CNN Talking Head And Self Proclaimed Obama Foreign Policy Advisor: Founding Fathers, Constitution & American Exceptionalism Overrated

Last month, former Newsweek editor and current CNN talking head Fareed Zakaria had boasted that he had been advising President Obama on foreign policy matters concerning the Middle East.

One could be forgiven if one thought Zakaria's claims were mere bluster or hot air in an attempt to establish some credibility among peers in the media.

However, one look at this interview and I'm wholly convinced.

Note the derision and condescension directed at America's founding in Zakaria's smug monotone. After viewing that brief clip, I'm almost certain that not only is Zakaria advising President Obama on a number of domestic policy issues.

Although I'm just a lowly blogger and Zakaria is a highly-respected intellectual (who served as editor of a magazine that sold for $1), I would like to challenge Zakaria to find me what countries out there we're supposed to be learning from.

The European Union is an even bigger basketcase than the USA as far as finances and sovereign debt is concerned, with more productive countries like Germany and Holland having to bail out pseudo-welfare states like Spain or Greece.

While economic forces to be reckoned with, half the countries in the BRIC (Brazil/Russia/India/China) axis have an inglorious history of citizens being murdered by the millions in the last century- by their own governments, no less. While post-Apartheid South Africa didn't bring the full-fledged race war that so many had feared, high crime and the staggering murder rate has led to a massive 'brain drain' as sought-after professionals both black and white leave for more secure locales.

But like I said, as an intellectual Zakaria probably has an answer all lined up...perhaps even one of the aforementioned countries that he might view as a flawed gem. But I have one question for the naturalized citizen of America- and to be fair, it's the same question I ask of other American who hold similar views as he does: Why stay in America if you want it so badly to be like other countries?

Libyan Evacuation: Ferry Bring Americans to Malta, USAF Flying Egyptian Nationals Home.

While some 200 Americans being evacuated from Libya had to wait for a ferry to Malta last week, President Obama dispatched US Air Force C130s to Tunisia in order to aid in the evacuation of Egyptian workers trapped in Libya since an uprising against the Gahdaffi regime and ensuing crackdown

President Obama announced today that he had approved the use of military planes to transport Egyptian refugees from the Tunisian border back to Egypt.

Defense officials says the operation will be run by Africa Command (Africom) which is based in Stuttgart, Germany. One of the officials says Africom will use between two and four C-130 aircraft based in Germany to carry out the flights between Tunisia and Egypt. C-130’s are smaller aircraft compared to C-17’s so it looks like they could be making a lot of trips.

The flights will operate between Tunisia and Egypt. A Department of Defense official said that USAID would charter additional civilian aircraft to evacuate foreign nationals who are fleeing strife-torn Libya via the Tunisian border. Spain and German are sending aircraft and warships to aid in the evacuation of foreigners (mostly Egyptians) while India and South Korea have dispatched Naval vessels to evacuate their citizens.

You know what? I hope I don't come off like I'm against using US Air Force aircraft and personnel to evacuate foreign nationals from the escalating and increasingly bloody clusterfuck in Libya, because I'm not....

Simply put, It's the right thing to do......

I'm sure there were some logistical concerns as well. But with that said, how come these assets weren't made available to the American citizens who needed them first?

Food for thought.

Egyptain Army Suspends Constitution, Dissolves Parliment; Antiquites Ministry Reports 18 Ancient Artifacts Missing from National Museum

Ed Ou- New York Times Photo

The Egyptian Army dissolved the nation's parliment and suspended the constitution this weekend in a move to dismantle some of the trappings of Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian legacy.

Now while a military junta stepping in and forcing the civilian president to resign while suspending the constitution and dissolving parliament could be instinctively viewed as an ominous development, a number of the protesters applauded the move. The announcement came after protest leaders met with the caretaker government and Egyptian military leaders.

The 18-member Supreme Council of the Armed Forces allayed some concerns by dismissing the legislature, packed with Mubarak loyalists, and sidelining the constitution, used by Mubarak to buttress his rule. Activists said they would closely watch the military to ensure it does not abuse its unchecked power -- something that is clearly starting to make some uneasy.

