Subscribe to Common Dreams News Updates
Most Popular This Week
Popular content
Today's Top News
Fear Extreme Islamists in the Arab World? Blame Washington
In the last year of his life, Martin Luther King Jr. questioned U.S. military interventions against progressive movements in the Third World by invoking a JFK quote: "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
Were he alive to witness the last three decades of U.S. foreign policy, King might update that quote by noting: "Those who make secular revolution impossible will make extreme Islamist revolution inevitable."
For decades beginning during the Cold War, U.S. policy in the Islamic world has been aimed at suppressing secular reformist and leftist movements. Beginning with the CIA-engineered coup against a secular democratic reform government in Iran in 1953 (it was about oil), Washington has propped up dictators, coaching these regimes in the black arts of torture and mayhem against secular liberals and the left.
In these dictatorships, often the only places where people had freedom to meet and organize were mosques -- and out of these mosques sometimes grew extreme Islamist movements. The Shah's torture state in Iran was brilliant at cleansing and murdering the left - a process that ultimately helped the rise of the Khomeini movement and ultimately Iran's Islamic Republic.
Growing out of what M.L. King called Washington's "irrational, obsessive anti-communism," U.S. foreign policy also backed extreme Islamists over secular movements or government that were either Soviet-allied or feared to be.
In Afghanistan, beginning before the Soviet invasion and evolving into the biggest CIA covert operation of the 1980s, the U.S. armed and trained native mujahedeen fighters -- some of whom went on to form the Taliban. To aid the mujahedeen, the U.S. recruited and brought to Afghanistan religious fanatics from the Arab world -- some of whom went on to form Al Qaeda. (Like these Washington geniuses, Israeli intelligence -- in a divide-and-conquer scheme aimed at combating secular leftist Palestinians -- covertly funded Islamist militants in the occupied territories who we now know as Hamas.)
This is hardly obscure history.
Except in U.S. mainstream media.
One of the mantras on U.S. television news all day Friday was: Be fearful of the democratic uprisings against U.S. allies in Egypt (and Tunisia and elsewhere). After all, we were told by Fox News and CNN and Chris Matthews on MSNBC, it could end up as bad as when "our ally" in Iran was
Such talk comes easy in U.S. media where Egyptian victims of rape and torture in Mubarak's jails are never seen. Where it's rarely emphasized that weapons of repression used against Egyptian demonstrators are paid for by U.S. taxpayers. Where Mubarak is almost always called "president" and almost never "dictator" (unlike the elected president of Venezuela).
When U.S. media glibly talk about the Egyptian and Tunisian "presidents" being valued "allies in the war on terror," it's no surprise they offer no details about the prisoners the U.S. has renditioned to these "pro-Western" countries for torture.
The truth is that no one knows how these uprisings will end.
But revolution of some kind, as King said, seems inevitable. Washington's corrupt Arab dictators will come down as surely (yet more organically) as that statue of Saddam, another former U.S.-ally.
If Washington took its heel off the Arab people and ended its embrace of the dictators, that could help secularists and democrats win hearts and minds against extreme Islamists.
Democracy is a great idea. Too bad it plays almost no role in U.S. foreign policy.
70 Comments so far
Show AllLatest CA time 7:23am
Gen Omar Suleiman was appointed as Vice President of Egypt from Aljarzeera.
I predict the U.S. will aid and abet the crushing of all populist movements in the Middle East. Their fear of radical Islam will trump all other concerns. Promoting liberal democracies? that's not "on the table" I would be willing to bet.
Really! I'm also bewildered about all the prattle about Islamism in this thread. The uprising in Egypt has nothing to do with religion at all. And yesterday, the Muslim day of prayer, Christians surrounded the Muslims and their mosques to prevent the security services from attacking them while they prayed. It was in large measure a payback for the way Muslims had surrounded the worshipers at the Coptic church in Alexandria after it had been bombed on New Year's Eve (supposedly by a group of Ghazans claiming to be from Al-Qaida).
So far the uprising in Egypt, like those elsewhere, has had no noticeable sectarian component.
He's high on whatever it is Zionist's imbibe as he's a certifiable troll.
"Democracy is a great idea."
Yes, it certainly is. Too bad it plays almost no role in U.S. domestic policy. If it did, we wouldn't have the foreign policy we have now--that results in the oppression of so many people around the world.
"Where it's rarely emphasized that weapons of repression used against Egyptian demonstrators are paid for by U.S. taxpayers."
Well lookie here:
http://i.imgur.com/TFXKE.png
Caught this off the twitter feed earlier this morning.
