God thugs v. Bad thugs…
According the WSJ: our thugs are better than their thugs…
The regime in Tehran—aptly described by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday as “a military dictatorship with a kind of theocratic overlay”—feels zero compunction or shame about repressing political opponents. Hosni Mubarak and Egypt’s military, dependent on U.S. aid and support, were susceptible to outside pressure to shun violence. Tehran scorns the West.
To put it another way, pro-American dictatorships have more moral scruples. The comparison is akin to what happened in the 1980s when U.S. allies led by authoritarians fell peacefully in the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan, even as Communist regimes proved tougher.
File under: ‘shit you couldn’t make up if they paid you for it’, or ‘the damage wearing a lapel badge does to the brain’…
Thanks Antony…
posted by Gert @ 5:37 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Egypt was more restrained in its treatment of protesters. The army refused to shoot at civilians, and the death toll was low.
That doesn't have anything to do with being pro-American, though. Bahrain, an American ally, has been as brutal as Iran in its treatment of protesters, and in Egypt the restraint came from the fact that the military sees itself as the defender of the people, not because of outside pressure.
Well, believe it or not, there are American commentators who claim that American influence over the Egyptian military caused that restraint. Charlie Wolf on Press TV’s ‘The Agenda’ last night clearly stated that, with a straight face (the man should really take up Texas Holdem’, no limits!) I don’t believe a word of it, just like I don’t believe Wisner’s appearance was pure coincidence either.
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