Egypt: Retrofitting “Operation Ajax” to Support the Pharaoh against the People

 

“As soon as I saw the defiant tone and substance of Mubarak’s speech, I realized that he is not speaking for himself but for the US/Israeli sponsors. . . .  I just read the speech by Obama: it confirmed my suspicion, that basically Mubarak was permitted by the US to do with the Egyptian people as he would like.  Every drop of blood that is spilled in Egypt from this day onwards should be blamed on Obama because he has embraced this new strategy of letting Mubarak defy the popular will of the Egyptian people.  I don’t trust the Egyptian army: the top brass is handpicked by the US/Israel and can be easily bought off by a combination of bribes, gadgets, and perks. . . .  The speech by Obama was a not-so-coded language that lets Mubarak do what he wishes: the talk about transition means that he was basically told to stay in power, because Israel really freaked out at the prospect of Egypt without Mubarak. . . .  Make no mistake about it: this could be like the 1953 Operation Ajax in Iran.  The US is now arranging for a coup against the will of the Egyptian people.” — As’ad AbuKhalil




As’ad AbuKhalil is Professor of Political Science at California State University, Stanislaus.  The text above is excerpted from As’ad AbuKhalil’s 1 February 2011 entry in his blog The Angry Arab News Service; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes.  The videos were released by Al Jazeera on 2 February 2011.  Cf. As’ad AbuKhalil, “Bombs on the Egyptian Museum,” “Blame the Shi’ites Scenario,” “Who Came Up with This Orientaliast Fantasy Picture?” (2 February 2011); Amy Goodman, “Bloodshed in Egypt: Mubarak Supporters Riding on Horses and Camels Violently Attack Protesters in Tahrir Square, Over 100 Injured,” Interview with Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nazly Hussein, DemocracyNow!, 2 February 2011; Nicholas Noe, “Anti-Semitism among Pro-Mubarak ‘Supporters'” (The Mideastwire Blog, 2 February 2011).




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