Is There An Historical Precedent?

The US wants Mubarak to stand down in favour of his chosen successor, Omar Sulieman – this seems to be an unprecedented move on the part of the US in the role of neocoloniser with any of its vassals. On Al Jazeera Catherine Ashton from the EU Council echoes the US line, assuring all that Suleiman will be in discussion ‘with opposition leaders yesterday today and tomorrow’. As Paul Barratt, ex-Australian Defence Secretary tweeted today:

@phbarratt: @Jinjirrie The paradigm remains “stability through repression”. #fail #

In the Guardian, Timothy Garton Ash describes the price for the neocolonial, racist Europeans should Egypt not achieve liberation.

Europe’s future is at stake this week on Cairo’s Tahrir Square, as it was on Prague’s Wenceslas Square in 1989. This time, the reasons are geography and demography. The Arab arc of crisis, from Morocco to Jordan, is Europe’s near abroad. As a result of decades of migration, the young Arabs whom you see chanting angrily on the streets of Cairo, Tunis and Amman already have cousins in Madrid, Paris and London.

If these uprisings succeed, and what emerges is not another Islamist dictatorship, these young, often unemployed, frustrated men and women will see life chances at home. The gulf between their life experience in Casablanca and Madrid, Tunis and Paris, will gradually diminish – and with it that cultural cognitive dissonance which can lead to the Moroccan suicide bomber on a Madrid commuter train. As their homelands modernise, young Arabs – and nearly one third of the population of the north African littoral is between the age of 15 and 30 – will circulate across the Mediterranean, contributing to European economies, and to paying the pensions of rapidly ageing European societies. The examples of modernisation and reform will also resonate across the Islamic world.

“There is a lot of uncertainty out there and I would just caution against doing anything until we really understand what’s going on”, says McMullen of withdrawing aid to the Egyptian military. Translation: we don’t want the military to back the people, we want them behind the regime, which should be a regime we want.

The logical outcome to circumvent the current neocolonials’ plan whilst avoiding bloodshed may be in train – the Egyptian army to submit to the forthcoming pro-democracy people’s council presently being built in Tahrir Square. Army head, Tantawy is apparently in the square with his generals. Exiled Egyptian Al Qaradawi in Qatar has suggested guidelines for action. (via @SultanAlQassemi)

Al Qaradawi who now holds Qatari citizenship was banished from Egypt decades ago & is known for his anti-Mubarak regime statements.

Al Qaradawi speaking now on Qatar TV “If a leader is hated he just leave. You can’t lead a people by force” http://yfrog.com/h4174sj

Al Qaradawi “O Pharaoh (Mubarak) the time of Pharaohs is over. You cannot force yourself. If you were their ‘father’ why did you kill them?”

Al Qaradawi “Millions of people don’t want you. As long as this man is there Egypt will not be stable”

Al Qaradawi “If he was really their ‘father’ he would have mercy on them. (Tunisia’s) Ben Ali had better logic, he left the people”

Al Qaradawi “Do you have a drop of mercy in you? Yesterday snipers killed ten protesters (in Meydan Tahrir), aren’t these your children?

Al Qaradawi “Mubarak is responsible for that happened. What happened yesterday & the day before is unacceptable, even the PM said so”

Al Qaradawi “The Youth were there, not one policeman was killed, the protesters didn’t shoot. Until the Baltagiya came, rented by the state”

Al Qaradawi “The same Baltagiya who stop voters from voting. How can a leader use criminals against his own people?”