The council "believes that human freedom, the rule of law, support for the value of equality, pluralistic democracy, social justice, and the uprooting of corruption are the bases for the legitimacy of any system of governance that will lead the country in the upcoming period," the Council said in a statement.

"They have definitely started to offer us what we wanted," said activist Sally Touma, who also wants the release of political prisoners and repeal of an emergency law that grants wide powers to police.

The military council, which has issued a stream of communiques since taking power, said parliamentary and presidential elections will be held, but did not set a timetable. It said it will run the country for six months, or until elections can be held.

It said it will represent Egypt in all internal and external affairs and proclaimed the right to set temporary laws. It was expected to clarify the scope of its legal authority as the complex transition unfolds and the role of the judiciary remains unclear.

It said it was forming a committee to amend the constitution and set rules for a popular referendum to endorse the amendments.

Protesters are demanding that the constitution be amended to impose term limits on the president, open up competition for the presidency, and remove restrictions on creating political parties. Others want an entirely new constitution.

Judge Hisham Bastawisi, a reformist judge, said the military measures "should open the door for free formation of political parties and open the way for any Egyptian to run for presidential elections."

Hossam Bahgat, director of the non-governmental Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said the steps were positive but warned that Egypt was on uncharted legal ground.

"In the absence of a constitution, we have entered a sort of 'twilight zone' in terms of rules, so we are concerned," he said. "We are clearly monitoring the situation and will attempt to influence the transitional phase so as to respect human rights."

Both the lower and upper houses of parliament are being dissolved. The last parliamentary elections in November and December were marked by allegations of fraud by the ruling party, which was accused of virtually shutting out the opposition.

The military council includes the chief of staff and commanders of each branch of the armed forces. It took power after protesters' pleas, and promised reform. The institution, however, was tightly bound to Mubarak's ruling system, and it has substantial economic interests that it will likely seek to preserve.

The caretaker Cabinet, appointed by Mubarak shortly after the pro-democracy protests began on Jan. 25, will remain in place until a new Cabinet is formed -- a step expected to happen after elections.

In a related development, the Supreme Council of the Egyptian military said that they will continue to honor all international and regional treaties.

CAIRO (AFP)- Egypt will remain committed to all its regional and international treaties, its ruling military council said on Saturday, implicitly confirming the nation's peace deal with Israel would remain intact.

"The Arab republic of Egypt will remain committed to all its regional and international treaties," the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces said in a televised address.

The announcement was part of "Communique Number 4," issued a day after veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak handed power to the military.

ELSEWHERE IN EGYPT: An Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities audit has found that looters managed to abscond with at least 18 ancient Egyptian artifacts in the chaos surrounding the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak into retirement.

On Jan. 28, as protesters clashed with police early on in the turmoil and burned down the adjacent headquarters of Mubarak's ruling party, a handful of looters climbed a fire escape to the museum roof and lowered themselves on ropes from a glass-paneled ceiling onto the museum's top floor.

Around 70 objects -- many of them small statues -- were damaged, but until Sunday's announcement, it was not known whether anything was missing.

Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass said the museum's database department determined 18 objects were gone. Investigators searching for those behind the thefts were questioning dozens of people arrested over several days after last month's break-in.

The most important of the missing objects is a limestone statue of the Pharaoh Akhenaten standing and holding an offering table. Akhenaten is the so-called heretic king who tried to introduce monotheism to ancient Egypt.

"It's the most important one from an artistic point of view," said museum director Tarek el-Awady. "The position of the king is unique and it's a beautiful piece of art." During Akhenaten's so-called Amarna period, named after his capital, artists experimented with new styles.

Also gone is a gilded wooden statue of the 18th Dynasty King Tutankhamun, Akhenaten's son, being carried by a goddess. Pieces are also missing from another statue of the boy king wielding a fishing harpoon from a boat.

"We have the boat and the legs of the king, but we are missing other parts of the body," el-Awady said. "We are looking everywhere for them -- around the museum, outside, on the roof, from where the thieves got into the museum."

He said none of the missing objects was from the gated room containing the gold funerary mask of Tutankhamun and other stunning items from his tomb in the Valley of the Kings -- the museum's chief attractions. The looters did not break into the room, he said.

