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HOLLYWOOD AND THE CIA — Film historian Ed Rampell details Hollywood’s entangled relationship with the CIA and the Pentagon; HOUSES OF THE DEAD: Nancy Kurshan exposes the cruel human rights offenses taking place inside America’s vast gulag of Control Unit Prisons; BROTHERHOOD OF SUMMER: David Macaray charts the history of the most powerful union in the US: the Baseball Players Association; TAR SANDS COME TO AMERICA: Steve Horn explains how the Keystone Pipeline debates have diverted attention from Big Oil’s other plans to transport Alberta’s oil into the US. PLUS: Jeffrey St. Clair on CONSTITUTIONAL ENTROPY; Mike Whitney on HOW THE BANKS TARGETED BLACKS; Chris Floyd on THE RISE OF BRITAIN’S TEA PARTY; Kristin Kolb on THE NEEDLE AND THE DAMAGE DONE; Kim Nicolini on the FILMS OF WILLIAM FRIEDKIN; and Lee Ballinger on POETS VS. THE ONE PERCENT.

January 27, 2011

Our Exceptional Despots

No Words for Egypt, Mr. President?

by LAURA FLANDERS

In the State of the Union speech, Barack Obama did get applause for saying that the US stands with the people of Tunisia. Now, he didn’t mention the two decades of support the US had given the dictatorship.

The President did not have anything to say about Egypt — where thousands of people, inspired by Tunisia, were taking to the streets to protest their own repressive government — another one the US has backed for years. Secretary of State Clinton’s official word is that the Egyptian government was “stable”. Aha. She said it’s “looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests” of its people. And she urged “restraint” as they suppressed protesters.

Today there’s more tear gas and water trucks being used on people in the streets of Cairo, and Twitter’s been blocked. As has become the norm, social media helped Egyptian protesters organize and spread the word: Video was uploaded to the Web from cell-phone cameras; it showed activists blocking trucks with water cannons and fighting off police batons.

As of Wednesday night the Guardian newspaper was reporting six dead. And now the Twitter-world’s aflame with reports that Egypt’s ruling Mubarak family’s arrived in Heathrow. Stable — in another country — I don’t think that’s what Secretary Clinton meant.

While this was playing out President Obama was holding forth on US exceptionalism, and especially its role promoting world democracy.

What happens now? Paul Ryan’s Republican response to the State of the Union noted that the GOP is watching protests abroad quite closely — he referred to Greece and England’s “day of reckoning." But it may not be theirs only.

As massive protests ripple across the repressed world, US leaders can’t both claim leadership and show none. They certainly can’t claim a pro-democracy role and stand firm — until the very last minute — with dictators. And the same is true for the rest of us. When it comes to what’s wrong here — we can sit back and wait for chips to fall, or get involved in righting a wrong and do something.

LAURA FLANDERS is the host of GRITtv, which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. More…9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, public television and online at GRITv.org.