This week President Barack Obama ordered the intervention into yet another war after Syria crossed his “red line” by using chemical weapons against its own people. However, over in Egypt, denying civil liberties and free speech appears no barrier to U.S. aid. In the very same week as using human rights to justify another intervention, the Obama Administration quietly approved $1.3 billion in annual US military aid to Egypt. Both Israel and Egypt continue to receive billions in such aid every year despite the reduction or termination of basic environmental, educational, and other programs in the United States.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that the aid was “carefully considered” but it was viewed as necessary to “preserv[ing] important regional interests.” I almost wish it was not “carefully considered” given Egypt’s denial of basic civil liberties.
The same careful consideration has not prevented a cessation of all aid to Turkey despite that country attacking of hospitals, arrest of doctors for helping protesters, the faking of riots by police, and the use of caustic chemicals in water cannons by the government.
Secretary of State John Kerry notified Congress of the transfer of money shortly before the sentencing of 43 Egyptian and foreign NGO workers in what Kerry has denounced as a “politically-motivated trial.” That certainly showed them.
The government of Islamist President Mohammad Morsi and our other ally, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, show the hypocrisy of the United States in justifying military intervention in the name of human rights. Our credibility on such questions is further reduced by our own refusal to prosecute people responsible for the torture program and the widespread use of warrantless surveillance of our own people.
We are now supporting Islamist governments which are responsible for the greatest rollbacks on secular government in the Middle East. These same countries are responsible for the abuse of citizens seeking to exercise free speech and other basic liberties. We are sending billions to these countries that could be spent on our people who are facing weekly announcements of programs being cancelled for lack of funding.
my comment will not post. There is nothing offensive in it. Can someone retrieve it?
Nick, I don’t think either of your assertions can be backed up. I will link to a website with information about being fat and wonder what you think of what you read there. As to people not starving. Both children and adults are going without meals, many more so in the last few years. As to bad food choices. I’m not certain you can call being poor and not having the money to purchase nutritious foods a choice. Fast food is affordable in a way that fruits and veggies simply aren’t. One dollar will get me a hamburger which is filling (if only momentarily). A pint of organic tomatoes is 3-5 dollars. Certainly, the hamburger is full of really bad stuff and will ultimately harm my body. But it’s going to provide a burst of energy that I need to complete the first 40 hour job, take care of my family and move on to a second job. Really, the pint of tomatoes are at least 3 times the cost and they will not do it for energy boosting at the level needed to survive in the work/family environment I describe above.
Morgan Spurlock did a show about living on min. wage. I don’t think people understand how far at the edge that puts people and how deeply it effects one’s health and ability to get food at all, let alone nutritious food. This show did go through what it took to live on that level of wage.
http://www.haescommunity.org/
Prof. Turley says: “However, over in Egypt, denying civil liberties and free speech appears no barrier to U.S. aid.”
Why is this a surprise? I have explained countless times that Leftism means a strong, powerful government that people live in fear of, that is controlled by big business interests (corporate socialism). Of course, many here are stuck in the bogus quagmire of a Left-Right paradigm, but that is a fiction. Today, fascists, communists, corporate socialists, etc. may uniformly and correctly be referred to as Leftists. So, of course, Obama, an ardent Leftist, would be supporting the fascist, totalitarian regime in Egypt.
Here’s a comedic take on Leftism, in which its basic principles are articulated:
nick spinelli 1, June 18, 2013 at 12:32 pm
“So many Americans are starving” Shoot from the hip Dem bullshit.
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You obviously conflate “starving to death” with just plain “starving.”
The word means, when put in context, “to suffer from extreme poverty and need.”
In the last census, half of Americans had no assets. Zero.
Six Walton (Walmart) kids had as much as 100,000,000 American adults who have to support their families and/or themselves.
Get real.
It is bad in the U.S.eh?, even though you are not there in the bad stuff.
Anecdotal ideology is selfish.
The government hands out about 44 billion a year in foreign aid and most of it is military aid. From 90-something, 96 I believe, until the Iraq war Israel and Egypt were the two largest benefactors. They are now farther down the list behind places where we are in wars like Afghanistan. Israel has always been the top contender even before the aid was listed as military but remained concealed as other programs. Egypt was right up there also. Peace is expensive. It, in major part, cost Anwar an-Sadat his life.