Al Qaradawi “The Prime Minister says ‘I don’t know who did this?’ The gov did this”

Al Qaradawi “Like the poem goes, if you did know then it is a problem, and if you didn’t know then the problem is greater”

Al Qaradawi “Just because you want to stay seven months? You will kill your people for seven months? Leave now, go rest, you are 82”

Al Qaradawi “I call on Mubarak to leave. I call on his regime to leave. To the Egyptian army, protect your people, you fought for them”

Al Qaradawi “During King Farouk time the Egyptian army fought for Palestine, it can be the saviour of the Egyptian people”

Al Qaradawi “Sadly the army let the Baltagiya shoot the people over the last two day. Shots in the head, some are in critical condition too”

Al Qaradawi “This army that fought for Egypt I tell them stop this now, you must take responsibility. The VP is the President, the same”

Al Qaradawi “The regime will go but the state will stay. The army must protect, I’m not calling on them to rule, just protect your people”

Al Qaradawi “Take this power from the Vice President & give it to the people. The Parliament Speaker is a fraud, even Mubarak agreed”

Al Qaradawi “The Army must install an independent temporary supreme judge who will run the state, that is my wish now”

Al Qaradawi preaching in a Qatari mosque to Meydan Tahrir protesters. (extreme left) http://yfrog.com/h8twcxj

Al Qaradawi “Today we will pray for the souls of the martyred protesters of Egypt & of Tunisia”

Al Qaradawi said that the Qatari Embassy in Cairo has been closed because of the protests on Mustafa Mahmoud square.

Let the revolutionary spirit blossom for Egyptians, Tunisians, Jordanians, Sudanese, Yemenis and spread to all crevices of the world where dark tyranny stalks the people for the benefit of foreign satraps!

Egypt

Women And Egypt–Links
Egypt has become our ballad – a testimony before the world, crying out that we live
The Egyptian revolution threatens an American-imposed order of Arabophobia and false choices
What the Mubaraks are worth
Amnesty International staff member reports from a raid on a Cairo law centre
World Cannot Believe Mubarak Hasn’t Fucking Left Yet
Egypt Protesters Will Spark Global Mass Movements: Internet and Globalization’s Positives
The difference between a secular autocracy and medieval monarchy when it comes to revolution
Mubarak Switches On Smear Campaign
Breaking: Amnesty International Staff Detained in Cairo
Blogger Describes Being Attacked in Cairo
Muslim Brotherhood seeks end to Israel treaty
Egypt: much too early to celebrate
White House, Egypt Discuss Plan for Mubarak’s Exit
In Egypt, as Mubarak Vows to Maintain Order, There Will Be Blood
Egypt set for Tunisia-style change: UN rights chief
Cabinet Approves Higher Taxes for Israel’s Gas Tycoons

The Israeli cabinet has approved the Sheshinski Committee’s recommendations to raise the royalties on Israel’s gas fields from 33 to 55-65 percent. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that most of the extra billions of dollars collected by the government will be allocated to education.

U.S. defense contractors with the most at stake in Egypt
The UK is the largest foreign investor in Egypt. Oil and gas accounts for much of this but British investment is wide-ranging and includes financial services, tourism, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, textiles and consumer goods. The cumulative total exceeds £10 billion sterling.
Israel Worries About Gas Pipeline
In August 2007, the Egyptian Minister of Investment announced that the UK was the largest investor in Egypt, based on cumulative FDI figures since 1970.
How Was Egypt’s Internet Access Shut Off?
Görmez warns against tragedy over developments in Egypt
Socialist International cancels Mubarak’s party membership
#Jan25 Diplomatic car runs over pro-democracy protesters (28 Jan)
Omar Soliman’s First interview in the media
Helping Mubarak sell his torture-techniques in the West
Muslim Brotherhood seeks end to Israel treaty
Network Anchors Leave Egypt Amid Crackdown
European leaders mount pressure on Egyptian ruler

The statement from French Pre-sident Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero urged a “quick and orderly transition to a broad-based government.” “That transition process must start now,” it said.

