But has this former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (1997-2009), a privileged upper class man with affluent family members who are lawyers, investment bankers, or IT managers, just been groomed by the U.S. Government to be yet another puppet head of state
(i.e. Afghanistan and Iraq)? ElBaradei has close connections with both
the U.S. and their staunch ally, Great Britain, and in his background
was involved in the "disengagement agreements between Egypt and Israel"
in the late 1970's which allowed both countries to continue their repressive policies without hostility toward one another since then.
ElBaradei, then, is the perfect candidate for the U.S. Government.
But he certainly is NOT for the millions of poor people who have been
oppressed by the Egyptian government for decades.
The struggle, in Egypt, Tunisia, and throughout the world, is one of the poor against the rich ... the "have-nots," wanting to stop the ever widing
gap between themselves, and the "haves." Governments are always trying to
make up all kinds of distractions to keep the poor from seeing ... how poorly ... they have been treated. But the latest revolts may be a
refreshing sign that they can't "fool all of the people all of the time."
I don't think you have it totally correct. ElBaradei, the former head of the IAEA during the Iraq wars, was quite forceful in repudiating the weapons of mass destruction theories that were forcefully put out of Bush & Blair. He has often been critical of Israeli attitudes: "Israel would be utterly crazy to attack Iran. It would turn the region into a ball of fire putting Iran on a crash course for nuclear weapons with the support of the whole Muslim world."
ReplyDeleteNo, ElBaradei is NOT the 'perfect' candidate for the US Government - actually, Muhamed ElBaradei would be a good interim leader until Egyptian elections take place, acting as an excellent mediator of both secular & religious parties.... and possibly wedging the US in being firmer with Netanyahu.