More chickens coming home to roost. This flock looks a little larger than the last one.
The final paragraph is incomplete.
"Democracy is a great idea. Too bad it plays almost no role in U.S. foreign policy"
- or in domestic policies.
Those of us born 1948 to 1958 have lived with the reality of "revolution" in our collective faces every breath. Hiroshima guaranteed that. Revolution in North America was successfully repressed by the late 1970s so that young people born during those ten odd years are confused and cynical about the success of "entrepreneurs." For every entrepreneur there are 50,000 sweatshop slaves. So, back to first principles for those of us not too old to remember what it's like to be told that ALL our ideas of peace and social justice are unrealistic and/or unsustainable. Fuck that.
I was born during this time period and to believe that everything would be OK if we just laid down our arms and hugged the other people was the pot talking. How many people died in Vietnam,China, Burma, Loas and other countries for which the US was not involved. More Muslims deaths are caused by other Muslims than all the foreign troops. Freedom, peace and security must be earned by each generation for the next. Power, corruption, and evil are not only found in the US but in every country, race and religion in the world. We in the US have a chance to chance our lives through voting. However, we continue to vote in corrupt politicians and allow activist judges to restrict our freedoms. You want peace. Peace is what you get when you are dead. Every other day is a struggle to put food on the table, raise our children correctly, and voice our opposition to corruption in our local, state and national political leaders.
Somewhere I have a cartoon from the 1960s or 1970s showing Robert McNamara on the phone, saying: "Your people are downtrodden and starving, and have begun to revolt? How many machine guns do you need?"
Hurrah for Cohen, he told Afghanistan timeline correctly, how rare for a pundit.
It seems left to its own devices we would have a secular/Brotherhood coalition, as it should be.
It seems the secret to a successful rev is to have the military come over. How do we do that?
It seems the regressive forces (USA?) are attempting to install Suliemann head of secret police who is buddies with israel spies and proxy torturer for Oilybomber. Oilybomber still is rendering people or is it only to the Bagram torture chambers now?
"It seems left to its own devices we would have a secular/Brotherhood coalition, as it should be."
It now looks like there is a good chance this is what is going to happen.
I apologize to all at Common Dreams for having got at least indirectly into personality in indirctly citing another person who commented about something I said being irrelevant. We all need to have a robust debate minus direct or indirect personal remarks. We as progressives can't afford this as the other side has too many advantages in money, media, and so much else. I will do better-- thaniks to all. We are all better than this.
Furthermore, I might well have said that this person has an irony and sarcasm deficiency or the like and left out any direct or indirct naming of that individual as we all should in any case when we make a negative personal referene to another individual.
That said I'm big enough to admit it was my mistae and I won't hide behind any excuses-- thanks to all for your kindness and forebearance.
AD
What Jeff Cohen says about Venezuela is right on the mark. The US mainstream media have had a pattern of attacking the democratic government there so much it's pathetic.
AD
What Jeff Cohen says about Venezuela is right on the mark. The US mainstream media have had a pattern of attacking the democratic government there so much it's pathetic.
AD
The greed of corporate capitalism has made America stupid.
Stupidity is difficult to cure.
We have an ignorant (purposely uninformed - kept in the dark) and misinformed population because:
The Capitalists virtually own the Main Street Media; the First Amendment of our Constitution specifically protects 'Freedom of the Press'. The writers recognized a free press as being the key to informing the people on what the Criminal Class is up to.
The Owners fear the Light, because they must have the Freedom to crawl around, unseen, in the Dark as they continue to fleece the people.
"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864
(letter to Col. William F. Elkins) Ref: The Lincoln Encyclopedia, Archer H. Shaw (Macmillan, 1950, NY)
The Owners recognize the need to paint our Government as The Problem, since they recognize an honest, informed government which truly represents the people, as the primary threat to Capitalism, which they see as The Solution.
Therefore, the Capitalists constantly strive to own our Government, the very definition of Fascism.
The Owners recognize that even control of the Media is not sufficient, and have discovered other threats such as the Internet ('Al who? Al Jazeera – it’s one of those dot-something things from some Terrorist country'), which must be destroyed.
The Schools also must be destroyed; knowledge presents a danger to them.
Labor must be destroyed.
The Middle Class must be destroyed (‘too many of them are on to us’).
The old must be destroyed; they have seen too much.
The infirm, and other useless people must be destroyed; they are a serious detriment to the bottom line of Our nation.
The Owners know they must constantly create an enemy, in order to sell their Think Tank ideas of ‘Terrorism’, ‘Security’, ‘Patriotism’, ad nauseum.
