John Kerry seems to have put his unique mark on the State Department. Just last week, Secretary of State John Kerry seemed to say that he was for the coup in Egypt before he was not sure about it. Now, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki has declared that the U.S. had “determined that we do not need to make a determination” over whether the ousting of Mohamed Morsi in Egypt was a coup. The wonderful thing is that no one can oppose our foreign policy if no one understands it. Brilliant.
Kerry had to do one of his signature backtracks last week on Egypt. He first insisted that the act of overthrowing an elected president by the military constituted “restoring democracy.” That seem a bit odd for people used to treating democracy as a term referring to political self-determination and elections. Otherwise places like North Korea could claim to be saving democracy by denying it.
Kerry then returned to the time-honored tradition of saying things that say nothing at all: “The temporary government has a responsibility with respect to demonstrators to give them the space to be able to demonstrate in peace. But at the same time, the demonstrators have a responsibility not to stop everything from proceeding in Egypt.”
His spokesman then came in with the truly Kerryesque statement that a determination has most certainly be made . . . not to make a determination.
Of course, the State Department usually makes determinations about coups and does not hesitate to condemn the actions of other countries. However, this is an ally so we are going to treat this as something between a non-event and the apocalypse. It is the coup that must not speak its name.
I was highly critical of Morsi and concerned over the increasing Islamic restrictions being imposed by the government. However, it is hard not to define a military takeover as anything other than a coup when they arrest and imprison the president and create a new government. It might have been better to simply misunderstand the question and answer a different one like “no this is not a coupe. A coupe is a a short, four-wheeled, closed carriage or an ice cream dish. Egypt is not an ice cream dish.” That would make a lot more sense.
To quote Ron Burgundy, “Simply stunning!”.
“I was for determining that the US determined that we do not need to make a determination on Egypt before I was against, but I have rethought my subsequent position.”–John Kerry
Well you see if there is no determination then the 1.5 billion we ship them cn continue….. Brilliant psychopaths …..
You can nit pick at the paint job or you can realize that Kerry is right. We don’t need to make a determination because the situation is polarized. On the one hand an emerging democracy on its first try gets saddled with a religious party that is connected and most likely dependent on fanatics. On the other hand when the new president starts to take the country to the religious extreme which means losing rights, people rise up and he is confronted with a potential revolution. The military is the only viable control system until the country settles down. Yet, that contradicts the act of electing a government. So, there is nothing Kerry or anybody else can say. So, no determination. Kerry is spot on. It is those who wait in the shadows for a slip up regardless of what it is that represent the true problem. If the writer really had any perspective he would be scrutinizing this great oligarchy that elects a president and then stymies the government at every turn with well funded tirades by the oligarchs that own the opposition. We are not so different Egypt and the US. The players wear different uniforms and per capita we own more big screens but power is not where it was intended to be or where it is supposed to be. We should work on our democratic system.
In my determination Mr. Kerry is living proof that idiots do indeed rule.
What a charade the US government has become.
@parink:
I accord to those who post anonymous insults the same degree of consideration and respect that I reserve for anonymous vandals.
@ Mike Appleton; Nobody in Egypt cares what you think.
Darren:
That would constitute a usurpation and abandonment of constitutional rule. Once the constitutional remedies have been eliminated, the social compact is deemed rescinded in my view, and the people have been released from their legal obligations. Society has been returned to the state of nature, the people owe no allegiance to the usurper and armed rebellion is permissible. However, that did not occur in Egypt. The 2012 Constitution was approved by over 60% of the voters and, to my knowledge, there were no efforts to amend the Constitution following that referendum.
Thanks, Nick. I am going to pick it up (or download it – have yet to jump on the digital bandwagon when it comes to books, but the writing is on the wall).
Juris 🙂
Paul, Since I’m reading This Town on Kindle I can tell you I’m 58% into it. I miss page numbers, but that’s another topic. I like the book. The author seems to have an ability to be part of the DC Club, but also to hover above and around it w/ objectivity and brutal honesty. As the Rich piece mentions, the book starts @ Tim Russert’s funeral. In The Club, a funeral of someone of stature is really a networking gold mine. And, since Russert was the unofficial mayor of DC, it was an event, not a funeral. I follow politics, but have disdain for the culture. For me, this book reinforces my disdain. If you like the inside story, the in the trenches battles, you’ll like this book. I give it 4.5 stars out of 5.
Mike A:
I understand what you are saying. But what would happen if a democratically elected president turns on the public and colludes with the legislature and the courts to revise the laws to essentially guaranteee a lifetime office that is immune from scrutiny as an absolute monarch would?
Does the citizenry have a natural right to remove those in power if they use their own means or the military?
davidbluefish, Thanks for the Rich piece. His critique seems a bit like the ones when former Yankee pitcher, Jim Bouton, in Ball Four, broke the rule of everything that happens on the road, in the clubhouse, and in the dugout, is akin to “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” However, Rich’s problem may be he just didn’t get mentioned. Probably not, since Rich is not part of the DC Club.
Elaine, Great clip of Black. You can tell when Black is really pissed during his rants. Some rants are mostly just bits. This is a classic one because he REALLY doesn’t like Glenn Beck.
Nick, you have more than 2 choices. Give another party a chance, when they screw up, pick another party.