The other missing items are a statue of Nefertiti making offerings, a sandstone head of a princess and a stone statuette of a scribe from Amarna, a heart scarab and 11 wooden funerary statuettes of the nobleman Yuya.

Egyptian soldiers had arrested some 50 individuals attempting to break into the museum earlier this month.

Mubarak Steps Down as President of Egypt

I have to say that if you don't like the Obama Administration's handling of this, then just wait five minutes- They're sure to change their position on something.

After a number of false-starts this week, the octeginarian president of Egypt has called it quits- handing over power to the Egyptian Army.

CAIRO – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down and handed control of the country to the military, Vice President Omar Suleiman said Friday in an address on state television.

The announcement touched off a wave of jubilation throughout Cairo's Tehrir Square, where tens of thousands of anti-government protesters had gathered demanding Mubarak's ouster hours after he failed to announce his resignation in an address on Thursday.

"In these difficult circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave the position of the presidency," Suleiman said. He has commissioned the armed forces council to direct the issues of the state."

Hours later, President Obama said "Egypt will never be the same."

No word on whether or not those shirtless photos Mubarak took of himself that he sent to this chick he met on Craigslist contributed to his decision to step down.

Naturally this begs the question: 'what next?' Even before Mubarak stepped down, there were those in the Obama Administration who sought to soft sell the Muslim Brotherhood as a 'largely secular organization'.

In a way, former IAEA head Mohammed El Baradei getting any position of power would be worse than the Muslim Brotherhood, since he would be a figurehead Western dupes could point to and say 'Of course he's a moderate! Just look at that Nobel prize he won!' as the Muslim Brotherhood begins to implement shari'a law, prepares for war with Israel and continues the persecution of Coptic Christians with the approval of the state.

On a personal note, I seem to have gotten an increase in traffic from Egypt over the last week or so- despite my minimalist approach to the fluid and fast-breaking series of events there. To those of you in Egypt who took the time to visit my humble blog with the 'internet kill switch' hanging over you like an electronic sword of Damocles, I thank you.

And, you know, if you're a Egyptian model, actress or bellydancer who might need asylum in the USA, then by all means you can get a hold of me via this blog.

However, if you're reading this, I would also caution you against replacing Mubarak with something even worse- look no further than Iran and see how they dealt with the protestors over there not even two years ago; most of whom were asking for the same things you were. Of course, I'd also be mistaken in assuming that at least some of you weren't aware of that- I guess it would be incumbent upon you to convice other Egyptians as well.

Egypt Unrest Continues- Natural Gas Pipeline Attacked; Egyptian VP's Bodyguards Killed in Assassination Attempt? Foreign Reporters Attacked in Cairo

Egyptian state TV is reporting that saboteurs taking advantage of near lawlessness in some parts of the country have attacked a natural gas pipeline that runs between Egypt and Israel.

Residents of the El Arish area in the North Sinai region of Egypt reported a loud explosion on Saturday. It's not clear the immediate impact the blast had on supplies to Israel, but a state TV correspondent blamed the act on terrorists.

Earlier in the week, President Hosni Mubarak had promised to step down after the September 2011 elections, but that was not enough to assuage most of the demonstrators.

The protests in and around Tahrir Square in Cairo escalated on Thursday when Mubarak supporters approached the square and occupied rooftops above, clashing with the anti-Mubarak demonstrators and pelting them with rocks and chunks of pavement from above.

By Friday morning,the scene had become even more surreal when more pro-Mubarak demonstrators mobilized by horse and camelback [way to live up to the stereotype, gentelmen- NANESB!] and charged into the assembled crowds, whipping and beating some of the anti-Mubarak demonstrators. Some in the crowd had managed to pull the riders off of their mounts and said that their would-be assailants were carrying Police ID. By nightfall, each side was hurling Molotov cocktails at each other and Egyptian soldiers were attempting to disperse crowds by firing warning shots into the air.