They will persist, and persevere, until they are stopped.
And, as Frank Zappa once said, stupidity is the commonest element in the Universe.
Ignorance we can cure but stupidity, insisting on itself despite what we don't know, is another problem.
Stephen V. Riley
Stupidity? Lets start with you.
Who did you vote in 2008 and again who did you vote in 2010?
Finally who do you plan to vote in 2012?
Reading that Chris Matthews is going along with the party line is quite ironic because despite the fact that the name of his program is called Hardball Matthews rarely sees fit to ask hardball questions about U.S. policy, either at home or abroad, while very seldom challenging those who are in power as the vast majority of his guests are from the mainstream media.
Dear Corporate Media"
To paraphrase JFK:
Those who make TRUTHFUL journalism impossible, will make the FALL of corporate journalism, INEVITABLE.
Mr. Cohen,
lay off your predictable spin of "extreme islam" behind the protests, thinly disguised under "blame washington" fake left analysis.
you first premise of "this is islamic revolution" is a FAKE.
it's the people vs. the fascist local elites backed by the global parasitic elites.
This scares them. Don't want the USA people getting any ideas.
Your interpretation of Cohen's so-called subtext is amusing.
"Cohen actually gives the United States a rationalization for previously backing extremists--..."
Well the US has had a rationalization. Money, for one. Egypt has been reliant on military aid to finance major military equipment, worth over 25% of the 2008 defense spending. America has long supported Egypt's dictatorial leadership for this reason alone. Maybe in your view this doesn’t qualify as extreme. On the other hand America is not always rational. Downright ignorant at times. If they have learned anything from the 1978-79 overthrow of the Shah of Iran, a new Egyptian government may not be as easily suborned by American power. Therefore the effect that the U.S. must support Middle Eastern dictators to keep cheap oil flowing or support a revolution in Egypt would be a refutation of American policy.
I think you have misread Mr. Cohen.
Nowhere does he indicate that the revolution in Egypt is "Islamist," only that American foreign policy has created what is called radical Islamism elsewhere and that some or all of the corporate media has decided to tar this as "radical Islamism."
You wind up assuming his POV is almost 180 degrees opposed to what the article says.
I think more authors should include Mad-Libs in their articles, as Jeff Cohen does here:
"After all, we were told by Fox News and CNN and Chris Matthews on MSNBC, it could end up as bad as when "our ally" in Iran was_____".
Was what? Lassie the Wonder Dog? A rutabaga? Inspector Jacques Clouseau as played by Peter Sellers?
Clouseau: Does yer dewg bite?
Inn Keeper: No
Clouseau: Nice Doggy (bends down to pet a dachshund - it snarls and bites him)
I thought you said yer dewg did not bite!
Inn Keeper: Zat... iz not my dog!
Come to think of it, that sums up U.S. Foreign policy very well.
The USA has been crushing democracy since the Phillipines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Columbia, Nicaragua, and that was only the beginning.
Right! For years we supported that bastard Franco in Spain. He was a "noble free world ally in the fight against international communism".Our actions have for a long time given lie to our professed sentiments.
I had an old friend who fought in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain. He survived and found out that he was unemployable when he got home. The Attorney General's list included those who fought Franco and others of his ilk. They were classified as "premature anti-fascists." That is to say, they were against fascism before that became national policy.
God knows who is on the AG's list today. I'll bet it is a long one, including virtually everyone but Oligarchs.
Cohen's article is close to the mark, with this exception:
"For decades beginning during the Cold War, U.S. policy in the Islamic world has been aimed at suppressing secular reformist and leftist movements..."
US policy has NEVER been about supporting democracy...ever.
From the very beginning of it's existence in the 18th Century, the United States has always sided with dictators against the rights of people for liberty and freedom.
And if the US opposed European imperialism, it was only for the express purpose of substituting US oppression for European oppression.
Just ask the Mexicans, and Guatemalans, and Filipinos and Cubans and Hawaiians and Native Americans and Hondurans and Haitians and Chileans and Panamanians and on and on and on and on......
US policy was never about supporting anyone's rights, otherwise it would not have been founded at all: just ask the Native American and the Africans brought here against their will. All the rest stemmed from these two central crimes of enormous magnitude. What else could you expect? Our hope is in the dismantling of this nation.
"For decades beginning during the Cold War, U.S. policy in the Islamic world has been aimed at suppressing secular reformist and leftist movements" Check out the history.
Cohen's point of view is rock solid correct!
