Bill O’Reilly wants to assure us that Fox News isn’t ‘out to get’ President Obama. Uh-huh.
February 7, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Bill O’Reilly phoned in to Fox News’ Happening Now program this morning to talk over his interview with President Obama with Martha MacCallum retrospectively. O’Reilly’s real impressions sound like classic cases of projection: He thinks, among other things, that the president is “thin-skinned” and probably “self-centered.” Indeed. Our impression of O’Reilly exactly. And then he tried to pull a fast one: MACCALLUM: I also want to get your thoughts — at the very beginning of the interview, I appreciated that you took a moment to thank him, and to thank the administration, for some help that they gave us at Fox News in helping two of our colleagues, Greg Palkot and Olaf Wiig, and the whole thing kind of reminded me too of that moment, way back, when they talked about the fact that Fox News wasn’t a news organization. And clearly we were treated in a very respectful way in this whole thing. I just wanted to get your thoughts on all that. O’REILLY: Well, look, you have to understand that interview that we did yesterday was the most widely viewed interview of all time, because of the Internet — you know, the moment it was done it was all over the world, everybody was looking at it. And I wanted people who don’t know Fox News, and all they hear about is the liberal media defining us, to know that we don’t have any personal animus against the president of the United States — and he did, and Robert Gibbs and the State Department did really, really good work in helping Palkot and Wiig. That’s the truth. So why not say that? And why not say that to him? And I wanted him to get the message that, look, we’re not out to hurt you. We the network. There might be guys like Hannity and Beck who really feel that you’re not a good president and your policies are destructive. But we have other people on the staff who feel the opposite. So, yes, Fox News is skeptical of President Obama, more so than the liberal networks, of course. We’re not personally invested in hurting him and I think that that statement up top was true. It needed to be said. It was in the context of the event, and I’m glad I said it. Of course they don’t hate President Obama at Fox News. They just call publicly wish for him to fail and announce their intention to make him fail . They just call him a racist , a socialist , a fascist , a radical Marxist revolutionary , and an America-hater . But hey, it’s nothing personal. Really. And those “staff” members who “feel the opposite”? OK, my guess is that they’re all members of the janitorial staff. Because you’ll sure as hell never see them on the air at Fox News.
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On the night of Tuesday, February 8, Tahrir Square took on a festival atmosphere, with a man playing an acoustic guitar to a crowd of hundreds.
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enlarge President Obama gives US Chamber of Commerce speech 2/7/2011 Treason : “…[a]…citizen’s actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation].” Keep that definition in mind when you read Brian Beutler’s report of the US Chamber of Commerce sending a message to Iran saying they oppose all US economic sanctions against them. Head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mines Mohammad Nahavandian underlined on Wednesday that the US and European companies and economic institutions are completely opposed to imposing sanctions against Iran. “The economic atmosphere of the US and Europe is opposed to sanctions against Iran,” Nahavandian told FNA. Stressing that the American people are not interested in imposing sanctions against Tehran, he said that the US Chamber of Commerce along with seven other institutions recently sent a statement to Iran and underlined the US private sector’s opposition to such embargoes . But wait, there’s more: A Chamber spokesperson was not immediately available to confirm the report, but it’s compatible with the group’s other, recent efforts. Early last year, the Chamber, along with eight other business-friendly groups, wrote to then-National Economic Council director Larry Summers and then-National Security Advisor Jim Jones opposing Iran sanctions legislation. “The undersigned business organizations are profoundly concerned that current legislative proposals to expand U.S. sanctions on Iran…would significantly undermine the U.S. national interest,” the groups wrote. “While we agree that preventing Iran from developing the capability to produce nuclear weapons is an urgent U.S. national security objective, the unilateral, extraterritorial, and overly broad approach of these bills would undercut rather than advance this critical objective.” Looking at these actions in light of the definition of treason I cited earlier, it certainly appears as though certain corporate “citizens” (since they have had personhood bestowed upon them), are subverting the Obama administration’s efforts to a) slow or prevent nuclear proliferation, since nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran are a clear threat to our national security; and b) in so doing, are helping a foreign government to seriously injure the parent nation. The Chamber has argued in public and in communication to its membership that the lobbying it undertook to weaken Iran sanctions was absolutely necessary to keep corporate “persons” from doing business with other companies in the Middle East. All fine and well, but it still does not excuse them writing to the Iranian government in direct opposition to current administration policies. These Chamber actions, when looked at from a distance and in concert with disclosures in the WikiLeaks cables about their activities in foreign countries, suggest an organization loyal to wealth-building without regard to this nation’s priorities, policies, or laws. Sanctions are one of the few ways of putting pressure on an opposing government without violence or aggression. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think the idea of Iran as a nuclear power is something anyone in this country or the Middle East — Israel or otherwise — wants. It would be the equivalent of handing the launch mechanism in this country to Sarah Palin. In President Obama’s speech to the Chamber today , he said this: But I want to be clear: even as we make America the best place on earth to do business, businesses also have a responsibility to America. I somehow have the sense that Tom Donohue was smirking behind his coffee when he said that. The rest of the speech was subtle pressure for these companies to quit sitting on their $2 trillion in cash and start investing in jobs not only to stimulate the economy but because it’s patriotic . Yes, we’ll have disagreements; yes we will see things differently at times. But we are all Americans. And that spirit of patriotism, that sense of mutual regard and common obligation has carried us through times far harder than these. Clearly the president was not advised that when corporations are persons in this country, patriotism is not part of their charter for existing here. Tom Donohue has seen to that. Postscript: The fabulous Jon Perr reminds that Dick Cheney and 2012-hopeful Mitt Romney have significant interests in companies involved in Iranian investment deals . Cheney’s Halliburton ties are the gift that just keeps giving.
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Ayman Nofel, a senior commander, is given heroes welcome in Gaza refugee camp after prison breakout amid Egypt’s chaos In a small cell in Egypt’s al-Marj prison, the BBC World Service brought encouraging news to Ayman Nofel. The senior Hamas commander from Gaza had just passed the third anniversary of his imprisonment on unspecified charges. The voice coming from his radio told him that prisoners at another Egyptian jail had been freed amid the chaotic uprising sweeping the country. He saw his chance and wasted no time. “I shouted to other prisoners to break down the doors and gates,” said Nofel, who described himself as the only political prisoner among al-Marj’s criminal population. Using smuggled mobile phones to mobilise locals to storm the prison gates, Nofel and his fellow-prisoners fought their way outside the walls and to freedom. In an unintended consequence of the Egyptian people’s revolt against decades of repression and economic misery, the Hamas militant accused of planning bomb attacks against Israel found himself at the centre of a hero’s welcome in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. One by one, men queueing under the blue tarpaulin of a reception tent stepped forward to embrace the commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing. They flung arms around his shoulders, clapped his back vigorously and planted kisses on each cheek before turning to accept a celebratory sticky pastry and cup of potent Arabic coffee. Despite the festivities, Nofel, 37, a stocky man in a checked shirt, said he was ready to return to “work”. Three years “and a few days” in the dank and wretched conditions of an Egyptian jail had not dulled his eagerness for what he described as “the next battle”. The Hamas commander claimed he was held for political reasons in Egypt after being detained at a security checkpoint in Sinai in 2008. “I never went on trial. My family got a lawyer, who went to court and got an order to release me but I was never freed.” His escape came amid the chaos of the early days of Egypt’s revolution. Having broken out of the prison with help from local people he contacted “people here in Gaza”. Hamas? “Yes, of course. They arranged for some Egyptians to pick me up,” he said. Nofel stayed in a house in the area for about seven days “until the situation was more stable”. Finally he was brought through a tunnel dug beneath the Egypt-Gaza border to his home and family. He was grateful to the Egyptian protesters who “inspired us to rise up against the prison guards. This should have happened earlier. They have spent 30 years being enslaved by the regime.” He hoped to see the Muslim Brotherhood in power in Egypt – “and all over the world, not just Egypt”. Now, he would “resume my work with the Qassam Brigades. We are preparing and training for the next battle. This is our right.” Nofel’s unambiguous support and gratitude for Egypt’s revolutionaries has not been universally shared in Gaza. Fatah supporters are worried that President Hosni Mubarak’s demise could boost the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, the political partners of their arch-rivals Hamas. “Hamas has not spoken a single word,” said Gaza political analyst Mkhaimar Abusada. “My information is that they gave instructions to spokesmen not to say anything. They are closely