This presentation has to do with an article that was written
by Steven A. Cook. It deals with his presentation on two levels. First, there
is the content of the article. Second, there is a happenstance against which I
brushed many times previously but never realized how influential it can at
times be until now.
Let's begin with the second level. I have dealt with columns
that were syndicated to several publications for many years, conscious of the
fact that each publication used a different title under which to print the same
article. Because the articles were printed the same day or one day apart, I
seldom read more than one version. But when I did, I reacted more or less the
same way the second time as I did the first time.
And then I brushed against the Steven Cook happenstance, and
learned something new. Here is the reality, Cook is not a syndicated columnist;
his work appears mostly on the website of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Once in a while I would find an article of his printed in another publication,
but that's all. This time, however, an article that was published on the
Council's website also appeared in Newsweek. But there was a difference this
time. The article appeared on the Council's website on May 25, 2016, and on the
Newsweek website 4 days later, on May 29, 2016.
And let me tell you – those 4 days, coupled with the
difference in the titles under which the same article was printed, made a big
difference. The Council chose the title: “Drinking from the Nile ,”
which probably was Cook's choice. That of Newsweek was: “Don't blame Obama for Egypt 's
political mess,” which represents not the spirit of the article but the mental
disease of the editor that came up with it.
You cannot imagine how much affection for Egypt is packed
in the saying with which Steven Cook started the article. Here it is: “There is
an Egyptian saying that goes like this: 'Once you drink from the Nile , you will come back again.'” That's the sentiment
which is also reflected in the title: “Drinking from the Nile .”
When you see this, when you go over the article, and you see how it ends: “All
of this is a long way of saying, I cannot wait to go back,” you realize that
Steven Cook just kissed and made up with Egypt after a two-year estrangement
because he wants the world to know he loves that country.
Did I get that same impression when I read the article 4
days later under a different title? No, I did not. In fact, having read dozens
of other articles in the interim, and having written and published at least 4
new ones myself, the original sentiment had worn off, and different ones were
enveloping me. It is as if I was one organism one day and a different organism
4 days later.
The Cook article is made of two parts. The first is the
kissing, the embrace, the asking to be forgiven for past indiscretions, and the
promise that he, Steven Cook will be more gentle writing about Egypt from here
on. The second part consists of writing a first draft of the recent history of Egypt ; that which
he witnessed close-up.
Reading the article the first time, I was left with one
overriding impression. It was this: Steven Cook had started a beautiful new
relationship with Egypt .
It is one that distances him from the “Washington-based Egypt watchers”
and from the likes of Michelle Dunne; all of whom are incorrigible in his view.
To display even more affection for Egypt , he threw
into the mix something deeply personal. For the first time, he mentioned his
daughters. It is clear that he is signaling he'll want to introduce them to the
magnificence of that civilization “Keda.” And this is an Egyptian word that
would have warmed the heart of Walter Cronkite because it translates into:
That's the way it is.
So now, what do I make of the Newsweek treatment of the
article? Well, the person that chose the title: “Don't blame Obama for Egypt 's political mess” may or may not be a part
of the Washington-based Egypt
watchers, but he or she is definitely a part of the New-York/Washington
noise-making and disinformation machine.
Yes, it is true that Cook wrote a paragraph under the
subtitle: “For Egypt 's
elite, it is all Washington 's
fault...still,” in which he says this: “The persistence of this narrative is
odd, mainly because it contradicts the record,” but that does not justify the
Newsweek title.
Yes the narrative persists, like he says, but there is
nothing odd about it. The fact is that Egypt 's
elite that's known to Cook lives in Cairo , not
in Washington .
And what these people know about Washington is
what reaches their ears coming to them from Washington .
They have been hearing noise to the effect that: this is
happening in Egypt because Washington did that.
Also, this is not happening in Egypt
because Washington
failed to do that. They heard it on and on and on.
It is the idle talk of a bunch that hungers for an
“exceptional” America
that can transform the universe by uttering a word or two – but cannot find an
exceptional way to realize their hungry dream. And so they talk about it to
make foreigners believe it is real. Well, they have succeeded, at least in Egypt .
It is obvious that neither the elites in Cairo
nor the watchers in Washington
have been reading this website. If they did, they would know I've been shouting
from the rooftops that the millions who demonstrate in Egypt , who speak on television and who write in
the newspapers, make things happen because they do not care what Washington says or what
the local elites hear.