Just look at the map linked below. Then do some searches like ‘political unrest in Jordan’, political unrest in ‘Lebanon’. The whole region is destabilized. We are selling (actually giving) israel a bunch of new weapons and selling the Saudis and the UAE some new and really spiffy weapons too.
We are protecting our best ‘friends’ and the red sea chokepoint. We are going to pay for a hopefully stabilizing influence in Egypt and I wouldn’t be surprised to read an increase aid to Jordan and Lebanon in the future to try to insure their stability. There is some very complicated s*it going down in an area we need to remain stable and where some of the countries have nukes.
Aid to Egypt to encourage stability, even if they are moving away from democratic/liberal ideals, is a necessity. Yea, I hate it too.
http://www.ezilon.com/maps/middle-east-continent-maps.html
“WASHINGTON — The Defense Department is expected to finalize a $10 billion arms deal with Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates next week that will provide missiles, warplanes and troop transports to help them counter any future threat from Iran.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/world/middleeast/us-selling-arms-to-israel-saudi-arabia-and-emirates.html?_r=0
From what I have read starvation is a problem among senior citizens who have exhausted all their resources and young children, nick. Not every community has the resources and programs that Madison does.
War…. You can count on…. Supplying aid to enemy combatants…. It’s a given…. How do you keep the food chin supplied…
“So many Americans are starving” Shoot from the hip Dem bullshit. And, Dems also point out, very correctly, that we have become an obese nation w/ the poor being the most obese. In prior generations, obesity was a sign of wealth. Now it’s a sign of poverty, thanks to coporate prepared and fast food, and poor parenting. The only Americans “starving” are those starving themselves via eating disorders. I cook spaghetti dinners and my wife serves them @ a place called Luke House in Madison. You can call and ask “Big Paul” who runs the place so keep your snide “possibly false anecdote” in your back pocket this time. We do volunteer work, not just sit around and whine. I’ll cook the pasta, and my wife will be serving there[w/ others] tomorrow. The diners are not starving. Many are obese. They’re poor[for the most part], many are homeless, or semi homeless, some have addiction and mental health issues, BUT THEY’RE NOT STARVING, or any more hungry than you or I before supper. This is a religious program supported by churches and synagogues in the Madison area. The discordant “starving Americans” and “Obesity Epidemic” is currently the most blatant hypocrisy in the political culture. I support the latter, teaching people how to eat right, particularly kids. Please stop saying the former, because it’s an obvious lie.
We need to find balance in foreign aid. Isolationism does not work and we need to help worthy causes worldwide. But yes, we need to focus more on our own. Get rid of bureaucracies and spend our hard earned dollars on people, not people getting paid 125k for sitting in a cubicle and watching porn on their computer all day.
“So many Americans are starving” Shoot from the hip Dem bullshit. And, Dems also point out, very correctly, that we have become an obese nation w/ the poor being the most obese.”
So Nick,
If you are going to find some excuse to disagree with me it would be nice if you quote me correctly, so as not to misquote me by omission. You responded to my writing this:
“I’ve never understood the idea of “foreign aid” for anyone while so many Americans are starving and languishing in poverty.”
Do you deny that poverty in the U.S. affects about 46 million people?:
“The nation’s official poverty rate in 2011 was 15.0 percent, with 46.2 million people in poverty. After three consecutive years of increases, neither the poverty rate nor the number of people in poverty were statistically different from the 2010 estimates.”http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb12-172.html
Maybe the point you are making is that poverty isn’t a problem because perhaps you and your wife cook spaghetti for poor people?:
“You can call and ask “Big Paul” who runs the place so keep your snide “possibly false anecdote” in your back pocket this time. We do volunteer work, not just sit around and whine. I’ll cook the pasta, and my wife will be serving there[w/ others] tomorrow. The diners are not starving. Many are obese.”
Now just what “snide anecdote” was I making that you responded to and also why in hell would you think this mythical anecdote was directed at you? What was it that led you to believe that anything I said was directed at obesity?
