"I am your man to calm things down", ElBaradei tells his imperialist masters

[Ben Seattle]

"I am your man to calm things down",
ElBaradei tells his imperialist masters

Aljazeera, Jan 30:

In a series of interviews with a US television networks from Cairo
on Sunday, ElBaradei also said he had a mandate to negotiate a
national unity government and would soon reach out to the army,
at the heart of power in Egypt for more than a half century.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/mi...265198814.html (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/201113020265198814.html)
Translation:

(ElBaradei to imperialists: ) "I'm your man!"

"I have enough credibility within the movement to carry
out your bidding and liquidate all this revolutionary energy."
ElBaradei:

"The American government cannot ask the Egyptian people to believe
that a dictator who has been in power for 30 years would be the one
to implement democracy. This is a farce," he told the CBS program
"Face the Nation."
Translation:

Look Boss, you need to pull the plug on Mubarak now
or no one will never be able to believe your
"democracy" crap.
ElBaradei:

"This first thing which will calm the situation is
for Mubarak to leave, and leave with some dignity.
Translation:

Hey Boss, if you fail to pull the plug now, then
the shit is going to hit the fan here and militant
and revolutionary political trends will gain
widespread popular support.
ElBaradei:

"Otherwise I fear that things will get bloody."
Translation:

This fucking country will look like
the French revolution!

Hey masters, I know you don't want to see that!
ElBaradei:

"And you (the United States) have to stop the life
support to the dictator and root for the people."
Translation:

I am warning you masters, this is your last chance
to cut your loses and make it possible for me
to promote the bloodiest lie of all time--that you guys
are "rooting for the people".

[scarletghoul]

Its amazing, the people go out and shed their blood on the streets fighting for freedom, and this guy who hasnt lifted a finger just comes waltzing in to claim leadership of the movement in order to rob it of all revolutionary potential.

Hopefully the Egyptians will see through this and tell him to fuck off

[PhoenixAsh]

Well...as you could see on Al Jazeera some protestors were trying and succedding to outshout him.

The journalists from Al Jazeera seemed taken aback by this :-) And every other person on Al Jazeera has stated he may be popular by some but that he has no credibility.

Unfortunately he is currently backed by the MB...

[R_P_A_S]

I don't trust this guy one bit. I hope the Egyptian people are wise and don't let this guy come in here and take over their battle.

[Rakhmetov]

That bastard should be shot on sight. What a cop out.

[RedTrackWorker]

The ISO is not so sure:
"The second danger [for the left] would be to take an ultra-left and abstentionist position toward ElBaradei's likely presidential campaign. While Egyptian socialists are correct to criticize ElBaradei's campaign as a liberal capitalist attempt to salvage a bankrupt system, it is not yet a forgone conclusion that ElBaradei would not be forced under mass pressure to take, at least formally, radical positions--for example, on the question of Israel and imperialism. This could bolster the confidence of ordinary people in struggle."
http://socialistworker.org/2010/06/09/beginning-of-the-end (written last year)
So if a Kerensky takes formally radical positions we should support his campaign, rather than stick with the Bolshevik position of no support to bourgeois provisional governments?

[Ben Seattle]

From the Guardian:

I can't believe that nobody on the Guardian's CiF has yet pointed out how ElBaradei is clearly an Anglo-American stooge.

ElBaradei has been parachuted in to insure that whoever emerges as leader after Mubarak, if he falls, will remain a sock puppet of the US and Britain, and part of their wider strategy to promote a democratic revolution in the region.

Remember Bush and Blair's strategy to spread democracy in the region? Now we have this people's movement for change - headed by El Baradei???

This is a Bush-Blair dream come true.

Down with Mubarak - but also OUT with El Baradei!
Brian Whitaker (ie: Guardian Middle East Correspondent) responded:

ElBaradei isn't obviously an American stooge. He made himself very unpopular with the US by standing up to them over the imagined Iraqi WMD.