Egypt: When Pictures Speak Louder than Words
Muslim Brotherhood 2008 Municipal Election Platform
MB calls for changes to prevent another Tunisia
Analysis: Concern about Islamists masks wide differences
Video: Slaughter in Egypt
Egypt protesters make public appeal
Foreigners being attacked in Egypt
Google still searching for executive Wael Ghonim in Egypt
We All Helped Suppress the Egyptians — With Our Taxes. So How Do We Change?
The real Pyramid scheme
Just now from Tahrir square #Jan25
Israel: A tale of two demonstrations
Husni gone mad
Mubarak Switches On Smear Campaign
Aljazeera: Arabic vs English Versions; Mubark is “Fed Up!”
Israeli Military Backs Egyptian Troops
Obama Treats Egypt like a Banana Republic
Who’s afraid of the Muslim Brotherhood?
How Large Is Egypt’s Religious “Right”?
We Are All Egyptians
How Big Business Ruled Egypt
Voices from Departure Day in Egypt
If this is young Arabs’ 1989, Europe must be ready with a bold response
Protesters holding up signs in Hebrew #tahrir #jan25
People are now forming to make the word “Leave” for the helicopters above to see
Interview: protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square push back Mubarak thugs
Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Big Day — And Not Just in Cairo
Egyptians doing it old school
“The Lion Hearted”
Gaza TV News: Gaza TV News – Yvonne Ridley, The Revolution in Egypt
Fox News smears democracy
How Big Business Ruled Egypt
The west must be wary of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood (Benny Morris’s shameful racist trash)
Jewish Voice for Peace in the NYT – “He may be a barbarian, but he’s our barbarian,” Mr. Rothmann continued. “You need to have an alternative, and we have never been able to create one.”
Fidel Castro: Hosni Mubarak’s ‘Fate Is Sealed’

Palestine / Israel

Netanyahu to offer gestures to Palestinians in effort to deflect Quartet criticism
Sixty-five percent of Israelis said Mubarak’s fall would be bad for Israel, according to a poll published in the daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Thursday. Only 11 percent thought the results would be positive for Israel. Likewise, a majority – 59 percent – said a Muslim regime was more likely to emerge in Egypt, compared with only 21 percent who said the government would remain secular.
Palestinian Popular Committees to Egyptian Protesters: Abandon the Treaty
Macy Gray crawls over Palestine to Israel
Goldstone’s Legacy for Israel by Naomi Klein
Hamas allows anti-Mubarak protest in Gaza
Jewish Groups Clash Over Response to Fox Host’s On-Air Holocaust Rhetoric – zionism is not a left-wing movement.
A new regional order – slanted Haaretz article slurring Erdogan’s efforts as neo-Ottoman
Israel refuses to let Barbra Streisand’s cousin make aliyah
Israeli “liberals” make light of sexual assault and assassinations by the IDF
Obama, don’t be a hypocrite : oh god … what obsequious slime
“Israeli Wikileaks:” Kamm could face 9 years in prison

Wikileaks Links

Gillard continues to get it wrong on Assange
Holocaust denier in charge of handling Moscow cables

Other Links

American propaganda watch
Being opposed to Australia dumping refugees in East Timor
Global net crackdown to shatter ‘utopian’ internet: experts
Appeal: Help Us Save Hala Al Rafee’s Life
OUR GENERATION – Land, Culture, Freedom
Police Open Fire on Yemen Protesters
Once Upon a Time in Afghanistan…
Light dawns on Aboriginal find

Extra Tweets

RT @SultanAlQassemi: Scene only seen in Mecca before. 100s of thousands of Meydan Tahrir protesters pray together. http://yfrog.com/h8dsscvj

RT @SultanAlQassemi: There are 2 prayers at Meydan Tahrir, Muslims & Christians praying simultaneous…ly. Gathering est at over one million.

RT @MoatazMedhat: @Jinjirrie @SultanAlQassemi Actually it is estimated there are 2 Millions praying in Tahrir.#Egypt #jan25

RT @SultanAlQassemi: Al Jazeera estimates there are two million protesters. I don’t think they are wrong.

