The Neocon desperate Effort to remain relevant

With the Pax Americana dream dying out, the Neocons who spawned it do not see a practical way to revive it at this time, and so they don't try. In fact, their most pressing preoccupation right now is to remain viable as a movement, and they realize that this can only be done if they identify problems they'll pretend they can fix. But what if they don't find any such problem? Well then, they'll just have to make them up.

This is what the so-called “Working Group on Egypt” did when it commissioned two fantasy articles, and had simpletons affix their signatures to them. Both articles appeared on April 19, 2016, each in a different publication.

One article came under the title: “Egypt Extends Campaign Against Dissent to Turtle Bay” and the subtitle: “From Burundi to Syria, the lone Arab member of the U.N. Security Council is sparking concerns that it's working to weaken international human rights norms.” The signature affixed to this article is Colum Lynch, and was published in Foreign Policy.

The other article came under the title: “Egypt's Military Regime Grows More Brutal Every Day” and the subtitle: “Copts Likely To Find Persecution, Not Protection, Ahead.” The signature affixed to this one is Doug Bandow, and was published in the Online Forbes Magazine.

The pair of simpletons are simple-minded because they were asked to do something dumb and they did it not realizing how ridiculous they were. Here is what Lynch is supposed to be fuming about with regard to Egypt's activities on the UN Security Council: “Egypt plans to host a public debate on the need to fight incitement to terrorism and extremism.” And there is this: “Egypt is planning … along with New Zealand and Spain, a resolution urging governments and armed groups to respect the sanctity of medical workers and hospitals in conflict zones.” Gosh, can you believe this? How bad can these Egyptians get! Will someone stop them!

Bear in mind that the two anti-Egypt diatribes were identified by Doug Bandow in his Forbes article as having been spurred by “The Working Group on Egypt, whose members include leading neoconservatives such as Robert Kagan and Elliott Abrams.” It is not surprising, therefore, to see why these people had volcanoes erupt in their bellies, when exposed to what else Egypt has done. Look at the following passage in the Lynch article: “The Security Council has been polarized on many issues way before we joined it. We are in fact trying to bridge the gaps,” the Egyptian official said. “We have been proactive on almost every item. We simply refuse to be part of the furniture, as we are stakeholders on most of the issues on the council's agenda,” he added.

Scandalous. How dare they speak as a sovereign nation? As if this were not enough to set the entrails of the neocons on fire, look what else happened:

“Egypt's diplomatic counterparts at the U.N. say Cairo is shrewdly deploying elaborate and sophisticated arguments on a range of issues to push back on efforts to interfere in the domestic affairs of U.N. member states. Some U.N. officials have also credited Egypt with helping to press for a cessation of hostilities in Yemen … council diplomats say they have been deeply impressed with their Egyptian counterparts' diplomatic savvy … The Egyptians hit the ground running … They have mastered the U.N. Security Council's working procedures, an essential skill for influencing council debates, and Egypt's expert on Burundi, Somalia, Syria, and North Korea have all served in those countries before coming to New York … They are the best diplomats in the Arab world.”

Scandalous. How dare they be this good without obtaining prior permission from a higher authority in Washington or New York? These people must be punished.

Now to the Doug Bandow article. He says the following:

“the Middle East has turned hostile to Christians … also at risk are Egypt's Copts … the authorities did not actively persecute Copts, observed Michelle Dunne … Al-Sisi overthrew Morsi and became president. The previous Pope was connected to Mubarak. Pope Tawadros II publicly supported the coup and called al-Sisi a 'hero' … The church support for the military found itself targeted by angry Islamists … al-Sisi celebrated Christmas at a Coptic service”. What else can a president do to be close to his people? Nothing. In fact, the Christians of Egypt are asking for nothing more.

But that's exactly what’s bad about Egypt, says Bandow. He explains that the Christians of Egypt, including the current Pope and the one before him, did not know what was good for them. And if you want to know why that is, here is Bandow's explanation: “Even if Copts believe they remain safer under al-Sisi, they may have sold their liberty birthrate [he means birthright] for what turns out to be a mess of security pottage. The Coptic Church appears to be on the side of the oppressors … Copts live in the same unfree society as everyone else.” To which Egypt's Christians tell the Bandows of this world: go shove it.

But why is he saying what he says? It is because he fantasizes that “Cairo is engaged in a systematic campaign to shut down organizations which report on government abuses. Scores of domestic and international NGOs are under investigation … which raises questions about the stability of al-Sisi's rule”.

That last statement – indeed the entire two articles – is proven false by what Bandow says next: “In April public protests erupted over the gifting of two islands to Saudi Arabia.” Well, if repression in Egypt is what he says it is, those protests would not have taken place, or they would have been met with such force, people would have died. But nothing like that ever happened.

The truth is that the two islands belong to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fearing an Israeli attempt to steal them, the militarily weak Kingdom at the time asked president Nasser of Egypt to protect them. He did, and now that the Kingdom has the military might to protect them, it got them back. When this was explained to the protesters, they went home quietly.

Now look what else Bandow says: “Egyptians unwilling to turn out on behalf of democracy demonstrated against this public prostration before Riyadh.” Two things are wrong with this statement. The first is that the protesters were uniformed. When they were told the history of the islands, they went home quietly.

The second thing is that the Egyptians will always be willing to turn out on behalf of democracy. They did twice before and they will do it again. For Bandow to say they were unwilling to do so this time is to show how confused the Americans have become about the meaning of democracy and the set of values it represents.

The problem is that for half a century it was drummed into the heads of the American people that democracy is expressed in the form of Jewish haggling, complete with “tough” Yiddish insults. That's what the people of America have come to believe. It's what the congress of the brain dead has come to reflect. And this is why America is paralyzed today.