Hosni Mubarak
The guys trying to bring him down
Sorry, but you don’t have a choice.
Egypt has been all over the news for the past few days, as anti-Mubarak protesters take to the streets and duke it out with the dictator’s supporters. Most recent articles have focused on the government’s decision to kill the Internet or the attacks on journalists.
While are both are tragic, few have addressed the fact that “President” Moubarak is a close ally of the American government, and is the 4th largest recipient of American foreign aid. Last year, Egypt received over $1.5 billion of taxpayer dollars. The only countries receiving more foreign aid are Afghanistan, Israel, and Pakistan. $1.3 billion of this aid is allocated for “peace and security”, or in other words, armaments.
Mubarak’s brutal military regime has been characterized by political corruption, sham elections, censorship, imprisonment of political opponents without trials, oppression, torture, murder, kidnapping, socialism, state control of the media, an enriched oligarchy at the expense of the majority of poor Egyptians, the crushing of dissent, and a litany of human rights abuses. Is this the kind of entity you want to support?
Every American citizen has a right to use their justly earned property as they see fit. The fact that the government confiscates the wealth of Americans and sends part of it overseas to protect a military dictatorship is unconscionable. If I had a choice, I would not send any money to Mubarak, and I’m guessing that a majority of Americans would share similar sentiments. I would rather support charitable organizations I trust, and in light of the recent events in Egypt, I would probably donate to disaster relief agencies that provide humanitarian aid to the people of Egypt.
What right does the government have to deprive me of this choice, and force me to support a government I disagree with?
Some may argue that the government needs to support foreign countries when it is in our national interest, and use this as a justification for our current foreign policy. I say let the American people decide. Don’t use our tax money for anything but strict self-defense against invasion. If foreign governments want support, let them send their ambassadors to convince American citizens who may give it voluntarily, rather than government officials who dole out other peoples’ (the taxpayers’) money.
This philosophy of military isolationism and political non-interventionism is one first enshrined by our Founding Fathers. It was Thomas Jefferson who said, “I am for free commerce with all nations, political connection with none, and little or no diplomatic establishment” and, “We ask for peace and justice from all nations; and we will remain uprightly neutral in fact.”
It would behoove us to heed his wisdom. It might serve us well.
I would not claim what American foreign policy is. All I can say is that I was recipient of this policy. I was born and raised in the Philippines. Most of my formative years were spent under martial law, albeit a “smiling” martial law. Ferdinand Marcos ruled for 30 years, pretty much unchallenged because he had the strong support of the US government. As American foreign policy would have it, yes, he’s a dictator but he’s “our” dictator. Same for Manuel Noriega of Panama. Same with the Shah of Iran. Saddam Hussein. And the list goes on.
It seems to me that this is hypocritical – the US presumably “exports” and support freedom and democracy (and by the way, would even go to war for the same), yet sanction repressive governments because “he’s our guy.”
So yes, I support the idea that the American people should be the one to decide who to give funding to.
And while we’re on this idea, I also think that the American people should decide when and who to go to war with. War is big business. And worse than the financial drain is the loss of American lives. Yes, our President is the Commander-in-Chief. And Congress is supposed to authorize wars. Yet, we know that this did not happen in the last administration.
It is just unthinkable that the US is spending billions “exporting freedom and democracy” when Americans are reeling from the recent recession and current unemployment.
Let’s get our (the people) priorities straight. It seems to me that the politicians don’t.
Ken, I think you bring up a good point about some of the negative and unintended consequences of our foreign policy. By supporting dictators in foreign countries that provide “stability” in the region, we risk the chance of engendering animosity towards the US government. We support Marcos, Mubarak, Noriega, Hussein, Khomeini, and Filipinos, Egyptians, Panamanians, Iraqis, and Persians may see America as their enemy.
If this dislike turns to hatred, it provides a perfect opportunity for extremist terrorist groups to form. I would imagine that many otherwise moderate citizens in the Middle East support Islamic fundamentalists because those terrorist can point to American meddling in their foreign affairs as just cause.
I think it’s important to note Morgan that most of the money we send to Egypt goes to their military, which is highly respected in the country and not the police apparatus that is highly corrupt.
David, thanks for your comment. Can you provide a link to your source? I’d be interested in reading information on how our government allocates money to the Egyptian government.
And do you believe this makes the act of taxing Americans to send their wealth to foreign countries permissible?
Morgan, I agree with you completely that foreign aid by the federal government to any other country must be stopped. It is completely unjustifiable to take money by force from citizens to support foreign governments, whether they are “friend” or “foe.” And it is particularly a crime for America–which claims to value liberty–to be supporting dictators because they “stabilize” a region or they are “on our side” of any war, no matter what temperature the war is assigned.
It was the cold war that started these insane policies, and by getting in bed with dictators, we are waking up to the terrible policies and police states that we have supported., and the justified hatred of the victims of those policies and police states. Our foreign police ought to be pretty simple: free trade and fierce defense against the invasion of our borders. We ought to take the advice of the Founders and avoid entangling alliances. It is not our business to meddle in the affairs of others, and frankly, we cannot afford it.
Elisheva, thank you for your comment!
Geez, it looks like those Scandanavian countries got it right in regard to being neutral!
Ken, yes I believe that military neutrality is a smart foreign policy, though it is much easier to maintain neutrality if you’re a small Scandinavian country that is protected by American military power. The real trick is how do we keep the U.S. military from doing more harm than good?
I think you guys are right. Most Americans don’t ever realize what team their really on. We have our tax dollars taken from us by law and given to a dictator that hordes the money all to himself. Smuggles it in Swiss bank accounts so it can’t be found or counted by the starving people of that country. Then the people decide to rise up and protest against this corruption that we Americans fuel whether we like it or not. Now the same thing is happening here except its not our politicians who have the money but all the rich people who live here who don’t pay the taxes at all. They do the same thing every dictator does who we give foreign aid too. Channeling it into a Swiss bank account where it cant be taxed or accounted for.