watching the situation, but they don’t want to publicly side with either the people or the government.” However, Hamas imams in Gaza’s mosques had described the regime as a dictatorship and offered strong support to the attempt to overthrow the government, he added. “Deep in their hearts, Hamas is very happy because they believe the Mubarak regime was conspiring with Israel, the US and the [Fatah-dominated] Palestinian Authority to impose the siege on Gaza. But they are waiting to see how it plays out.” Fatah supporters, he said, took the view that “my enemy’s enemy is my friend. They know Hamas is keen to see Mubarak leave power. Any change in Egypt will not serve the interests of Fatah and the PA, but the interests of Hamas.” A senior Israeli government official said: “We have no doubt that Hamas is exploiting the current chaos in Egypt to advance its own interests, whether by arms smuggling or strengthening its terrorist infrastructure. We are deeply concerned about it.” On the streets of Gaza City, many people spoke of being glued to TV pictures from Egypt over the past fortnight. “I keep pushing my children out of the way,” said Emtiaz Abu Watfa, 45. “If I could go there, I would. Mubarak will be forced out.” Could she see similar scenes to those in Cairo’s Tahrir square in Gaza City’s Palestine square? “Inshallah. We want change everywhere, here in Gaza too. People are suffering. Democracy must take its place.” Basel Atwana, 32, a member of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, agreed. “The Egyptian youth have become more aware of their rights, and they knew the road to Tahrir square. They will keep on fighting. One day we will do the same.” But minding his music shop, its shelves lined with CDs and DVDs featuring Egyptian stars, Fatah supporter Haytham Waheidy, 38, feared that Egypt could become another Iraq, racked by division and violence. “I think the Egyptian people deserve freedom, but Mubarak has promised change and they should give him a chance to implement this. It is outside interference that is keeping them in Tahrir Square.” The historical, cultural and social ties between Egypt and Gaza are strong. Gazans lived under Egyptian rule for almost 20 years until 1967; there are business and family connections; for three years Gazans almost exclusively consumed Egyptian products smuggled through the tunnels. “Egypt is everywhere in Gaza,” said Abusada. Hamas Egypt Palestinian territories Gaza Middle East Israel Protest Harriet Sherwood guardian.co.uk
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Click here to view this media The Young America’s Foundation’s Vice President, Kate Obenshain, introduced Sarah Palin at their conference celebrating the anniversary of what would have been Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday at the Reagan Ranch. Obenshain started out by comparing Palin to Reagan and playing the victim card for both of them, portraying both of them as being unfairly demonized by that evil liberal media that just wants to keep conservatives down. Obenshain then proceeded to give us this bit of gag-inducing history revisionism on the grifter half-term Governor Palin. Someone needs to direct Obenshain to Jon Perr’s post where he broke down what today’s conservatives would actually have thought about St. Ronnie . I also think Obershain might be spending a little too much time hanging out with the likes of John Ziegler . If not, they both have definitely been reading off of the same set of talking points. OBENSHAIN: Now in 2008 conservatives felt again that we had lost our way. We had strayed so far from the vision of Ronald Reagan. The media and many on the left even declared the end of conservatism. Then seemingly from out of nowhere another leader emerged. A woman from humble origins, self made and hard working, an entrepreneur married to her high school sweetheart; a woman who has taken on the establishment time and time again and won. She had become a mayor and then governor, not for the glory, but because this busy mom saw jobs that needed to be done and she knew how to do them. So she sacrificed an easier way because she loved the state and she loved her freedom more than she loved her comfort. Because of her courage and her ingrained sense of right and wrong she stood tall for freedom even when she was told to sit down. Time and time again she ignored the establishment on both the left and the right and she did what she believed was right for her family and her country, without even intending to, she led the largest spontaneous grassroots movement our nation has ever seen. She brought other hard working, tax paying, law abiding, god loving Americans who have never even considered being civic activists to their feet saying “Enough is enough.” And in large measure because of her courage and the fire she sparked in others our nation sent a profound philosophical message that transcends party lines to its leaders, “Change course.” What thanks has she gotten? Those feminists who claim they want to see more women in leadership positions, they’ve led the charge in the most stunning assault of the character of a good and honorable person that we have seen in the public sphere. For her outspoken courage, for her beliefs in those founding principles that Reagan championed, she along with her family have faced scorn and derision. But it hasn’t stopped her. It has just made her stronger.
