Glenn Beck: Is Egypt Free? How do we judge success in Egypt?
Fox News TV host, Glenn Beck has done a series of revelatory shows on the crisis in the Middle East as former Muslim dictatorships begin to fall in Egypt, in Tunisia, in Jordan, Bahrain, Syria, Algeria, Yemen and even possibly in Iran.
However, Beck is not jumping on the media bandwagon and is taking a wait and see approach. In a program aired on Valentine’s Day Beck said that “the media is busy hailing Egypt’s revolt as the second coming of 1776. I saw that newscast at the bottom of the hour and I thought, my gosh, that is exactly what we said would happen. It would set the Middle East on fire because others saw it and were inspired.”
Democrats and Republicans, liberals, moderates, independents and conservatives seem virtually unanimous in their contention that the insurrection in Egypt that led to the forced removal by the military of president Hosni Mubarak is all good. “Egypt, however, is on a path to unprecedented liberty and freedom, according to the media. Democracy at last!” says Beck in a mocking tone.
Beck then posses a series of Socratic dialectical questions on the Egypt issue:
· Do we see a positive or negative change in the way that Egypt deals with the U.S.?
· Do we see a positive or negative change in the way Egypt deals with Israel?
· Do we see an Egyptian politician outwardly expressing Islamic extremist rhetoric?
· Do we see human rights violations go up or down?
· Is the government decreasing or increasing the rights of women?
· Is the government decreasing or increasing the rights of religious minorities?
On this point Mika Brzezinski MSNBC’s “Morning Joe’s”
With a tone of anger in her voice, MSNBC co-host of “The Joe Scarborough Show,” Mika Brzezinski seemed incredulous that a smart, Harvard-educated man like Niall Ferguson could possibly believe that anything is wrong in Egypt.
Mika asks Professor Ferguson, “I want to hear more about how you think he blew it with Egypt, because looking at all the reports and pictures and peacefulness on the streets of Cairo — so far, so good. It actually seems like it went pretty damn well?”
Beck thought that Professor Ferguson didn’t share Mika’s rosy scenario of democracy breaking out in the Middle East. “He started telling her about caliphate and isn’t it a little early? Sure, the Egyptian people threw a dictator out of power in 17 days, and I think we all agree on that one, that that’s great. But is that the way we judge success in Egypt?” queried Beck.
Recalling the questions above, Beck contends that “there are several things we need to look at to have some metrics to be able to measure this [success in Egypt].”
Beck wants the media to use one standard in Middle East foreign policy: “See, isn’t this what the left called for in saying how do we won the war? What does success look like? They wanted a definition and I do, too. But we should apply it in Iraq and Pakistan and Afghanistan, but maybe in Egypt, too. Because I don’t remember them celebrating when Saddam Hussein was out of power. They said it’s un-winnable.”
Beck continued, “I told you these things were happening and everybody is just like, this is great for Egypt. I happen to disagree. It is better than Mubarak so far — so far, yes, but let’s have a standard to judge it by. And if these things turn out to be more positive than negative, great.
But don’t we need to ask these questions?” asked Beck.
Who’s in charge, America, Egyptian military, the mob? Beck contends that the collapse of Egypt “is going to destabilize the Middle East” Why? Because in Egypt the majority led by the radicals in the Muslim Brotherhood are actively pushing to establish a caliphate under Sharia law. Where are we getting our intelligence, Beck asks? “Our CIA director is getting his reports of Mubarak stepping down last week from the media. So I don’t know if anyone is there to answer these questions…”
Why is Beck so incredulous that Egypt won’t be free? He says, “Yet in Egypt where one poll has found that 85 percent of Egyptians favor putting people to death if you switch out of Islam to another faith, the media somehow or other has total confidence this is going to work out?”
“Would Thomas Jefferson being smiling of pride and approval for that mentality? Was it Patrick Henry who declared, “Make them Muslim or give them death”? I don’t think that is what he said. Maybe it’s just me,” Beck contends.
Beck repeatedly returns to his six Socratic dialectical questions: “Don’t get me wrong. I hope and pray that it turns out with well for the Egyptian people and all of the people in the Middle East,” Beck confesses. “And when we can answer all six questions in a favorable way — or at least a majority of them — I would love to proclaim to the world that Egypt has set a new standard for peace and freedom in the Middle East.”
Is Egypt free? Unfortunately something else seems to be happening, but stresses we’ll have to wait and see.
Why is Beck so skeptical that freedom is breaking out in Egypt going against conventional thinking of the mainstream media? Beck answers that, “The military has seized control they have dissolved the parliament and suspended constitution. That doesn’t scream freedom to me,” Beck argued.
My friend, Egyptian-American Nonie Darwish, http://frontpagemag.com/2011/02/04/dictatorships-and-egyptians/ a conservative Christian commentator who like Beck, exercises a note of caution. “The Egyptian people have finally awakened to the reality of decades of oppression, dictatorship, backwardness and extreme poverty,” Darwish wrote. “For now, they are united in viewing Hosni Mubarak as the one obstacle to their freedom and democracy — but will they finally take responsibility for the true reason behind the long line of tyrannical Egyptian regimes?”
Nonie’s question dovetails with Beck’s six questions we must answer before we decide that the insurrections we see breaking out in Egypt and throughout the Middle East and possibly even in Iran will indeed result in freedom:
· Do we see a positive or negative change in the way that Egypt deals with the U.S.?
· Do we see a positive or negative change in the way Egypt deals with Israel?
· Do we see an Egyptian politician outwardly expressing Islamic extremist rhetoric?
· Do we see human rights violations go up or down?
· Is the government decreasing or increasing the rights of women?
· Is the government decreasing or increasing the rights of religious minorities?
Beck concludes that, “If they really do follow through put together a new constitution, hold free and fair elections for a new parliament and relinquish control to the then duly elected, benevolent, non-Islamic state government, I’ll break down like a little three-year-old girl cry and long and hard I’ll be so happy and relieved.”
Category: Uncategorized