RT @avinunu: “No to Suleiman, Mossad agent, agent of America” – Amman protest speech #jan25

RT @avinunu: “No to Mubarak, son of Israel” Amman protestor #Jo #jan26 http://yfrog.com/h5twlsqlj

RT @SultanAlQassemi: Here’s the list of Committee of Wise-Leaders (disappointingly, they’re all men) http://bit.ly/hziimT Click English Version (Mousa is on it)

‘1610 GMT: Al Arabiya reports that the 10-man wise men committee has gotten positive feedback from President Mubarak about handing over power to VP Omar Suleiman. No one else has confirmed this’

Egyptian Revolution 2011

Egypt Links

@PJCrowley: There is a concerted campaign to intimidate international journalists in #Cairo and interfere with their reporting. We condemn such actions. #
Vodafone confirms the Mubarak regime forced them to send messages to the people of Egypt
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/foreign-ministry-seeks-release-of-israeli-jailed-in-egypt-1.341010
Reporters Held, Beaten in Egypt
UNESCO Director-General launches heritage and press freedom alert for Egypt
Demanding Change In The Middle East And North Africa
Cairo Exclusive: Interview with ‘Sandmonkey’
Egyptian prime minister apologises for violence (Extra)
Egypt: Doctors say 35 killed in Thursday morning clash
Egypt: Mubarak Reveals a Brutal Plan to Hold Power
‘We are not leaving until Mubarak leaves’
Who Is Omar Suleiman?
A letter from the barricades in Cairo
‘The Arab World Is on Fire’ : Noam Chomsky
What Zionism has done to my people
From an arrested thug: an MP brought him & others in truck saying: “let’s beat Americans in Tahrir”
Egypt: Were the Army and the Cops in Cahoots All This Time? – ugh, same boss
#Jan25 Women protesting in Tahrir Square
The End
Here’s the New Police-Special Forces of #Egypt. #Tahrir #Jan25
Netanyahu: Due to turmoil, Israel must get stronger
Mubarak backers open fire on protesters
Rachel Maddow – Tienanmen Square 1989 anniversary
Update: 5 protests killed by pro-gov’t attackers
Egypt – U.S. intelligence collaboration with Omar Suleiman “most successful”
Game over: The chance for democracy in Egypt is lost
More detentions in Ramallah at rally for Egypt
Robert Fisk: Blood and fear in Cairo’s streets as Mubarak’s men crack down on protests
”..the protester went to the feet of the soldier and asked him to help protect them from Mubarak’s thugs and the soldier is crying because he said that he can’t because he was not given the orders to.”
Why hate the US? (warning, very graphic)
Egypt attacks journalists to censor news: watchdog
Live From Egypt: The True Face of the Mubarak Regime

It’s a massacre,” said Selma al-Tarzi as the attack was ongoing. “They have knives, they are throwing molotov bombs, they are burning the trees, they are throwing stones at us…this is not a demonstration anymore, this is war.”

Some of the attackers were caught. Their IDs showed them to be policemen dressed in civilians clothes. Others appeared to be state sponsored “baltagiya” (gangs) and government employees. “Instead of uniformed guys trying to stop you from protesting. You’ve got non-uniformed guys trying to stop you from protesting,” Naguib said.

Democracy vs Thuggery
Open and Urgent Letter to Obama
Noam Chomsky: “This is the Most Remarkable Regional Uprising that I Can Remember”
Mona Eltahawy Should Be Careful What She Wishes For
Graphic photos
Live from tahrir square. 2 February – Eyewitness account
Traveller Within’s photostream
Update: 5 protests killed by pro-gov’t attackers
Clinton Urges Investigation Into New Cairo Violence – unbelievable US admin coverup:

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke today to Egypt’s new vice president, Omar Suleiman, and urged him to conduct an investigation into violence that rocked Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

“She emphasized our condemnation of the violence that occurred today and the responsibility of the government to hold fully accountable those who did it,” said Philip J. Crowley, the State Department spokesman.

Crowley said the U.S. doesn’t know who is behind attacks on protesters, which left more than 1,000 injured, according to the Al Jazeera television network. “Whoever they are, there needs to be accountability here,” Crowley said. “This was clearly an attempt at intimidating the demonstrators.