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Hosni Mubarak may not quit until the autumn but amending a constitution that afforded him such power can begin sooner It is not easy to predict what will happen next in Egypt’s uprising, but if there is to be significant reform in the post-Mubarak era the route will have to go through several far-reaching constitutional and political changes needed to open up a sclerotic system. Talks on Sunday between the vice-president, Omar Suleiman, and opposition figures produced little of substance – though the meeting with Muslim Brotherhood was a symbolic first. Mistrust, however, remains strong: Essam al-Erian, a leading Brotherhood member, has complained that a statement issued after the meeting had not been signed by the attendees. Crucially there is still no sign Mubarak is going to step down before the autumn – a position now tacitly supported by the US, UK and other western governments. The key question is whether change can take place without his departure – the core demand of the protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Mohamed ElBaradei, the nearest the divided opposition has to a recognised leader, is insisting the president must go, and has called for a ruling council to serve for a year of transition as a caretaker government to prepare new elections. He also wants the constitution abolished and parliament dissolved. Key changes include amending articles 76 and 77, which describe the powers of the presidency and the system for presidential elections that perpetuated Mubarak’s rule for a fifth consecutive term. Article 88 also needs to be amended to restore full judicial supervision of elections. Another must is article 179, controversially amended in 2007 to include an “anti-terrorism” measure that allows arbitrary arrest, searches and wiretapping without warrant and the transfer of civilian court cases to military tribunals. Unlike the emergency law this is not a temporary measure requiring parliamentary approval but a permanent extension of executive power under the constitution. Suleiman’s statement said only that the emergency would be lifted “in accordance with the security situation”. Debate in Egypt, as the Arabist blog put it , centres on how to proceed with either a new constitution or adapting the current one to the new circumstances. One initiative calls on Mubarak to devolve to Suleiman the responsibilities of managing the transitional period, dissolving the Shura (consultative upper) council and People’s Assembly (lower house) and form a committee of legal experts and independent judges to prepare constitutional amendments. But some experts warn that Mubarak’s immediate departure could make it harder to carry out changes. “If he resigns, the situation will be dangerous because we will have a constitutional vacuum, which means that we will have no chance to amend the constitution,” Ibrahim Darwish, a constitutional lawyer at Cairo University, told al-Masry al-Yom newspaper. Opposition supporters are also demanding the release of detainees belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, the 6 April and 25 January movements and other groups. Other demands are greater freedom for private media, allowing opposition figures to appear in state-run media and abolishing restrictions on domestic and international media. There are calls too for civilian oversight of the police and security forces and a commitment by the army to supervise the transition. But Sherif Younis, another law professor, urged that change in Egypt be looked at in the broadest possible context. “Treating the constitution as sacred at this time is misguided,” he argued. “Surely the constitution is not meaningless; many institutions function, even if superficially, according to this document. What’s missing from the current debate is an honest discussion about the fact that the constitution exists in a wider context where a state of exception prevails and the exercise of political power often trumps the rule of law.” Hosni Mubarak Egypt Middle East Protest Ian Black guardian.co.uk
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February 7, 2011 No Comment
In New Cairo – a satellite city to the east of the capital – life, on the surface at least, seems to have barely changed The grass is cut as finely as ever on the Katameya Heights golf course, and cigars are still being smoked discreetly in the clubhouse. Glancing around the lobby, one could be forgiven for thinking nothing had ever disturbed this gated citadel of Cairo luxury; indeed the ladies’ day Valentine’s tournament is to go ahead as scheduled. There is just one tactful nod to the turmoil that has shaken Egypt to its foundations in the past fortnight: a short letter to members, pinned to a noticeboard by the fountain. “Welcome back – we hope you and your families are all safe,” it reads. “The 18-hole operating hours are as follows.” Barack Obama claims this country “is not going back to what it was”, but in New Cairo – a satellite city to the east of the capital, home to dozens of high-walled residential compounds – life, on the surface at least, seems to have barely changed at all. “Things are back to normal: food is in the shops, the gates are secure, all the cafes are open,” says Wael Hassan, a 34-year-old marketing manager who lives in Al Rehab, one of the oldest private communities in the area. “Naturally people were inconvenienced by the troubles, and no one likes instability. But thankfully things are OK now.”In the nearby courtyard of Costa coffee, a neighbour of Wael’s agreed. “People get tired of revolutions pretty quickly, and when you’re in a self-contained bubble like this it’s hard to associate images on TV with anything that’s happening in real life. So we waited it out and then came out to play; we knew all this disruption