Quote:
Originally Posted by powerclown
Be that as it may...I would only point out that there were no mass revolutions going on before Hussein took the fall. Now why is that, I would ask? I think these protests would have been unthinkable 10 years ago. There was no momentum towards reform, there was no momentum towards challenging one's dictator...the people across the region were asleep, the idea of democracy was dormant. There was the same old same old of local repression and dictatorship. Bush2 comes along with this outrageous idea of Democracy in the Middle East as a solution to another potential 9/11. Go back and read the transcripts...this was his vision of a cure to what ailed 'em. I think we can all agree the region has been in need of reform for a long time; I would posit that - ironically enough - no one put forth the example of civil rights, representative government and everything else the arab street are demanding right this minute moreso than Bush2.
|
Like ace, IMO, you are giving way too much credit to the so-called Bush Doctrine, which was not only about promoting democracy, but also about the US having the right to invade sovereign nations that support terrorism or pose a direct threat ot the US (ie his justification for invading Iraq).
Most of the organizers of the revolution, and many of those who joined in, were college students or young unemployed workers.
When Bush made his post-9/11 speech, they would have been in their teens. IMO, it is a stretch to believe they were influenced by Bush's speech, assuming they were even aware of it. Would you have been influenced by a speech by a foreigner when you were 13-17 yrs old?
In fact, most of Egypt's population(60%+) are under 30.
In several reports I recall viewing, some mentioned Obama's 2009 Cairo speech, something many of them witnessed and heard first hand.
But I think that is a bit a stretch as well.