Sulieman is BFF torturer for US rendered prisoners.
Revolution in Egypt – and the Hypocrisy of the US and the West
Egypt, Right Now! @sandmonkey – RT @RamyYaacoub: Breaking news: @Sandmonkey arrested by state security. They called his father & claimed he has revolution leaflets #Egypt

Palestine / Israel Links

‘Economic peace’ betrays the hand of a grasping Israeli right
UN Criticizes Destruction of Palestinian Water Resources
Israeli soldiers shot and killed 15 Palestinians, including three children, and kidnapped more than 200 others during the month of January.
Palestine: Israeli army kidnaps three children in Bil’in
Why isn’t the PA supporting the Egypt uprising?
Birthright puts the kibosh on J Street-led trip
Could US abandon Israel too?
Netanyahu: Due to turmoil, Israel must get stronger – Israel has its paw out for more already on the strength of the Egyptian people’s struggle for democracy
Palestine and the uprisings in the Arab World
New Zealand PM says foreign policy dictated by keeping Israel happy
Justin Bieber to play Israel in April – Spoof
Israel, Thy Name is Arrogance
Robert Fisk: Blood and fear in Cairo’s streets as Mubarak’s men crack down on protests

Wikileaks Links

At least somebody appreciates the vital importance of Wikileaks
Documents in Julian Assange Rape Investigation Leak Onto Web

Other Links

Public servant sacked for googling ‘knockers’ at home

Wisner! the US has to be kidding

Was this bloodbath in Tahrir Square Frank Wisner’s Plan B, @PJCrowley ? or didn’t he have a Plan B? #

Operation Sarkozy : how the CIA placed one of its agents at the presidency of the French Republic

The forces unleashed in Egypt can’t be turned back

The manoeuvres at the top of the regime have transparently been choreographed in Washington. Mubarak’s declaration on Tuesday night followed hard on the heels of a visit from the Obama administration’s envoy, Frank Wisner, a paid lobbyist of the Egyptian government, who was reported to have “urged” the Egyptian president not to stand again.

CIA: Frank G. Wisner arrived in Cairo

Frank G. Wisner Jr. is not known to the U.S. public either as a diplomat or as a master spy, but as an unscrupulous financier. He was part of the Enron power elite involved in the fraudulent bankrupcy of the corporation that ruined countless small investors and, later, as Vice Chairman of American International Group whose share prices plummeted by 95% during the 2008 financial crisis before its bailout with taxpayers’ money.

From the Guardian:
11.31pm GMT: Frank Wisner, the US special envoy sent by Obama to talk to Egypt’s government, is on his way back to the US, empty-handed it would appear. AP reports:

The White House had attempted to nudge Mubarak to the exits, dispatching former US Ambassador Frank Wisner as a special envoy to deliver the message to him. But by Wednesday, Wisner was on his way back to the United States.

A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the matter, suggested Wisner had been seeking specific pledges from Mubarak beyond just a promise not to stand for re-election. The official would not elaborate, but the administration has made no secret of the fact that it wants the state of emergency lifted and would prefer to see Mubarak’s son, Gamal, not try to succeed his father. Mubarak mentioned neither in his address Tuesday night.

Who is US Special Representative to Kosovo Frank G. Wisner?

Frank Wisner at Sourcewatch

The Power Elite: Enron and Frank Wisner

Wisner is a veteran of “economic espionage” and is believed to have used his diplomatic cover to advance US governmental and corporate economic interests while he served as a diplomat to Asia. A member of Wisner’s staff told InterPress Services in 1997 that “if anybody asked the CIA to help promote US business in India, it was probably Frank”.

