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Written by Rannie Amiri
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Friday, 24 April 2009 16:23 |
 A telltale sign of a dictator’s waning influence is increasing paranoia. And
this is exactly what Egypt’s U.S.-backed dictator, President Hosni Mubarak, is
suffering from.
At a time when criticism over Egypt’s abetment of the Israeli siege and attack
on Gaza is intensifying, and its traditional role as leader of the Arab world is
being eclipsed, Mubarak’s standing and legitimacy in the eyes of his people has
plummeted. His paranoia, conversely, has skyrocketed.
This was on display when the state-controlled Egyptian daily Al-Ahram published
an article last Saturday accusing the following nations, people and
organizations of attempting to destabilize the country, or in the words of the
paper, to “ … bring Egypt to the brink of chaos and facilitate a coup”: Iran,
Syria, Qatar, Hezbollah, Hamas, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas
chief Khaled Meshal, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Mahdi Akef, and the
Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news network. Lebanon also joined the ever-expanding list
a few days later.
Relations had already deteriorated earlier in the month when Egyptian security
officials made public that they had uncovered a Hezbollah-sponsored “espionage
ring” and “terrorist cell” operating in the Sinai. Twenty-five “agents” were
arrested, and the hunt continues for an equal number more. Nasrallah did admit
that one of those captured was a Hezbollah member, tasked with helping to
smuggle arms into Gaza. He denied however, the constantly shifting Egyptians
claims that the group’s real objective was to instigate the Sinai bedouin
population against the government, attack tourist sites in the Sinai, topple the
regime, or to launch attacks on the Suez Canal, Egypt or Israel.
“If helping the Palestinians is a crime, I officially admit to my crime … and if
it is an accusation, we are proud of it,” Nasrallah replied.
According to Al-Ahram, the alleged “conspiracy” to depose Mubarak was first
hatched when Hamas violated the ceasefire agreement with Israel – quite a
remarkable plot indeed, considering the purported breach by Hamas never
occurred. This is a myth routinely peddled by the Israeli government to justify
their Gaza onslaught, and now one apparently being parroted by Egypt.
The reality is that Hamas abided by the ceasefire and only responded with rocket
fire when Israel violated it, as they did on Nov. 5 when seven Palestinians were
killed in an unprovoked airstrike. This is notwithstanding the inhumane 18-month
siege to which Gazans were subjected; denying them food, clean water, medicine
and basic humanitarian supplies. This embargo was not just a flagrant breach of
international law but a prima facie act of war (and one in which Egypt, by
keeping the vital Rafah border crossing with Gaza closed, was complicit).
The juvenile tone the Egyptian government-controlled press has adopted in
discussing the current tension mirrors that of the leadership well. The Al-Ahram
article called Qatar – Egypt’s new rival in the Arab world – a “tiny state.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, one Egyptian columnist referred to that
country’s emir, Sheikh Hamad Ibn Khalifa Al-Thani as “the chubby prince” while
the state-owned Al-Gomhuria called Nasrallah a “monkey sheikh.”
Such childish language speaks poorly of the state of journalism and reporting by
these mouthpieces (as one might expect). More important though is how Mubarak’s
rousing conspiracy theories and deepening paranoia have caused Egypt to align
itself closer to Israel than at any time past, yet further alienating him from
ordinary Egyptians and the rest of the Arab world.
Although busy identifying enemies all around, Mubarak surely has not forgotten
his greatest one: the Egyptian people. By attempting to distract them by laying
blame on phantom menaces, he believes the credibility he lost during the Gaza
war will somehow be restored.
But it will not. Nor will the people believe in the validity of his enemies list
or the claims of his hired journalists.
Why?
Because they know that when Mubarak’s regime falls, it will not be at the hands
of outside forces, but at their own.
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Rannie Amiri is an independent Middle East commentator.
Source: Counter Punch
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