He started getting involved in Egyptian politics last year after retiring from the IAEA, so I think it's also a bit unfair to suggest he was parachuted in.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2011/feb/01/egypt-protests-live-updates

Comment by Ben: The fact that ElBaradei refused to go along with the imaginary WMD is what allows him to act as an imperialist sock puppet now. (ie: he must have some minimum amount of credibility in order to be a good sock puppet.)

Most comment I have seen indicates that no one is claiming that ElBaradei is likely to emerge as anything more than a transitional figure. Rather, he may be someone who will work to help the U.S. find a new puppet or, at least, a semi-independent political figure that will be sufficiently pliable.

The ISO position (above) is not surprising. They tend to be reformist lickspittles.

More on the general topic:

Here is NYT article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/world/middleeast/01elbaradei.html
(have not read it myself yet, will soon. Probably some good quotes here)

Repressive regimes all over the world are getting nervous.
Here is an article on the response in China
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/world/asia/01beijing.html

So the arbiters of speech sprang into action over the weekend. Sina.com and Netease.com — two of the nation’s biggest online portals — blocked keyword searches of the word “Egypt,” though the mass protests were being discussed on some Internet chat rooms on Monday. Searching for “Egypt” has also been blocked on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

Censoring the Internet is not the only approach. The Chinese government has also tried to get out ahead of the discussion, framing the Egyptian protests in a few editorials and articles in state-controlled news publications as a chaotic affair that embodies the pitfalls of trying to plant democracy in countries that are not quite ready for it — a line China’s leaders have long held.
Finally, for readers who may not be familiar with my views:

The big picture and the long view:


Many people, naturally, believe my views are exaggerated,
but here is how I see the big picture:


http://struggle.net/ben/2010/images/50--Theia.gif
From: Relaxation will Reveal the Road to Victory (part 3) (http://www.revleft.com/vb/blog.php?b=1344)

[ed miliband]

The Guardian have had the most proudly displayed ElBaradei hard-on for the past few days.

[ckaihatsu]

REVOLUTION: [Working_Class_News] Jordon's government resigns, King appoints new PM


The western Left -- and liberals, etc. too -- should be paying careful
attention to all these little trix and charades and misdirections
which the imperialist bourgeoisie and their local stooges are throwing
at the working-class of (today) the arab world right now: because
these are almost the EXACT same trix and charades and misdirections
they will be attempting on *us*, soon enuff.

We won't be fooled again... right?


All Power to the Workers' and Farmers' Councils and Communes.

-- grok.





----- Forwarded message from Cort Greene <cort.gree[email protected]> -----

Subject: [Working_Class_News] Jordon's government resigns, King appoints new PM


Aljazeera just reported Jordon's government has resigned amid continuing
protests and the king has appointed a new PM.

Demos in Egypt below:
live streaming Aljazeera

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



----- End forwarded message -----

--
The Financiers & Banksters have looted untold trillions of our future earnings.
Their bureaucratic police & military goons are here to make us all pay for it.
Forever.
Well FORGET THAT. Let's get it *ALL* back from them -- and more.

**Socialist revolution NOW!!**

Build the North America-wide General Strike.
TODO el poder a los consejos y las comunas.
TOUT le pouvoir aux conseils et communes.
ALL power to the councils and communes.

And beware the 'bait & switch' fraud: "Social Justice" is NOT *Socialism*...

[Ben Seattle]

"I will die on the soil of Egypt." - Mubarak, Feb 1, 2011
http://struggle.net/ben/2010/images/guillotine-80.gif
Your offer is acceptable ...

[ckaihatsu]

"I will die on the soil of Egypt." - Mubarak, Feb 1, 2011


Hmmmmmm, can't seem to find it on eBay.... Wonder if he's for real....

[Ben Seattle]

Learn how to interpret U.S. Imperialist doublespeak
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBuMuzhvYeA
http://struggle.net/ben/2010/images/Clinton_21-B.gif
(found at Kasama (http://kasamaproject.org/2011/01/31/breaking-down-the-empires-doublethink/))