That would fit perfectly with the kind we have had.
"Old divisions threaten moves toward new identities; Sects, clans are beginning to drift apart" May 22, 2011|By Anthony Shadid and David D. Kirkpatrick, New York Times
BEIRUT — The revolutions and revolts in the Arab world, playing out in just a few months across two continents, have proved so inspirational to so many because they offer a new sense of national identity built on the idea of citizenship.
But in the past weeks, the specter of divisions — religion in Egypt, fundamentalism in Tunisia, sect in Syria and Bahrain, clan in Libya — has threatened uprisings that once seemed to promise to resolve questions that have vexed the Arab world since the era of colonialism.
Who would want to divide and conquer?
From the fetid alleys of Imbaba, the Cairo neighborhood where Muslims and Christians fought street battles, to the Syrian countryside, where a particularly deadly crackdown raised fears of sectarian score-settling, the question of identity may help determine whether the Arab Spring flowers or withers. Can the revolts find an alternative to cope with the Arab world’s variety of clans, sects, ethnicities, and religions?
I'm sorry, readers, but I'm just not buying it anymore. Not when they have intermarried and coexisted for centuries.
The old examples have been largely of failure: a strongman’s rule in Egypt, Syria, Libya, and Yemen; a fragile equilibrium of fractious communities in Lebanon and Iraq; the repressive paternalism of the Persian Gulf, where oil revenues are used to buy loyalty....
Here they are used to buy Congress.
In an arc of revolts and revolution, that idea of broader citizenship is being tested as the enforced silence of repression gives way to the cacophony of diversity. Security and stability were the justification that strongmen in the Arab world offered for repression, often with the sanction of the United States; the essence of the protests in the Arab Spring is that people can imagine an alternative.
But even activists admit that the region so far has no model that enshrines diversity and tolerance without breaking down along more divisive identities.
In Tunisia, a relatively homogenous country with a well-educated population, fault lines have emerged between the secular-minded coasts and the more religious and traditional inland areas.
In Cairo, the sense of national identity that surged at the moment of revolution — when hundreds of thousands of people of all faiths celebrated in Tahrir Square with chants of “Hold your head high, you are an Egyptian’’ — has given way to a week of religious violence pitting the Coptic Christian minority against Muslim neighbors, reflecting long-smoldering tensions that an authoritarian state may have muted, or let fester.
See: Cryptic Attack on Coptic Church
Yes, who would want to destabilize Egypt -- especially now?
Also see: Egypt's Evolving Revolution
Right, they want Mubarak back.
Sigh.
At a rally this month in Tahrir Square to call for unity, Coptic Christians were conspicuously absent, thousands of them gathering nearby for a rally of their own. And even among some Muslims at the unity rally, suspicions were pronounced.
Of course, YESTERDAY they all showed up together and held hands!
In Libya, supporters of Moammar Khadafy acknowledge that his government banks on fears of clan rivalries and possible partition to stay in power in a country with deep regional differences.
Gee, turns out ALL GOVERNMENTS are the SAME!
Officials say that the extended clans of the west who contribute most of Khadafy’s soldiers will never accept any revolution arising from the east.
“Fear’’ is what Gamal Abdel Gawad, director of the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, called it — the way that autocrats win support because people “are even more scared of their fellow citizens.’’
Nowhere is that perhaps truer than in Syria, with a revolt against rule by one family and a worsening of tension between a Sunni Muslim majority and minorities of Christians and heterodox Muslims, the Alawites....
The example of Iraq comes up often in conversations in Damascus, as does the civil war in Lebanon. The departure of Jews, who once formed a vibrant community in Syria, is part of the collective memory, illustrating the tenuousness of diversity. Syria’s ostensibly secular government, having always relied on Alawite strength, denounces the prospect of sectarian differences while, its critics say, fanning the flames....
Unbelievable!
Yeah, the Jews leaving was the root of the problem.
Gimme a break, NYT!
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$tarting to pour now:
"G-8 nations plan to aid Egypt and Tunisia; Leaders fear radicals could disrupt region" by Liz Alderman, New York Times / May 28, 2011
DEAUVILLE, France —The Group of 8 expressed concern that the democracy movement in the Arab world could be “hijacked’’ by Islamic radicals if the West did not help stabilize the economies of the two countries that touched off the Arab Spring, according to two European diplomats who were present during the discussions.
Comparing the uprisings sweeping the region to the fall of the Berlin Wall, which paved the way for a historic shift toward democracy in Central and Eastern Europe, the group said in a communique that its aim was “to ensure that instability does not undermine the process of political reform.’’
In other words, the HIJACKING of PEOPLE'S MOVEMENTS by GLOBALIST SCUM has BEGUN!
********************************
The incomplete transition in the Middle East was a dominant worry at the meeting. Democracy, the leaders said, could be rooted only in economic reforms that create open markets, equal opportunities, and jobs to lower staggeringly high unemployment rates, especially among restless youths.
Then you are no longer a democracy, AmeriKa.
Nothing about the VOTE in your DEMOCRACY, huh?
“We’re seeing growth slow, budget deficits rise, in the case of Egypt, some foreign exchange reserves being lost,’’ said David Lipton, a senior director for international economic affairs at the National Security Council. “We and the countries both see the very high priority of keeping the countries stable so that the backdrop of democratization is one of economic stability rather than instability and chaos.’’
That means the GLOBALISTS are PULLING THERE MONEY OUT of Egypt, meaning they are UNHAPPY with THAT GOVERNMENT!
Way to go, EGYPTIAN PEOPLE!
Officials said the aid would come from the member states of the Group of 8 — the United States, Japan, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia — and from international organizations, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Investment Bank.
Then I would want the debt-enslaving stuff.
Officials cautioned that the projected $20 billion in aid from international financial institutions would be phased and contingent on democratic and economic reforms in the countries....
In other words, it HAS GLOBALIST STRINGS!
There is a fear, shared by the US administration and democracy activists, that plunking down large dollar pledges up front would risk funneling money into the hands of institutions, including the Egyptian military, which could misuse or simply siphon it off.....
Like they did when they were our ally, or LIKE WALL STREET BANKS?!!
Political change has, if anything, brought more economic pain.
Yes, the REVOLTS really were NOT WORTH IT!
This is more like PISSING on the Arab Spring!
In Egypt, many people are again complaining of soaring food prices, just as they did last fall before the revolution.
Then they will have a SECOND REVOLUTION!!
Many are now also wrestling with exaggerated expectations about how much the revolution will lift their personal fortunes.
What crap!
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