What to think about Egypt?

What to think about Egypt? That's a question not only for Egyptians but for people in Western democracies who are supposed to be good citizens by being informed citizens.

Here's a quote, after which I'll comment:

QUOTE [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Armed_Forces]

The Armed Forces enjoy considerable power and independence within the Egyptian state. They are also influential in business, engaging in road and housing construction, consumer goods, resort management, and vast tracts of real estate. Much military information is not made publicly available, including budget information, the names of the general officers and the military's size (which is considered a state secret). According to journalist Joshua Hammer, "as much as 40% of the Egyptian economy" is controlled by the Egyptian military.

:UNQUOTE.

COMMENT:

There's a saying, "If you want to know the truth, just follow the money." Our lamestream media hasn't made any efforts whatsoever to educate its fellow countrymen about the realities inside Egypt. The most glaring oversight is lack of any attempt to shine an accountant's kind of light on that "40%" mentioned above. How did the military gain such a huge share (when it shouldn't have any share, come to think of it) and what exactly does it consist of? I'd like the names of specific businesses under its control. Knowing this might help ordinary citizens decide against which militarily-controlled enterprises a boycott should be directed. Controlling an economy is one thing, but I'd like to know how the profits are divided up - how much goes to which generals?

How on earth are the "names of the general officers" kept secret? Maybe those secret officers are the ones to whom the profits mentioned above are funneled. I'm sure there's a Julian Assange out there somewhere who could give us those names. Could you imagine if the USA had a similar policy of anonymous generalship?

What are the imams preaching in Egypt's mosques? I'm sure US intel knows that, but what about the rest of us? There is a long-standing corp of high-level Egyptian society that supports the secular state. But that doesn't mean the sermons in the mosques universally condemn the Muslim Brotherhood. Or does it? More so in the large urban centers than, say, in the more rural areas which tend to be more conservative - whatever that means?

I'd like to know how all of those people - on both sides - managed to find the time to demonstrate. Don't they have to go to work? Or were some of those people compensated by the military from one slush fund or another?

And how was Morsi made to look so bad by means of shortages of goods that could well have been manipulated out of being by the army?

Their economy has suffered because of this ongoing turmoil. But once resolved, assuming that resolution is solid, that doesn't mean their economy will pick up where it left off. In this day and age of razor-thin competitive advantages, it's dangerous to allow for a lingering degree of uncertainty. You can't just reboot an economy as one would a computer.

And what of their youth who are sympathetic to the Brotherhood? Do they just wait until they're about to be drafted before deciding to resist that draft? Or should they allow induction so they can learn the military skills necessary to fight the generals? The Brotherhood might like the idea of having sleeper cells in the army. But of course, the generals would be aware of such a possibility.

Looking down the road a bit, one has to wonder how any new Egyptian constitution would deal (or would it) with an army that has positioned itself as the final word in any checks-and-balances system. Right now, liberals and other secularists are hailing the army for having saved Egypt. But what about the future? Suppose some puffed-up general decides he doesn't like the government as much as the liberals do. Would those same liberals still cheer military intervention?

There's too much going on in Egypt that my fellow USA ordinary citizens are in the dark about. How can we decide what our leaders should do when we have next-to-no information to go on?

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Steven Searle, former candidate for US President (in 2008 and 2012)
Founder of The Independent Contractors' Party

"Our media sure can speedily report on whatever the Kardashians are up, but anything more substantial? Forget about it!" - Steve Searle.

Contact me at bpa_cinc@yahoo.com