Egypt – confusing times – familiar rhetoric

Egypt’s military criticized for move to rein in media

A decision by Egypt’s military leadership to freeze licenses for new satellite-news channels added to a growing list of complaints by politicians and activists that the military leading the nation’s transition is retreating to the authoritarian methods of the former regime. Egypt Daily News, 9-12-11

Trying to understand the Middle East is like trying to understand Wonderland – at least for me.   Weren’t there days earlier this year, when a clear pattern seemed to be developing in Egypt?   Thousands, possibly millions of Egyptians, well educated Egyptians – not the infamous Street-Arab mobs of the Nasser era – were in the streets of Cairo.  They wanted and they demanded, dignity, political and economic freedom; they did not mention religion, Israel or the United States.  They were just Egyptians demanding a new Egypt for Egyptians – or were they?

A new twist to the burning of the Israeli embassy is developing.  There are several articles and one editorial in the Arab press today questioning the burning of the embassy and the underlying motives; they all agree some thing is amiss.  The government has clamped down on protestors and said it has evidence that “neighboring Arab states” are sending millions of dollars into Egypt to undermine the revolution.  The only recourse according to the ruling military council is of course less freedom and more force.  The editorial by Tariq Alhomayed in Asharq Alawsat wonders just what inspired the protestors outside the Israeli embassy; he too, missed the American flag burning, the anti-Israeli rhetoric or calls for a Shari constitution in the those days in Tahrir Square.  And yet, today there those reporting on the events of this week as proof that Israel and anti-Israeli sentiment is at the heart of the issue in Egypt.  Alhomayed warns that Iran’s revolution was co-opted the same way; he asks if confronting Israel and the Camp David agreement will solve Egypt’s problems – it is indeed a very good question.

In the meantime, the government has an excuse to reimpose the emergency laws and the radical opposition has an excuse to call for a more radical government, one that would fight Israel and the United States and give Islam its rightful place in Egypt.  The opposition has been less critical of the methods of governing by Mubarak than with his international polices – it finds fault with his willingness to to make deals with Zionist, capitalists and atheists.   The Muslim Brotherhood, if not the major opposition force, certainly a major force,  did not support the riots; but it does not support the government actions either.  The Brotherhood wonders aloud just what keeps the government from living up to its promises to clean things up and turn over power to civilians. And of course, the Brotherhood claims to have the solutions to all of Egypt’s problems within its tool kit.

In general, everyone commenting on the events is implying outside forces are paying to create unrest in Egypt in an attempt to destabilize the country.  I am not sure which of the neighboring countries in the culprit, there are too many subplots and conspiracy theories for me to track.  Who are its neighbors?  Libya, Sunday, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Mediterranean Sea, which one do you think has the most reason to see chaos in Egypt?  One outsider is out-in-front with his intentions, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.  The Turkish prime minister is on his way to Cairo as part of  his tour of the countries of the Arab Spring.  Erdogan is scheduled to make a couple of speeches in Egypt, he is expected to cast Turkey as the regional power and offer some guidance to Egyptians on the subject of government and diplomatic relations.

I don’t know what any of this means about the Arab Spring and the Egyptian Revolution, but I do know the rhetoric is becoming very familiar – it is the same rhetoric that has dominated much of the debate in the region for the last 60 years.   Maybe next week or the week after, those bright-eyed, idealistic, articulate young people will find their way to Tahrir Square again, but for the moment they are silent.  It is also not clear at moment what will happen if they do decide to gather and protest again as they did in the spring.