You say US policy has never been about democracy ...ever.........You, too are absolutely correct.... and that in no way refutes Cohen's comment!
North Star, Brilliant, Hilarious stuff!!!
In the liberatiin struggle of all people, they will use tools availabe at their disposal and commensurate with their cultural and traditions to liberate themselve. It could be folklore, myths, ideology ,superstition, religion or by any other means necessary.
Oppressors have had no compunctions, they will kill,kiss, sing, cry or deploy any means neccesary to rob, lie and steal. Today a black man is doing the bidding of white supremacy and global capital. Tomorrow it could be a hispanic woman or a crippled homosexual. Tye goalpost is always changing. Global capital know no permanent friends or foe, ojly permanent financial interest.
Leave the egyptians,tunisians,iranians,ivorian, zimbweans, palestinian streets etc aoone to sort their own evolutionary path of self determination . They will learn from the emutable realities of their respective successes and failures.
Western secularism has been used effectively as a mask of deceit, hypocrisy among others to perniciouly colonize the mind. So called Islamism is a respohse in the moslem world today. Leave it to their people to ultimately decide its merits, and evolution.
Like it or not there shall come a time when the american streets, despite the sophistry of vulgar Fox News and sly CNN, NYT etc, will also take to the streets.
As the african admonishion goes, quit counting other people's money
Yes. Colonialism is dead! Enough of interference!
We couldn't have the people in these countries running things. They would have kept to more their own core values which do not include 'conspicuous consumption'. Most cultures value the true wealth of humanity, not things.
Our vicious military and IMF policies insist on imposing 'conspicuous consumption', a necessary evil for the survival of the corporate capitalist oligarchy. Without a constantly expanding marketplace, capitalism fails as an economic model. Without capitalistic greed, the military model goes away.
No. I fear the "christian" and not-so-christian extremists in the USA who want to reclaim the "glory" days of the genocidal and enslaving past that is not so past..
For at least the last 100 years U.S. foreign policy has been based on big business, $ and power not the canard of human rights or the fascist T.V. News and sycophant press editorials that we are bringing them freedom and democracy. America is and has been a dictatorship in its foreign policy. The world wide protests of millions of people before the shock and awe illegal bombing and murder for the lie of WMD.s in Iraq, proved this beyond a shadow of a doubt! We are in many ways, no different than the citizens of Egypt who now say they have had enough. One wonders when will Americans will say we have had enough of these war criminals that are and have been in control of our government and we need regime change. It seems to me that is now our duty as patriotic Americans.
Thanks Paul,
Others are beginning to see the commonality of the human plight in the Middle East with our own - especially when Tunisia lit the long simmering fuse.
One can only hope that humanity wins out over timidity and greed.
It important to remember that the individual who sparked this revolution was NOT an Islamic Extremist . He was not a Nationalist.
He was Mohamed Bouazizi , a poor fruit vendor who was the only source of income for his family and had been working to save money for his sisters who he hoped to send to University so they could have a better life.
The media is trying their best to turn this into something it is not. An Islamist Uprising..
It is The POOR against the RICH. It is the people who are sick of watching the wealth of a nation flow to the privileged few.
And just a by the way.
The GINI coefficient in the USA is HIGHER then that in Tunisia.
Some here seem to be twisting what Jeff Cohen is saying in this article. He's not saying that all Islam is extremist at all. Please. What he's saying is for those in the US mainstream media and others who claim to be so concerned about Islamic extremism, they need to blame the government in Washington, the US capital for having backed those very types in the Cold War against Moscow even when it was clear these people were the worst of fanatics. These people our power elites had every reason at the time to believe these people could easily turn on the USA and the rest of the West later and that they had no use for moderation or reason. In no way does Cohen claim all Islam is extreme. He's talking about the dominant narrative coming out of the US mainstream media about how we'd better be careful how we root for democracy to win out over despotism in Egypt and Tunisia. Also in these countries Christian, Hindu and other religious fanatics don't have much of a presence and thus are irrelevant to what's happening. That in no way says they don't exists internationally.
Cohen's historical review of the facts stands the test. What he said about the US Goverment going into Afghanistan the way it did against a government which simply was friendly to Moscow is true. That government was carrying out land reform, reforms for women, and other reforms to help the people. The US Government so predictably put itself on "wrong side of a
world revoluton" as Martin Luther King Jr said we were on in his day. Dr King did say this, and I'm convinced he'd say today.
Also do note how Cohen criticizes the US and Israeli govenrments for pursuing the wrong headed policy of backing these despotic regimes. He says the US Government should get its heel off the 'back of the Arab people." How the hell is that wrong.