wouldn’t last for long.” Yet as Egypt’s pro-change uprising enters its third week, a return to normality in places such as New Cairo is exactly what those camped out 15 miles away in Tahrir Square desperately want to avoid. Carved out of the desert in piecemeal fashion over the past two decades as part of an ambitious and highly controversial urban expansion programme, this elite neighbourhood for many symbolises everything that is wrong with the Mubarak regime. “The corruption and crony capitalism that New Cairo was built on goes to the heart of this government’s contempt for the Egyptian people,” says Hamdy Fakharany, an activist lawyer who has been challenging land sales in the area through the courts. Last year he won a landmark victory after proving that desert plots in Madinaty – a 13sq mile New Cairo compound worth £1.9bn developed by a company with close ties to the Mubarak family – was sold by the Egyptian government at a fraction of the market price. Now judges have ordered the sale agreement to be annulled, threatening similar development contracts with the same fate and throwing the entire district’s future into chaos. “When they sold off our public land to their friends, they did it because they knew they could get away with it – they were not afraid of the people,” says Fakharany, who believes that up to 26,000sq miles of desert land has been misappropriated in Egypt over the past few years, the cumulative size of five nearby Arab countries. “My court cases, and now this revolution, means they can’t be that complacent anymore.” The nepotism that marked New Cairo’s astonishing growth in recent years is not the only reason it has come to symbolise Egypt’s perceived backsliding under Mubarak. As a refuge for the upper classes fleeing Cairo’s demographic explosion, New Cairo also stands as a glaring example of the growing divide between rich and poor that characterised the government of the prime minister Ahmed Nazif – an economic reformist, and one of those who lost his job in Mubarak’s recent reshuffle. Nazif oversaw a replacement of progressive fiscal policies with a flat-rate income tax, refused to raise the minimum wage above £3.50 a month, and presided over a rise in the proportion of those living below the poverty line – who now account for 40% of the population. And yet, despite the contrast between New Cairo and the plethora of poor, redbrick ashwa’iyat (informal neighbourhoods) nearby, attitudes to the current protests do not split neatly along class lines. “Lots of people from here travelled to join the demonstrations, even when their parents told them not to,” says Salma Tariq, a 26-year-old New Cairo resident. “Yes our families have done well out of the regime and you might think that we have an interest in preserving the status quo, but in reality the youth here have the same frustrations as anyone else in Egypt: we want freedom, we want to stop being afraid of the police, we want a chance to shape our own future.”When the uprising started many of the young men in this neighbourhood split into groups and alternated between going to the protests and staying home to defend our properties from looters. Some people I know were fleeing the country, and one got on a private jet to Greece – but these were the minority. As the labourers tending to half-built villas begin to drift back to work, and upscale franchised coffee chains roll back their shutters, the rhythms of life in New Cairo are slowly returning to normal. But that doesn’t mean that nothing has been altered. “Look at those protesting in Tahrir: you have the poor, but you also have young people who are the cream of the elite,” says Prof Ahmed Okasha, a psychiatrist based in New Cairo. “This revolution has changed the character of the Egyptian people and broken their fear; that applies as much to this town as it does to anywhere else. Some here will cling on to their privileges, but their children are with the protesters. No one will be able to go on pretending nothing has happened for long.” Egypt Middle East Jack Shenker guardian.co.uk
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Pro-democracy campaigners call for further mass protests as government concessions fail to win over Muslim Brotherhood Leading opposition groups in Egypt, including the Muslim Brotherhood, are standing by a demand that President Hosni Mubarak resign before there can be a political agreement to end two weeks of mass protests against his regime. Pro-democracy campaigners called another mass demonstration for Tuesday to keep up the pressure on Mubarak to quit in the face of the government’s attempts to marginalise the street protests as no longer relevant because political talks are under way. In Washington, Barack Obama expressed optimism about developments in Egypt. “Obviously Egypt has to negotiate a path, and I think they’re making progress,” he said. But there remains considerable suspicion within the opposition about the intentions of Mubarak’s vice-president, Omar Suleiman, who is overseeing the political transition and leading the negotiations, particularly after the continued arrest of opposition activists and fresh harassment of the press. Mubarak’s new cabinet, installed after he sacked the previous one in an attempt to placate protesters, held its first meeting today and promptly announced a 15% pay rise for government employees in an apparent attempt to buy support among workers hit by sharply rising food prices. The government also promised investigations into official corruption and widespread fraud that delivered the ruling party its large victory in last year’s parliamentary election. The curfew was relaxed by an hour. But the government’s attempts to return Egypt to normality with a call for a return to work and an end to the demonstrations met with only partial success. Banks