We are approaching the first anniversary of the January 25th Revolution and everyone is full of different emotions—the triumphant Islamists with their seats in the first parliament after Revolution, the revolutionaries full of anger and feelings that they have been deceived by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), the Egyptian people who are “the silent majority,” or as they are called in Egypt, “the Couch Party”. This section of society does nothing but watch the Revolution on TV, sitting on their couches at home with a cup of tea, deathly afraid of the warnings that there is kind of conspiracy to burn down the whole state accusing the “the left anarchist communists.” And then there is the last sector: 19 generals of the SCAF who are full of fear! These conflicting emotions lead us to seriously question what may happen on the 25th of January. This was a quick sketch of the scene in Egypt, but what about the plans coming from abroad, that is to say, what has the U.S. Administration done to prepare for the Egyptian Revolution?
It is impossible to think about the developments of the Egyptian Revolution without considering the contribution from the U.S., for many reasons. The Camp David Peace Treaty with Israel has granted millions of dollars annually to the Egyptian Army and there is great economic and logistic cooperation between the U.S. Administration and the “Egyptian Regime”. The Revolution calls for three slogans which the youth have stated: “bread, freedom, and social justice”. Here a question must be raised: Are these three points of the Revolution in harmony with the interests of the U.S. Administration?
With the signing of the Camp David Treaty by Egypt, under the Mubārak regime and under his predecessor, Anwar al-Sadāt, lost a great portion of its independence and its soft power in the Arab World and in greater Africa. This lead to the marginalization of Egyptian diplomatic power in some arranged meetings between ‘Umar Sulaymān, the ex-intelligence chief, and Hamas leaders in Cairo or in Gaza. According to the Camp David Accords, it was intended for Egypt to maintain its influence at its borders and keep the country busy with frightening domestic corruption. Here I emphasize that I am not against peace, rather against the priceless sacrifices and harm that the treaty has brought Egypt.
The Revolution came to rearrange the situation and to say, “Enough with the old regime and all of its attributes.” It was an unexpected explosion that none of the intelligence institutions could have predicted. So, how will U.S. policy contain this unexpected detriment to its long-settled rules with these powers in the Middle East? A few months after the Revolution, the U.S. Administration decided to send a new ambassador to Egypt, or to borrow a phrase, “A Chalcedonian patriarch,” after the well-observed failures of her predecessor, Margaret Scobey. So Ambassador Scobey sent us Anne W. Patterson from Pakistan. What kind of role will the new ambassador play with her valuable background of dealing with violent Islamists, terrorists, and al-Qā’idah, too in one of the worst spots on earth?
We should be aware that a moderate and tolerant Islam or even Islamic policy like that in Turkey or Malaysia does not suit the interests of U.S. policy. As such, the U.S. will take the chance to interfere in the Egyptian state under many pretexts like: “Protecting minorities from extremists.”
So it is important to note that the won seats for Salafists are creating a dear American target. Another piece of news that confirmed this analysis to me is the special visit that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter paid to the head of the Salafist party, ‘Imād ‘Abd al-Ghafūr, which the news highlights as a personal request from Carter.
In conclusion, we can assume that the only possible plan to avert the Egyptian Revolution with all of its targets, the most relevant of which is “the independence of Egyptian decision,” is the work of religious extremists who offer unconditional support to this kind of ideology to destabilize Egypt from within as well as the whole Middle East region. We must take into consideration the old strategic and logistic alliance between the U.S. Administration and the militant extremist Islamists, “the godfather of al-Qā’idah” in Afghanistan against the evils of the communist Soviet Union.
Now we have an idea about the kind of desired regime in Egypt being planned by the U.S., or “Pakistan”. The question is: Will we accept this poisonous gift or continue the unfinished revolution as Dr. Muhammad al-Barād’ī asked for in his last message?