I Know I've met Cohen personally, so that means I'm "biased" -- fine thanks.
AD
Yes, I'm a "fellow traveler" and have always been so just like Glen Taylor when he was on the Progressive national ticket in 1948 with Henry Wallace and was a senator from Idaho and we all "know he was a 'Communist loving' type right in there with Paul Robeson. Yeah "you right about me." I'm just rolling in all that "Communist" money just like Senator Taylor was when he got the hell beat out of him for for simply addressing an integrated audience in Alabama 15 years before Martin Luther King Jr and others would get beat up by the same type of racist jack assses for trying to desegaegate anythng. But then being a "Communist lover" in 1948 would get no sympathy from the the Cold War liberals such Hubert Humphrey or all the others.
AD
Yes, I'm a "fellow traveler" and have always been so just like Glen Taylor when he was on the Progressive national ticket in 1948 with Henry Wallace and was a senator from Idaho and we all "know he was a 'Communist loving' type right in there with Paul Robeson. Yeah "you right about me." I'm just rolling in all that "Communist" money just like Senator Taylor was when he got the hell beat out of him for for simply addressing an integrated audience in Alabama 15 years before Martin Luther King Jr and others would get beat up by the same type of racist jack assses for trying to desegaegate anythng. But then being a "Communist lover" in 1948 would get no sympathy from the the Cold War liberals such Hubert Humphrey or all the others.
AD
Yes, I'm a "fellow traveler" and have always been so just like Glen Taylor when he was on the Progressive national ticket in 1948 with Henry Wallace and was a senator from Idaho and we all "know he was a 'Communist loving' type right in there with Paul Robeson. Yeah "you right about me." I'm just rolling in all that "Communist" money just like Senator Taylor was when he got the hell beat out of him for for simply addressing an integrated audience in Alabama 15 years before Martin Luther King Jr and others would get beat up by the same type of racist jack assses for trying to desegaegate anythng. But then being a "Communist lover" in 1948 would get no sympathy from the the Cold War liberals such Hubert Humphrey or all the others.
AD
AD,
It is difficult to imagine a more incoherent, irrelevant, or illogical response.
You have avoided addressing any of the significant questions that have been raised about Cohen's article, and you have imagined that somebody has accused you of being a "communist."
Pardon me, but is this intended to be helpful to Jeff Cohen?
Some here seem to be twisting what Jeff Cohen is saying in this article. He's not saying that all Islam is extremist at all. Please. What he's saying is for those in the US mainstream media and others who claim to be so concerned about Islamic extremism, they need to blame the government in Washington, the US capital for having backed those very types in the Cold War against Moscow even when it was clear these people were the worst of fanatics. These people our power elites had every reason at the time to believe these people could easily turn on the USA and the rest of the West later and that they had no use for moderation or reason. In no way does Cohen claim all Islam is extreme. He's talking about the dominant narrative coming out of the US mainstream media about how we'd better be careful how we root for democracy to win out over despotism in Egypt and Tunisia. Also in these countries Christian, Hindu and other religious fanatics don't have much of a presence and thus are irrelevant to what's happening. That in no way says they don't exists internationally.
Cohen's historical review of the facts stands the test. What he said about the US Goverment going into Afghanistan the way it did against a government which simply was friendly to Moscow is true. That government was carrying out land reform, reforms for women, and other reforms to help the people. The US Government so predictably put itself on "wrong side of a
world revoluton" as Martin Luther King Jr said we were on in his day. Dr King did say this, and I'm convinced he'd say today.
Also do note how Cohen criticizes the US and Israeli govenrments for pursuing the wrong headed policy of backing these despotic regimes. He says the US Government should get its "heel" off the 'back of the Arab people." How the hell is that wrong?
I Know I've met Cohen personnally, so "I must be biased"-- fine thanks.
AD
I was commenting on how this is being played in the Western media by people such as matthews.
It is not ABOUT Islam. The Countries it is happening in just happen to be Muslim. It is about rich versus poor.
It is about how wealth being distributed. It no more about Islam then the protests in France were about Christianity.
Thank you, GWN! I, too, am really sick of all this "Islamist" this and "Islamic" that. Ten years ago most Americans couldn't tell you what Islam or it's related adjectives was. Now they're finding it under every bed. It reminds me of "Communism" in the post WW2 era and we didn't handle that very well, either.
I have an idea. Instead of giving scholarships to foreigners to come here and learn our so wonderful ways, why don't we invest much more in sending Americans abroad to learn from others?