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Egypt's Palace Coup

by Daniel Pipes
July 2, 2012
updated Jun 21, 2012
Cross-posted from National Review Online

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2012/07/egypt-palace-coup

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If even Time magazine realizes that in Egypt, "The Military Shows Egypt Who's Boss," one figures that the memo has finally been read by the dullest of the dull. Here is the lead-in to Time's article by Tony Karon and Abigail Hauslohner:

When massive street protests propelled President Hosni Mubarak out of office 18 months ago, Egyptians proudly called the event a revolution. Now that revolution is looking more and more like a palace coup, with the Mubarak ouster cleverly camouflaged in the language of democracy by a military working to prevent the total collapse of the old order. By jettisoning a leader who had stayed past his sell-by date, the generals — suddenly sympathetic to the protesters — bought time to re-engineer their hold on power even as the military played its Islamist and secular challengers against each other.

Some of us, of course, have been saying precisely this for almost 1½ years, from even before Husni Mubarak's resignation. Mubarak had displeased the generals, especially his efforts to found a dynasty, and they took advantage of the Tahrir Square demonstrations to bounce him. Simple, no?

Comments: The starry-eyed quality of press reporting on the Middle East upheavals, symbolized by the silly term "Arab spring," meant that most Westerners have been clueless about developments in the region. (July 2, 2012)

Related Topics: Egypt, Media This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.

Iranians ♥ America, But ...

by Daniel Pipes
June 14, 2012
Cross-posted from National Review Online

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2012/06/iranians-america-but

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Not for the first time, a journalist proves an adept reporter but lousy analyst. Nicholas D. Kristof of the New York Times today recounts in "Hugs from Iran" some of his experiences during a recent road trip in Iran. Excerpts:

My 1,700-mile road trip across Iran began with a giddy paean to America, reinforcing my view that at the grass-roots level, this may be the most pro-American nation in the Middle East.

while Iranians are far from monolithic, one feature was ubiquitous: the warmth of Iranians when they discovered I was American.
"We love America!" gushed a former military commando, now a clothing seller, my first evening in the spiritual center of Mashhad. He was so carried away that I thought he might hug me, and although he acknowledged that his business was suffering greatly from Western sanctions, he said he blamed his own leaders. "I can't blame America," he said. "I love America too much."
our trip was slowed by hospitality, for Iranians kept giving us presents or inviting us into their homes.
Compared with my last visit, in 2004, people seem more discontented — mainly because of economic difficulties caused in part by Western sanctions. Those sanctions are causing bitter pain, yet a surprising number of Iranians seem to largely blame their own leaders for the woes.
I think that the expressions of love for America reflect, in part, the intuitive embrace by many Iranians of whatever the state media condemn.

After providing this information – which tallies with what other travelers to Iran have recounted – Kristof reaches an inexplicable and illogical conclusion: "My guess is that the demise of the system is a matter of time — unless there's a war between Iran and the West, perhaps ignited by Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. That, I sense, would provoke a nationalist backlash and rescue the ayatollahs."

Comment: Whence this "sense"? If the Iranian population blames the mullahs for its economic woes today, why not assume it will also blame war on them too? (June 14, 2012)

Related Topics: Iran, Media, Views of US This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.

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