Icheoku tuned into some right wing Republican/Tea Party talking-heads just to feel their impulse on the epochal event currently afoot in Egypt. To our greatest chagrin, they were blaming President Barack Obama for starting the hurricane which is now blowing in the Middle East and which will soon blow away their "American greatest ally, Hosni Mubarak?" They said President Obama's Cairo speech is the trigger of the unfolding uprising spreading through the Middle East.Some of them even went to the extent of saying that President Obama will be held responsible in the event America loses Egypt to the Islamists aka Muslims Brotherhood with the impending departure of Hosni Mubarak? Icheoku asks when has Hosni Mubarak become Egypt and Egypt become Hosni Mubarak that his departure would become synonymous with losing Egypt? Only in the jaundiced eyes of these selective patriots and convenient democracy apostles who has a particular agenda they are pushing - one to embarrass President Obama and secondly to continue to subjugate a people by foisting an unwanted president on them? According to their narrative, the Egyptian people are not matured or civilized enough to self-determine their destiny and cannot do right by themselves without their 'beloved' Hosni Mubarak providing the guiding light? For them, Hosni Mubarak is the one maintaining some moderation in the Arab world and without him, the region will implode and even the Israeli peace treaty will go to hell in hands-basket? They also posited that Hosni Mubarak's ouster is an existential treat to the use of the Suez canal as Middle East oil flow as well as other merchandise through the passage will be negatively impacted? They also theorized in their usual fear-mongering fashion that if Hosni Mubarak is allowed to fall that it will be akin to the Shah of Iran experience in 1979 where Iranian peoples power drove a West-friendly Shah and in its place foist a theocracy that is now vehemently anti-west and anti-America. They also argued that Egyptian Islamic Muslim Brotherhood is inchoot with Iranian government backed Hamas as well as Hezbollah; hence will enable Tehran to extend and exert undue influence within the region and enough to threaten America's interest? Finally, they canvassed that Mubarak's fall will spook other friends of America in that region to rethink their allegiance as it will have such a cataclysmic seismic effect in entire Middle East?
Icheoku says these fears are unfounded and in any event are easily surmountable. They are more of clever antics devised by these naysayers to ginger fear in the minds of American people and thereby force President Obama to continue to maintain a dictator whose time has since come. Regrettably these far-right pundits do not seem to really understand the world outside America or they deliberately chose to ignore it while pursuing their parochial and tunnel-visioned agenda. Icheoku says none of these right-wingers have ever paused to ponder what would have happened were President Hosni Mubarak to just naturally drop dead; even without there being a push in the first place or a revolution now pushing him out? Does it mean that Egypt as we know it would cease to exist in his absence? Does it mean that before Mubarak ventured on the scene there was no Egypt or a leadership presiding over the affairs of the country? Icheoku concludes that America proactively courted Hosni Mubarak and in similar manner, shall successfully court whoever his replacement might be and if he strings out or in any way tries to act stupid, then our boys at Langley should go to work to get ride of him. Such a successor shall have no choice in the matter about his loyalty since it is in our security interest that the Suez canal should remain open and the Middle East oil continues to flow. America and its allies can also go to war to protect these interests if forced by a recalcitrant regime, should the unexpected and unbargained for happen and an unfriendly regime sprouts in his stead. Israel has repeatedly proved that it can take care of business when push comes to shove to defend itself and we can always still chip in if need be. So America has nothing to fear but the fear being generated by these agenda-driven far right wing talkers of American right led by Rush Limbaugh with the impending ouster of Mubarak.
Egypt's democratizing will also remove the fear of authoritarianism in the Middle East, which Israel always plays up that they are the only democracy in the Middle East. Icheoku says there is no better and faster way for democracy to permeate the Middle East than for the greatest and most populous Arab country and the citadel of 'Arabianism', Egypt, to become democratized. As Egypt goes so goes the Arabian countries- from Morocco to Saudi Arabia; and only an anti-democracy-in-Arab-lands scholar would stand in the way of the mass action going on in Egypt to dethrone dictatorship and enthrone democracy. It is a cause worth dying for by Egyptians and worth supporting by Americans. Further Icheoku makes bold to state that neither America nor any other country in the world reserves the right to tell the Egyptians who should rule them; and just like so many countries have term limits for their presidents, Egypt deserves to also have term limit for Hosni Mubarak. In the absence of a term limit definite, 30 years in office is rather too long for just one person to remain in office and this is how long Hosni Mubarak has ruled against the will of the Egyptian people, with obtuse support of the citadel of democracy, America! And this unabashed support is without regard to President George W. Bush freedom-creed that democracy is a gift of God for all mankind and Icheoku adds, Egyptians are part of the whole!
