If it is true that the Arab Spring, which had its origin in Tunisia two years ago, only sparked after certain diplomatic cables leaked to WikiLeaks had been published by the whistle-blower platform, and later incited Egyptians to quickly get rid of Pharaoh Hosni Mubarak, the Obama administration’s lukewarm or rather lack of support for more or less successful upheavals in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Bahrain is only logical. When unwelcome and unloved by its own people, albeit elected, Mohamed Morsi was toppled last month by the Egyptian army after one year, the United States remained silent about whether the coup should be called a coup. Involuntarily , the old joke comes to ones mind: Why had there never been a coup in the United States? Well, they don’t have an American Embassy.

Yesterday, Secretary of State John Kerry claimed that the military was “restoring democracy.” In a televised interview in Pakistan, he said, “The military was asked to intervene by millions and millions of people, all of whom were afraid of a descendance (sic) into chaos, into violence.” Emphasis added. Well, the Egyptian army is on the U.S.’s pay roll with  billions of dollars each year. The Muslim brothers were not delighted about Kerry’s remarks.

Obama’s hopes seem all be dashed right now: when it comes to the Manning verdict, the Snowden disaster, including the deteriorating relationship with Putin, the NSA and growing domestic and international resistance to total surveillance; and the inevitable prospect of  failing Israel-Palestine peace talks without a vision how to show Israel its limits. What an unleashed Obama right now does as regards Egypt is nothing else than restoring the status quo ante. No democracy, dictatorship.

2 August 2013 @ 6:50 pm.

Last modified August 2, 2013.