opened for a second day but the stock exchange, which the government hoped would be trading, remained closed, as did schools and many businesses. The value of the Egyptian pound fell sharply. Suleiman met major opposition groups, including the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, yesterday and made a series of concessions in the hope of defusing the protests. But Muslim Brotherhood members who attended the meeting said today that they “will continue in dialogue only if people’s demands are respected”. The Islamist group said this required “the immediate resignation of President Mubarak” as well as the dissolving of parliament, the release of political prisoners and the lifting of oppressive emergency laws. Other opposition leaders, including Mohamed ElBaradei, were sensitive to not being used to undermine the street protests and also said that Mubarak must quit for political change to take place. The leftwing Nasserist party has pulled out of talks until the president resigns. Mubarak has said he intends to remain in office until elections in September. Groups representing demonstrators across Egypt have said they will not end the protests until Mubarak has gone. They also want to see parliament dissolved and the lifting of the oppressive state of emergency among other measures. In Tahrir square, Cairo, tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out again today despite the government’s attempts to marginalise the protesters by suggesting that with political negotiations underway, they are no longer relevant. The military has said it is under orders to reopen the road through the square, a move that would greatly weaken the demonstrations. Protesters sought to prevent any surprise assault by sleeping inside the tracks of the army’s tanks and armoured vehicles. Unable to remove the demonstrators, the government is apparently trying to diminish their profile. The military was ordered not to permit foreign journalists to enter Tahrir square until they had press cards issued by the Egyptian government, which the information ministry said would not be available for at least two days. More activists have been arrested, it was reported, including an independent film-maker, Samir Eshra, and Abdel-Karim Nabil Suleiman, who blogs under the name Karim Amer. Amer was the first blogger to be prosecuted in the country when he was jailed for four years in 2007 for insulting Islam and the president. He was released last November. Washington has had to repeatedly shift policy on Egypt over the last fortnight. Obama called last week for Mubarak to begin the transition to democracy now, but has been forced to accept that he may stay in office until September. In the meantime, it has thrown its support behind Suleiman, to the distress of some of the government’s opponents. The White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, elaborating on Obama’s comment about “progress”, backed Suleiman. He said that since the protests began Mubarak had said he would stand down and his son would not seek to succeed him. Steven Cook, a Middle East specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations, acknowledged the concerns about Suleiman. “He is not known to be a progressive thinker. Nobody would consider him to be a democrat.” Asked about criticism of the Obama administration for its seemingly constant policy switches, Cook said the administration had been dealt this hand when Mubarak nominated Suleiman as his vice-president. “The administration is being hammered but it has no leverage to influence events,” Cook said. Hosni Mubarak Egypt Middle East Protest Obama administration United States Chris McGreal Ewen MacAskill guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …This is really, really bad — and stupid. On the other hand, I’m sure the administration assumed no U.S. reporter would be so tactless as to mention it, since there are so many conflicts of interest — and they were right. Leave it to Robert Fisk to tell us what everyone else left out: Frank Wisner, President Barack Obama’s envoy to Cairo who infuriated the White House this weekend by urging Hosni Mubarak to remain President of Egypt, works for a New York and Washington law firm which works for the dictator’s own Egyptian government. Mr Wisner’s astonishing remarks – “President Mubarak’s continued leadership is critical: it’s his opportunity to write his own legacy” – shocked the democratic opposition in Egypt and called into question Mr Obama’s judgement, as well as that of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The US State Department and Mr Wisner himself have now both claimed that his remarks were made in a “personal capacity”. But there is nothing “personal” about Mr Wisner’s connections with the litigation firm Patton Boggs, which openly boasts that it advises “the Egyptian military, the Egyptian Economic Development Agency, and has handled arbitrations and litigation on the [Mubarak] government’s behalf in Europe and the US”. Oddly, not a single journalist raised this extraordinary connection with US government officials – nor the blatant conflict of interest it appears to represent. Mr Wisner is a retired State Department 36-year career diplomat – he served as US ambassador to Egypt, Zambia, the Philippines and India under eight American presidents. In other words, he was not a political appointee. But it is inconceivable Hillary Clinton did not know of his employment by a company that works for the very dictator which Mr Wisner now defends in the face of a massive democratic opposition in Egypt. So why on earth was he sent to talk to Mubarak, who is in effect a client of Mr Wisner’s current employers? Go read the rest. It’s shockingly blatant, as is just about everything related to Patton Boggs.
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