There were also incidents of Western journalists being attacked and some news agencies offices being torched. FOX News' Greg Palkot and Olaf Wiig and CNN's Anderson Cooper and his camera crew were repeatedly punched and kicked by pro-Mubarak crowds that had descended on them in separate incidents in the capital [Just putting this out here, CNN- How about sending Joy Behar to Cairo??- NANESB!]. The Cairo offices of al Jazeera were torched and it's website was hacked on Friday as well while a Swedish TV reporter was recovering from stab wounds in a Cairo hospital.

Reports are also circulating that there was an unsuccessful assassination attempt this week against Egypt's newly-appointed Vice President, Omar Suleiman. The office of Vice President was vacant when Mubarak appointed him to the position on January 29- Suleiman is also chief of Egypt's intelligence services and would likely be the head of an interim govern. It wasn't immediately clear who was behind the attempt, but Egyptian officials said that two of Suleiman's bodyguards were killed and that his motorcade was the target of the would-be assassins.

Egypt Update- Egyptian Army Deploys to Cairo; Ancient Artifacts Destroyed By Looters; Foreigners Start Exodus from Country

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered the Egyptian Army into Cairo over the weekend in an attempt to curb looting and the escalating unrest in the capital city and throughout the rest of Egypt.

Protesters had defied a curfew for the 4th straight night in Cairo while the Army kept the protests mostly confined to Tahrir Square. A spokesman for the Egyptian Military said that they would not fire on protesters peacefully demonstrating, but added they would not tolerate "any act that destabilizes security of the country" or damage property.

With the Army and police dealing with the massive demonstrations or guarding government installations, some Egyptians have taken advantage of the deteriorating security situation. Looting had also broken out in Cairo and other cities across Egypt with young men on motorcycles breaking into shopping centers, restaurants, banks, casinos, private homes and carting away electronics food, alcohol, TV sets, money, jewelry and furniture. Outside the city, the state run TV network reported that car dealerships on the highway between Cairo and Alexandria had been broken into and looted while entire bank branches were abandoned.

Some neighborhoods had set up their own watch groups armed with knives, clubs, guns and metal pipes to ward off looters while boarding up nearby shops and homes in the absence of any police or military presence.

Members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood took advantage of the deteriorating security situation by springing jailed members of both Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood from prison.

But the most infamous example of looters in Egypt occurred over the weekend when nine men entered Cairo's Egyptian Museum through the skylight and beheaded two mummies and stole ancient Egyptian jewelry and masks that were on display. Although the looters were caught by a crowd that was forming a human chain around the museum and the Egyptian Army is now guarding the museum, several historic and irreplaceable artifacts were destroyed by the looters.

Historians and archaeologists are concerned that the police or military are presently unable to protect smaller museums that are home to a number of equally important artifacts.

[Egyptologist Dr.] Hawass said many valuable artifacts have already been taken and some of the country's lesser known museums have been emptied of their treasures, including the one in Memphis — the capital of ancient Egypt, about 19 kilometres south of Cairo.

Hawass said the Coptic Museum, Royal Jewelry Museum, National Museum of Alexandria and El Manial Museum had all been broken into.

He also said he is afraid the ruling National Democratic Party headquarters in Cairo, torched and vandalized by demonstrators on Friday, could collapse and topple onto the 100-year-old Museum of Egyptian Antiquities next door.

The embassies of the USA, India, Canada, Turkey, the UK and other nations in the country have warned residents to avoid travelling to Egypt begun airlifting or making arrangements to airlift citizens out of the country.

Days of Rage: Antigovernment Protests in Lebanon, Egypt

EGYPT: As anti-government protests entered their fourth consecutive day, the entire nation of Egypt went into Friday morning with no internet or SMS text messaging. This unprecedented step by the Mubarak regime was taken in an effort to hinder realtime communications among the protesters as the unrest has started spreading to other parts of the country.

Egypt's four primary Internet providers -- Link Egypt, Vodafone/Raya, Telecom Egypt, Etisalat Misr -- all stopped moving data in and out of the country at 12:34 a.m., according to a network security firm monitoring the traffic. Telecom experts said Egyptian authorities could have engineered the cutoff with a simple change to the instructions for the companies' networking equipment.

The Internet appeared to remain cut off Friday morning, and cell-phone text and Blackberry Messenger services were all cut or operating sporadically in what appeared to be a move by authorities to disrupt the organization of demonstrations.

