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the us is already heavily involved with egypt. they've been instrumental in propping up mubarak for most of the 30 years of martial law he's inflicted on the egyptian people. like seaver pointed out above, the main institution through which this involvement has played out is the military. egypt is the second largest recipient of us aid, behind israel. it is clear---the wikileaks cables on this do it if it wasn't--but it was clear--that this aid owes everything to egypt's having signed a treaty with israel and in so doing become a de facto buffer in defense of american policy toward israel in the region. in exchange for that, the americans overlook appalling human rights abuses except when it suits them as under the bush regime to send people being extraordinarily renditioned so that the egyptians can fuck them up.
the obama administration had moved more publicly close to mubarak after a period of relative distance maintained by the bush people, presumably because if you're going to exploit the fact of torture you need to appear to deplore it. because that's how we roll.
so the problem for the united states is pretty obvious---maintaining position across what could be a revolution.
what faux news is "reporting" on this is idiotic--that "groups linked to al-qeada could come to power"----a transparent reference to the muslim brotherhood, the routine evocation of which has rarely if ever failed to turn on the financial "counter-terrorism" spigot from the americans. but the fact is that they've had nothing to do with these protests---and when they did come out in support of them yesterday, the entire leadership was almost immediately arrested.
so that's out.
i dont know enough about exactly what el baradi's constiuency is to say much about the role he might play, assuming that he doesn't meet with some unfortunate accident in the next day or two.
but i do think the americans are hoping to manoever the army into acting independently of mubarak's government by signaling that the funding is up for review as a result of how the next days go. or the army could act in support of the government if the wind blows that way.
like dlilsh said, all this is a direct consequence of american imperial policies and logic. it's exactly the opposite of the (empty) language of "Freedom" that people who live on this side of the mirror like to flatter themselves by thinking that the united states stands for. this, the opposite side of the mirror, is far more real.
anyway, that's kinda where i think things are.
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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
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