

“Egypt protests: America’s secret backing for rebel leaders behind uprising”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8289686/Egypt-protests-Americas-secret-backing-for-rebel-leaders-behind-uprising.html

More on the “April 6 Youth Movement” —
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_6_Youth_Movement

By: Sioux

Sioux — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 01:26:45 +0000

Savage is talking about the situation in Egypt right now and how both the Bush and Obama administrations have been actively working on supporting the overthrow of Mubarrek. CAn they be that stupid? Going by actions, that looks about right. If our own Govt. promotes the freely elected Hamas, Hezbollah, Muslim Brotherhood govt’s throughout the Middle East, then why would we be fighting any ground war against Islam? No meddling was Barry Soetoro’s policy towards the Iranians who took to the streets after the Iranian bogus elections. Just the opposite for Egypt. Rage doesn’t begin to capture what I am feeling for my country’s government and how we are messing up the world.

[Is “Barry” really intervening?]