Egyptians outside the country were posting updates on Twitter after getting information in voice calls from people inside the country. Many urged their friends to keep up the flow of information over the phones.

The developments were a sign that President Hosni Mubarak's regime is toughening its crackdown following the biggest protests in years against his nearly 30-year rule.

The shutdown comes as former International Atomic Energy Association head Mohammed El Baradei arrived in Cairo from Vienna on Thursday. The former UN nuclear watchdog [and a piss poor one at that- NANESB!] said that the Mubarak regime was on its last legs and has expressed a willingness to serve in some capacity on a post-Mubarak interim government.

[OK, kindly indulge me as I put on my conspiracy theorist hat. I didn't give much thought to any external factors playing a role in Egypt's unrest until I heard El Baradei's name mentioned. I'm well aware the Mubarak's autocratic rule combined with the rising prices of food and high unemployment by themselves would set up conditions for unrest.

With that said, if I wanted a nuclear-armed Iran, I would've had El Baradei continue to serve as the IAEA head- North Korea and Iran's nuclear programs had advanced considerably under his watch. Perhaps there's some quid-pro-quo involved or perhaps El Baradei really was just that inept and incompetent as IAEA head.

Also, Mubarak is in his 80s, so you wouldn't exactly need a Machiavellian advisor to realize that your golden opportunity to seize power would come sooner rather than later. Even if I did fully believe that Iran was stirring up unrest in Egypt so they could install El Baradei as a puppet leader of a client state, even they likely would've been caught off guard by the nature of this week's protests and are perhaps attempting to move up their timetable after events in Tunisia earlier this month.

This would not be unprecedented for Iran's ruling mullahs- take a look at Lebanon since 1979. Also keep in mind that the Iranians named a street in honor of Sadat's assassin.

Whaddaya think; too tinfoil hat?- NANESB!]

LEBANON: Sunni Muslims and supporters of ousted Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri burned tires and blocked roads in Lebanon on Tuesday to protest the takeover of the Lebanese government by Hezbollah.

Angry protesters in the northern city of Tripoli also torched a satellite van belonging to the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera TV Network, which Hariri's supporters have referred to as 'Hezbollah TV'. The series of protests came shortly before 68 out of 128 members of parliament named Telecom mogul Najib Mikati as Prime Minister-designate.

At issue will be the the Mikati government's willingness to accept the results of the United Nations Tribunal's investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri- Saad's father. The Tribunal had completed the investigation and handed down a series of sealed indictments widely believed to implicate Hezbollah earlier this month. Hezbollah has denied any role in the assassination 2005 Valentine's Day car bombing that killed Rafiq Hariri and 22 others in Beirut and claims Israel was behind the assassination [even though Hezbollah and their Syrian and Iranian benefactors would benefit most from the elder Hariri's death- NANESB!].

REPORT: Egypt President Mubarak's Family Flees for UK

Barely two weeks after a series of protests toppled the government of Ben Ali in Tunisia, reports are circulating that Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son has fled the country amid escalating clashes between thousands of protesters and police in Cairo.

This would be a significant development, as Gamal Mubarak was being groomed as Hosni's heir apparent. A report in a US-based Arabic language website said that Gamal, along with his wife and daughter departed for London from an airport in Western Cairo on Tuesday.

The escalating demonstrations in Egypt have been largely inspired by the Tunisian protests and riots earlier this month that chased autocratic ruler Ben Ali into exile in Saudi Arabia. Much of the organizing for the Tunisia protests was done through online social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook. Twitter confirmed on Tuesday night that the online messaging site had been blocked in Egypt.

Hosni Mubarak assumed power in 1981 after Egyptian army officers assassinated president Anwar Al Sadat and has declared an ongoing state of emergency since Sadat's assassination. The emergency declaration gives Mubarak and his cabinet sweeping powers, such as outlawing political parties or detaining people indefinitely without trial. Since then, the Mubarak regime has been increasingly unpopular with Egyptians and his cabinet and family members have been implicated in a number of bribery and kickback scandals.

However, the 82 year old Mubarak's health has been deteriorating over the last few years and he had flown to Germany last year for gallbladder surgery.

