Egypt

[acockasian]

So what has the US accomplished for 30 years of Egypt in the number 2 spot on the US foreign aid list?

 

Fair chance that it has kept the Suez canal open :content: (Come to think about it' date=' that probably benefits Europe more than the U.S. Maybe the Euros should be providing their proportionate share of any aid.)

 

HH[/quote']

 

Good point and you might be right.

 

[LizardKing]

I would love to end just about all FA across the board.

 

But then again, there may be something to say for paying people not to fight us.

There's a lot of truth there. If we woulda went that route in Iraq, boy, we'd be Billions ahead of the game, eh?

[Central Scrutinizer]

I would love to end just about all FA across the board.

 

But then again, there may be something to say for paying people not to fight us.

 

 

 

Since we are so far in debt, I think a ten year moratorium on ALL foreign aide would be a smart move. And, I don't see where Israel needs, or deserves, our money, and the others hate us anyway, so why give to those that do not even appreciate our help?

 

[Steve]

I wouldn't call for a complete moratorium. For instance, I would feel not only guilty but a bit lacking morally if we didn't provide aid to places like southern Sudan for example and other places facing oppression or genocide or ethnicide. Propping up autocratic strongmen who side with us we can do without. Letting people starve and/or face murder and rape is another matter.

[Steve]

At the risk of hijacking this thread, I don't think Egypt is the biggest concern. At least in terms of our national security. Even if the MB take over I think there are enough moderates and other forces (like the military) that would make it hard for them to export terrorism.

 

The country we need to worry about is Yemen. Far more of a threat in terms of terrorism.

 

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/yemen/index.html

Yemen, home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, is the poorest country in the Arab world as well as a haven for Islamic jihadists and the site of what amounts to a secret American war against leaders of a branch that Al Qaeda has established there.

 

Notice how there seems to be a link between poverty and jihadism?

[LizardKing]

Notice how there seems to be a link between poverty and jihadism?

I used to think that. But that's too easy. Consider the profiles of the 9/11 guys. And some of the others who have been caught or identified.

 

Solid middle or upper middle class.

 

And that's much more scary to me than the poor guys cuz you expect it from them (and they don't have the resources to "make it so").

[Steve]

You have a point. In terms of the masses of the jihadists. It does go to all socio-economic classes. Bin Laden and the senior staff are all highly educated. What I find interesting are the number of moslems who go to Europe as university students and end up as fundamentalists when they weren't otherwise and their families were largely moderates and even a bit liberal. However, I woud also suggest if you count them all as a group the poor are overly represented. The foot soldiers. The leaders are educated which makes sense.

[Steve]

Also, with regards to the pro Mubarak folks, I'd guess that there is a whole lot of folks in the bureauracracy who make extra money from patronage, corruption, etc. who now know they may well lose their jobs from a change of regime. Working for Mubarak would have seemed simiilar to getting a post office or city job where I grew up. Security. I'm sure many of the cops are worried as well. They are the face of the regime. I'd be surprised if there weren't whole scale changes with a new government. So in one sense a lot of them are fighting for their jobs but I don't want it to seem noble. I think you know what I mean.

[chuckwoww]

They're watching Al Jazeera in the White House now! Does this mean everybody can watch it?

 

"For three days straight, as the Cairo crisis gathered momentum, they hardly left their desks. Now, huddled in the big office of their bossâ€â€one of the administration policymakers trying to calibrate the U.S. response to the unfolding dramaâ€â€the advisers watched Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s first statement. Two television sets were running, one showing CNN and the other a satellite feed from Al Jazeera. Someone had popped popcorn in a microwave."

 

http://www.newsweek.com/2011/01/30/inside-the-white-house-s-egypt-scramble.html

[acockasian]

Am not a fan of Soros, but this article is interesting and fits with what I have seen personally.

 

In particular this paragraph:

 

"The main stumbling block is Israel. In reality, Israel has as much to gain from the spread of democracy in the Middle East as the United States has. But Israel is unlikely to recognize its own best interests because the change is too sudden and carries too many risks. And some U.S. supporters of Israel are more rigid and ideological than Israelis themselves."

 

Sadly, Soros talks like what happens is up to the US.

 

Click rink for the whole article:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/02/AR2011020205041.html