abe_ltd
22.06.05, 00:35
Let's hope the choke on it!
Zaangazowali sie juz w ingerencje na calym Bliskim Wschodzie, poczynajac od
Afganistanu, poprzez Irak, Iran, a teraz konczac na Egipcie i Saudi Arabii.
Nie zapominajmny tez o krytyce Pakistanu (watek yanna). Mnie sie wydaje ze
sie tym wszystkim predzej czy pozniej zakrztusza. Marzy mi sie taki moment
kiedy USA bedzie miala wojska zaangazowane w kazdym zakatku Bliskiego Wschodu
i nagle wszystko im stanie, kazdy czolg, kazdy F-16 i kazdy herculesik bo sie
okaze, ze nie udalo im sie przejac pelnej kontroli nad regionem i jego nafta,
a w rezultacie skonczyla sie benzyna i... wszystko stoi. Piekna visja!!!
Podoba mi sie reakcja Saudow. "the Saudi foreign minister, who dismissed her
appeal for the release of the dissidents. "They have broken the law," Prince
Saud said at a post-midnight news conference with Ms. Rice, adding that Saudi
Arabia would use its own judgment of what changes were best."
A tutaj perelka Riceowej glupoty: "Noting that the entire region of 22
countries had a collective economy the size of Spain's, she added:
"How can that be the case? It certainly isn't anything about the intelligence
of the Arab people. It certainly isn't anything about their aspirations. It's
about the absence of freedom and the absence of liberty."
Nie, pse pani, to ani brak wolnosci (freedom), ani brak wolnosci(liberty) -
maslo maslane, ale fakt ze wkolko ktos sie wpieprza w polityke regionu,
kolonizuje i grabi co sie da. to dlatego sa bidni.
____
Caly tekst dla zainteresowanych
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, June 21 - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
delivering a challenge to the United States' closest allies in the Arab
world, called on Egypt and Saudi Arabia on Monday to embrace democracy by
holding fair elections, releasing political prisoners and allowing free
expression and rights for women.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stressed democracy met in a speech at the
American University in Cairo.
"For 60 years, my country, the United States, pursued stability at the
expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East, and we achieved
neither," Ms. Rice declared at the American University in Cairo. "Now we are
taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of
all people."
Praising President Hosni Mubarak for taking some "encouraging" first steps
toward democracy, she said Egypt's elections "must meet objective standards
that define every free election," including freedom of assembly, speech and
press.
As for Saudi Arabia, where Ms. Rice flew after speaking in Egypt, she said
that "brave citizens are demanding accountability from their government" and
that "many people pay an unfair price for exercising their basic rights."
She praised "some first steps toward openness" in the holding of municipal
elections. But she condemned depriving women of the right to vote and the
arrests of some dissidents.
Ms. Rice's appeal, some of the toughest talk in the Arab world from a
secretary of state, drew a mixed reaction, including criticism from Egyptian
opposition groups demanding an even harder line. On the other hand, the
Egyptian foreign minister, dismissing her comments, said Egypt's planned
elections were already going to be free and fair.
Some of the 600 listeners at the university complained that her call for
freedom was undercut by American indifference to Israeli "war crimes,"
mistreatment of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and Abu Ghraib and the
continuing violence in Iraq.
The criticism was similar to what erupted last month after Laura Bush praised
Mr. Mubarak for taking a "bold step" in planning multiparty elections, even
as protesters were being arrested and opposition groups complained about
election requirements barring independent candidates.
"We were shocked at the statements made," Hany Enan, one of the founders of
an Egyptian movement demanding that Mr. Mubarak step down, said of Ms. Rice's
remarks. She added, "I don't think the content of her remarks met the
expectations of the people or the opposition."
Officials traveling with Ms. Rice said they were prepared for such
criticism. "Most of the region's leaders won't like what they hear, and most
people will resent it," one American official said on the condition of
anonymity because he did not want to prejudge Arab reaction. "But in the long
run, her speech will make people think about the problem."
The reaction illustrated the quandary that the Bush administration faced in
navigating the demands for sweeping changes and a desire not to offend close
allies or to apply separate benchmarks to different countries, depending on
their status as friends.
Ms. Rice criticized Egypt and Saudi Arabia for intimidating or locking up
protesters, for example. She also met with Ayman Nour, a Parliament member
whose arrest this year prompted the secretary to cancel a visit to Egypt. But
she did not meet with leaders of the outlawed Islamist organization known as
the Muslim Brotherhood, though it is probably the most popular opposition
group.
"Egypt has its laws, it has its rule of law, and I'll respect that," Ms. Rice
said, explaining the decision not to meet with the Brotherhood.
In her speech, she assailed Syria as a police state, and then Iran, where the
election for president on Friday got no praise even though it has been more
competitive than Egypt's is likely to be. "The appearance of elections does
not mask the organized cruelty of Iran's theocratic state," she said.
Her criticism of Egypt, by contrast, came in a conciliatory tone, accompanied
by reminders that the United States has its own history of slavery and
racism. "The United States has no cause for false pride, and we have every
reason for humility," she added.
In Riyadh, her remarks in Cairo received a curt reaction from Prince Saud al-
Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, who dismissed her appeal for the release
of the dissidents. "They have broken the law," Prince Saud said at a post-
midnight news conference with Ms. Rice, adding that Saudi Arabia would use
its own judgment of what changes were best.
Ms. Rice's speech had been billed in advance as a bold change for the United
States. "This is a great region of the world, the cradle of civilization,"
she implored her audience. Noting that the entire region of 22 countries had
a collective economy the size of Spain's, she added:
"How can that be the case? It certainly isn't anything about the intelligence
of the Arab people. It certainly isn't anything about their aspirations. It's
about the absence of freedom and the absence of liberty."
Even critics of the American administration say the increasing calls by
President Bush for democracy have helped inspire the Egyptian movement known
as Kifaya, or Enough, which calls for Mr. Mubarak to step down. He has served
since 1981 without ever being challenged in an election.
Under pressure, Mr. Mubarak in February announced the first Egyptian election
for president in which candidates will be able to run, but the National
Assembly dominated by his National Democratic Party has been moving toward
erecting an array of barriers against candidates outside its influence.
When Ms. Rice raised those problems at a news conference with the Egyptian
foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, she got what appeared to be an airy
rebuff.
"Who would object to fair, transparent elections?" Mr. Gheit said, turning to
the secretary. "Everybody wants fair, transparent elections. And it will be
so, I assure you."
In another awkward exchange, Mr. Gheit reminded Ms. Rice that he had told her
earlier that without "a settlement for the Palestinian problem," little could
be done. "That is crucial!" he added.
Ms. Rice, who traveled to Egypt from Jordan and Israel, where s