Elections were already scheduled for September of this year- most candidates or parties opposing the Mubarak regime are typically left off the ballot. Many observers say that while technically outlawed, the Muslim Brotherhood is among the better organized opposition parties that would attempt to fill in the void in a post-Mubarak Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood is unambiguous about their plans for Islamicizing Egypt and compelling governments in other Egyptian countries to adhere to shari'a law.

[As an aside, I pretty much view the Mubarak regime much the same way I viewed Chile's Augusto Pinochet- very bad but keeping something worse and and far more destabilizing in check. I know that's not much more enlightened than the Cold War era mindset of 'he's a bastard, but he's our bastard', but don't expect me to break out the pom poms and start shouting 'Yay Muslim Brotherhood!' anytime soon- NANESB!]

[hat tip- Eat it or Wear It, Ace of Spades HQ]

21 Killed in Egyptian Church Bombing; Copts Clash with Police

Worshippers returned to services on Sunday in a Church that was the target of a suspected suicide bombing that killed 21 and wounded more than 90 on New Year's Eve.

The attack targeted Coptic Christian worshippers attending New Year's Eve services at the Saint's Church in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria. Egyptian authorities initially believed that the blast came from a car bomb, but the Interior Ministry said it was more likely the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber among the crowd in the street outside of the church.

In the days following the attack, Copts in Alexandria and Cairo have taken to the streets to protest inadequate security and ended up clashing with police.

Egyptian authorities have been looking into passenger manifests of flights arriving from Iraq (where Al Qaeda in Iraq issued statements threatening Christians in Egypt after carrying out attacks against Christians in Iraq) for any evidence of an Al Qaeda financier or recruiters linked to the New Year's eve attack, but the investigation seems to be mainly focusing on Egyptian-based radical Muslim groups at present.

Sanctuary? Beseiged Iraqi Christians May Find New Home in Kurdistan

Overlooked by many in the news leading up to the 2010 mid-term elections was the terrorist massacre of at least 50 worshippers and clergy in Baghdad's Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic Church on November 1st. Terrorists thought to be with al-Qaeda in Iraq initially targeted the Baghdad stock exchange before moving to the church across the street. Iraqi security forces quickly cordoned off the area surrounding Our Lady of Salvation and attempted to negotiate, but the attackers threw grenades and detonated explosive vests when the Iraqi forces stormed the church, killing 49 parishioners and 9 policemen.

In the days following the church attack, more Iraqi christian were targeted by car bombs and mortar attacks, killing at least five more. Some of the survivors of the terrorist attacks were given asylum by France and flown to Paris for medical treatment.

Many of Iraq's remaining Christians are concerned for their own safety after the latest attacks and want to leave Iraq. However, leaders in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq have invited Iraqi Christians to relocate to Kurdistan from elsewhere within Iraq. Kurdistan's autonomy during the final decade of Saddam Hussein's regime and after Operation Iraqi Freedom has meant that for the most part the economic and security situation is far more stable than elsewhere in Iraq.

Iraq's president Jalal Talibani (a Kurd himself) has even raised the possibility of establishing Christian-majority provinces within Iraq in an interview with France 24 television.

Hmm....wait a second. The sanctimonious self-appointed righteous indignation brigades that were out in force preaching tolerance when that douchebag Florida pastor promised to burn a bunch of Korans on September 11 have been pretty quiet since the Our Lady of Salvation massacre.

This would mean Iraqi and Kurdish Muslims have shown more concern over the plight of Iraq's Christians than the professional whiners and victims in their perpetual seethe-apalooza trying to hold up even token opposition to the 9/11 mosque in Manhattan as bigotry and Islamophobia.

Even if the Our Lady of Salvation massacre never took place, there's still the matter of Egyptian Muslims torching the homes of Coptic Christians over rumors a Coptic man was in a relationship with a Muslim woman. Or the Pakistani Christian mother of two who was reportedly sentenced to death for 'blasphemy' after she rebuffed efforts by Muslim co-workers to convert her.

Just some food for though the next time the head of an Islamic organization says that pointing out what's taking place in the Islamic world is akin to '1930s Germany'.

[Hat Tip: Eat it or Wear It; Weasel Zippers]