Hypocrisy on Display as US Lavishes Military Aid on Egypt

[eridani]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/08/03/hypocrisy-display-us-lavishes-military-aid-egypt

Kerry announced that the U.S. is planning to resume "Bright Star" joint military exercises with Egypt, which President Barack Obama halted in 2013 over concerns about the government's human rights abuses. The U.S. is also planning to boost efforts to train Egypt's military and help the country police its border with Libya.

In a sign of this military backing, the U.S. embassy in Cairo marked Kerry's arrival with the following announcement of a fresh arms shipment, following by the Arabic declaration, "Long live Egypt"—which has been adopted as a slogan by al-Sisi.

The U.S. has already thrown its strong support behind coup leader and current President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, including a recent resumption in annual aid—most of which is military—that waives human rights concerns.

The backing comes as al-Sisi oversees an increase in authoritarianism that some analysts warn is the worst the country has seen in 60 years—including during the regime of former U.S.-backed President Hosni Mubarak who was toppled by a popular uprising in 2011.

A report released by Amnesty International in June warned the Egyptian government is funneling an entire generation of young activists, journalists, and even bystanders from the streets into prisons: "More than a year after he came to power, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government has shown no sign of easing its repressive rule. The crackdown has seen more than 41,000 people arrested, charged or indicted with a criminal offense, or sentenced after unfair trials, according to the last available estimates by Egyptian human rights activists."

[GOLGO 13]

1. We pay off the Egyptian military because it works to our advantage to do so.

Diplomacy is not always "pretty".

[JCMach1]

2. One of my students was killed by these goons as they were taking over and cracking down...

al-Sisi and his Saudi-backed goonsquad can burn in Hell.

[MisterP]

3. it used to take nearly a decade before we turned on the reactionary Islamist fighters we funded,

armed, and told to get even more extreme; and it would take years before we turned on Qaddafi and Assad (presumably for the tortures we had them perpetrate) (and even longer for Saddam)

now we can bring the lead time down to zero and support all sides in a conflict at once