Icheoku wonders aloud whether this is a case of that which is good for the goose not being good for the gander; or is there sphere limitations for the spread of democracy? Is there different democracies when Arabs or other people who are not Americans or look white enough are involved? Say it ain't so Rush Limbaugh and co; that suddenly it is now ok for the government (Mubarak) to be telling the people (Egyptians) what to do and they have been doing so for the past 30 years? Rush Limbaugh please tell Icheoku it is not true that suddenly you find nothing wrong for someone to be ruling against the will of the people or is that an exclusive preserve of the "real Americans" when it involves President Obama; who you continually rail against as ruling against the will of the American people? And if according to your warped ideological driven position "President Obama cannot rule real Americans against their will," why then is it ok for President Hosni Mubarak to be ruling against the will of the Egyptian people? Icheoku says if it is ok for the government in America to butt out of the American peoples business and let the America people chart their destiny, doesn't it make sense then that peoples of other countries of the world including Egypt would desire similar deference by their governments?
It is simply an irrational, impetuous, unjustifiable and rambunctious equivocation in self-denial for Rush Limbaugh and crew to be taking such grandstanding and fallacious position over the Egyptian Mubarak near fait-accompli exit. On one hand they are demanding that President Obama leave American people alone to chart their future and for him not to rule against their will; while on other hand they are not extending and do not want to extend such lollipop to those Egyptians on the streets of Cairo, Alexandria etc. Rush Limbaugh led Republicans and Tea Partiers support constitutional democracy and even recited the charter on the floor of the House of Representatives, yet they disagree with the people of the River Nile who are trying to assert their constitutional right to both to freely assembly and to chose who would rule them? Is it possible that these "purists" think that Egyptians are not capable of taking care of their business and only their Pharaoh Mubarak can hold their water for them; while conveniently forgetting that Egypt has been in existence for more than three thousand years and have survived several hundreds of leaderships down to the soon to become history, Mubarak's? So when Mubarak finally goes as he will definitely very soon, another will leader will succeed him and so goes the cyclical time capsule of succession until the end of time or end of Egypt, which ever comes first.
Icheoku says it is rather very arrogant for anyone in America especially Rush Limbaugh and his cohorts to pretend otherwise or preach one thing while they are busy practicing another thing. Icheoku has in the past written severally on the double standard of our foreign policy especially when it comes to our "spreading of democracy." It also does not also make sense that we went into Iraq to bring democracy to the people of River Tigris and Euphrates and at the same time cavorting with the worst anti-democracy dictatorships the world has ever known. That we have also attacked democracy when we removed a democratically elected President Aristides of Haiti is also an inexplicable act of "spreading of democracy." Now America far right and Rush Limbaugh, Icheoku asks, is Mubarak's Egypt a democracy? What about Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Algeria, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea?, Chad, China and even Russia? It sometimes appears that it is only when our foreign policy interest is at stake and we can muscle our way through that we fan the embers of democracy otherwise why our dalliance with repressive China?
Conversely, Icheoku would like to ask Rush Limbaugh and co, supporters of dictator Hosni Mubarak, whether President Ronald Reagan was wrong when he war-cried "Gorbachev tear down this wall" and with it liberated Eastern Europe in the eighties? Rush Limbaugh, please tell Icheoku what is wrong if America now relives the Ronald Reagan 'tear down this wall' moment in 2011 through President Barack Obama or can't this guy ever do right by your faction of the American polity? Admitted that America has a lot at stake in Egypt including being our foremost overseas wheat market, a Middle East buffer, our Israeli's peaceful neighbor, keeping the Suez canal open for merchant mariners especially to our allies in Europe via the Mediterranean Sea and as Arabia oil shipping corridor; but Hosni Mubarak is not Egypt and these opportunities will endure long after Mubarak is gone. Icheoku says someone else can still be strong-armed to also play ball well enough like Mubarak at the pain of his being taken out, period. Icheoku really do not seem to comprehend the panic mode some of these commentators have put themselves and are desperately trying to engage Americans; as there is no real danger that Egypt will be lost to anyone since they are used to the Western ways and will personally resist any attempt by the Mullahs to take them back to the stone age. It is not going to happen and with it Icheoku calls for a stronger Washington response to the political earthquake shaking Egypt to its foundations. President Hosni Mubarak should be chaperoned into retirement either in Sharm el-Sheikh or Riyadh or California or London or any other country of his chosen; but go, he must as the people of Egypt has in unison said, ENOUGH! Mubarak is down and soon to be out, so there is no need backing a dead horse, he has to leave and NOW is the time for him to leave!
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