Here’s why I think you made this illogical, innaccurate comment at 12:32pm above. You wanted to start an argument with me, but had no basis for doing so. You misquoted what I was saying and then framed it as if I was attacking you. Now by doing this one can make an inference that the people who follow this blog are so stupid as to read your comment and think I attacked you in any way, thereby allowing you to play the wounded victim again when I respond.
It would have been nice if your comments were directed towards Egypt and their denial of human rights which is the subject of this thread, perhaps you might have some insight you could offer. I would guess knowing you that you’ve been to Egypt and have many close friends there, who have told you the truth of the situation. Wouldn’t it have been far better to take this opportunity to enlighten us with another of your wonderful insights, rather than engage in a silly attack on something I never said?
“Until we no longer have a deficit, our government has no right to hand out money to foreign nations.”
Darren,
I couldn’t agree with you more. I’ve never understood the idea of “foreign aid” for anyone while so many Americans are starving and languishing in poverty. However, this is most obvious when we see the aid designated as “military aid,” what is really being described is money that will be re-sent to the varied corporations that make up the Military/Industrial Complex. The other justification of course is that it brings our “allies” closer to us, but that has been shown time and again to be a false proposition.
Until we no longer have a deficit, our government has no right to hand out money to foreign nations.
nick,
Whoever is willing to carry the water.
rafflaw 1, June 18, 2013 at 10:34 am
I am trying to imagine how much infrastructure could be repaired and jobs created if that so-called military aid was diverted. How much of the 1.3 billion will actually go to the military and how much will go to the leader aristocracy of Egypt?
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A noble sentiment.
However, it may be that the money is diverted infrastructure money.
I have been trying for years to get an answer:
(Mega Infrastructure Bill To Make Jobs?). I think it had clauses in it that allowed federal agencies to spend the money overseas on infrastructure if in their discretion they felt that was best.
Who knows?
Crickets.
I am trying to imagine how much infrastructure could be repaired and jobs created if that so-called military aid was diverted. How much of the 1.3 billion will actually go to the military and how much will go to the leader aristocracy of Egypt?
It is Pirate Territory. The “aid” is “bribe”. You do not give aid and comfort to pirates in Pirate Territory.
It is striking that many Obama supporters still believe he is only killing, torturing and spying on people to: 1. save human (often, women’s rights) and 2. to protect the people of the US. Neither is remotely true.
The gas (reportedly containing nerve agents) sent to quell the protests in Egypt came from the US. Gas used against Occupy was also suspected of containing nerve agents).
It also seems strange that we are told we must cut social programs because there isn’t any money left in the budget. Yet, on a dime, billions of dollars appear for war. Where does that war money come from? It comes from somewhere.
If we have it for making war on the world, why do we not have it for social good? If we had a functioning press, we would be able to understand who is making vast sums of profit from all these wars. Lies could easily be exposed.
I worry that the ability of the govt. to propagandize our people into a state of complete ignorance and confusion has become so great that they will actually create a false “reality” which people will think is reality. Because of the manipulation going on, I feel it is important for anyone who can to speak out about what is truly happening. We have to raise questions, point out logical inconsistence, expose how propaganda is being used against our own people.
Even more importantly, Who is Fawn Hall??
Blouise, Who is Ollie North in this one?
I’m going to take a moment to remind readers of the Iran/Contra Affair.
Congress made all sorts of efforts to put a stop to US aid flowing to Nicaraguan contras, but folk within Reagan’s administration, including Reagan himself, who told his Administration he wanted the contras kept alive “body and soul”, created a plan which later, in true CIA style, blew up in their faces. A big scandal ensued with trials and convictions, but, in the end, Oliver North’s conviction was overturned, and President Bush I, pardoned the rest of the players.
In other words, if the Executive wants to send our tax dollars to crazy bandits in Central America or Islamic extremists in Egypt, they will and absolutely nothing we or Congress says or does will change a thing.
Democracy? More like, Thus sayeth the King … no matter which political party coughed him up.
Welcome to the new age Wartocracy.
The Arab Spring has turned into an Arab nightmare for the people. Morsi is making Mubarak look like a shining light of freedom and liberalism. Sadly for the Egyptian people, their fight for freedom has cost them any freedom they had…