Egypt’s compliance with Israel in maintaining the siege of Gaza has been an essential element in the siege’s inhumane “success” until now.
But as Issandr el-Amrani blogged yesterday, Israel’s lethal raid against the Turkish-flagged siege-busting boat Mavi Marmara provoked broad, spontaneous protest demonstrations in Cairo.
Amrani:
- this is the biggest protest about Palestine since the Gaza war, in an atmosphere in which such protests have not been tolerated. We might see more in the next few days, including on Friday after prayers.
The regime led by the ageing, ailing, US-backed president Hosni Mubarak evidently decided to respond to this new pressure by opening up Egypt’s short border with Gaza a little bit. Well, that’s what the Egyptian government reportedly announced– though there are no reports yet that any people or goods have actually passed through the vast transit halls at Rafah, which are nearly always– except at Muslim-pilgrimage time– cavernously empty.
I imagine Mubarak and all the contenders to the power of his throne would like nothing better than to have the whole Gaza crisis simply disappear from the diplomatic radar screen. As I have blogged here quite frequently over the past few years, Mubarak and his country’s other powerful security bosses have worked hard to keep the lid on the Gaza issue by (1) monopolizing the mediating role in all the international/diplomatic negotiations related to Gaza, with the apparent goal of blocking any progress in them; and (2) keeping a very tight lid on any Gaza-related public activity at home in Egypt.
Might one or both those efforts now– in good part thanks to the Israeli government’s never-ending addiction to excessive violence– be headed for chaotic failure?
Keep watching. Gaza may be a “big” issue. But in world affairs, and in the maintenance of the Pax Americana in the Greater Middle East, Egypt is gigantic.
And when you’ve watched Egypt, take a glance over to Japan.
The PM there has just resigned, essentially because the US insisted that it will not move its Marine base from Okinawa, the new PM folded under presure and now he has resigned.
One supposes that this adds just another layer of displeasure and impatience to a world which is just waking up to the realisation that Washington really does believe that it is the world’s policeman.
So now Japan is angry, so is Brazil, Turkey is very angry, and Egypt and, one supposes, Jordan are coming to understand that the professionals really play no part in US policy, which is governed entirely by the warmongers, merchants of death, and clouds of media blowhards who make Father Coughlin sound, in retrospect, like a sober statesman, reasoning carefully aloud.
Good observations by bevin.
One wonders if the goings-on are not all premeditated?
Are US foreign policies solely concerned and/or subservient to Israeli demands? who is the puppet and who is the puppeteer?
Georgia [who not too long ago] was considered a friend of the US and Israel is in the process of allying itself with Iran. Kyrgestan is already committed to Russia.
Interesting as well as dangerous times for all.