Egypt - revolution
Egypt Links

Israeli leaders’ brotherly allegiance to fascism RT @db_s_turbosnail: Voice of Israel urging Mubarak to crack heads: http://bit.ly/fNjWRM #
#Jan25 Live ammunition confiscated from the police by protesters
Into Egypt’s Uncharted Territory
NDP Mubarak thugs who confessed that they were paid to go out and hurt anti-Mubarak protesters
ADC Finally Jumps on Egypt Bandwagon
Leading Egyptian Facebook Activist Arrested, Friends Say
Revolution in Egypt – and the Hypocrisy of the US and the West
Hillary Clinton gets tough with “military dictatorships”

I understand if they expect a domestic audience to swoon for this sort of rhetoric, but do they actually expect that there is anyone in the Middle East, anywhere, who will take seriously the righteous objections of Hilary Clinton — the American Secretary of State and close Mubarak family friend — to the rise of an oppressive military dictatorship in the Middle East? Is anyone there really going to believe that it’s that government’s lack of respect for human rights — rather than its refusal to serve American interests and heed its various dictates — that is motivating the hostility and threats?

All of a sudden, we each began receiving text messages from Vodafone and calls for protests to end before things got out of control.
The Neocons Split with Israel Over Egypt
Amid protests at home, Egypt mobilizes strong lobbying force in Washington

Egypt protests – live updates
What lay behind Obama’s friendship with Mubarak?
Erdogan is Brilliant
Egypt: much too early to celebrate
Google, Facebook, Twitter sound off on Egypt
RT @ArabRevolution: @VodafoneEgypt actively supporting Mubarak regime. SMS sent to Egyptians http://yfrog.com/gzhf7fvj BOYCOTT @VodafoneUK #
RT @jeremyscahill URGENT Cairo #journalists reporters GET OUT of your HOTEL ROOMS NOW http://bit.ly/gFRvZg #Jan25 RT NOW @chrislhayes #
@PJCrowley The perpetrators of today’s violence in #Egypt must be held accountable, and the government should tell its supporters to eschew violence. #
. @PJCrowley Take careful note ‘Pro-Mubarak supporters are recognizably police, says Peter Beaumont. ‘ http://tinyurl.com/4a8urur #
. @PJCrowley Some of the attackers caught. Their IDs showed them to be policemen dressed in civilians clothes.’ http://tinyurl.com/4nuvurn #
. @PJCrowley RT @alaa: Further proof there is police among the thugs, they’re now shooting tear gas #Jan25 #
Protestor consoles Egyptian army officer

Palestine / Israel Links

UN joins PA slamming Israeli water infrastructure destruction
More detentions in Ramallah at rally for Egypt
When Israel’s protective net of tyranny tears
Journalists forced to pledge abstention from Gaza rallies
Tunisian PM: Gaza source of inspiration

Wikileaks Links

Other Links

Sudanese Start Protest Movement
Passenger: Feds Orchestrated “Underwear Bomber” Plot to Advance TSA

Humpty Dumpty Mubarak

Friday is being described as departure day for Mubarak. According to Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, Marwan Bishara:

For all practical purpose, Mubarak is history. It will take no less of a miracle or terrible bloodshed to keep him in office any longer.

The cosmetic changes he has carried out over the last few days are meaningless, no less because they have been carried through presidential decrees – this underlines his insistence to micro manage urgent state matters without any role or attention to parliament, the party, or the people in the street.

An orderly and peaceful transition is better off without him, or his new vice, Omar Sulieman, reportedly, among others, the CIA’s point counterpart in Egypt that partnered in the rendition programs that led to terrible torture of innocent people.

The longer they remain in power the messier the transition would be in Egypt. On the other hand, Mubarak and company could be offered assurances that if they agreed to step aside promptly and peacefully, that they would not be prosecuted.

Egypt Links

@SultanAlQassemi: Breaking Al Arabiya: “Internet services are restored in Egypt” #
Three questions for Marwan Bishara
Mubarak fails to quell protests with departure pledge
Zogby Not Worried About His Favorite Gulf Oil-Sheiks
Amnesty urges Egypt military to respect rights of protesters
Mubarak gives go-ahead to his goons
Jordan’s King Abdullah appoints new prime minister as Egypt unrest spreads
Erdo?an urges Mubarak to heed people’s call for change
“Every Egyptian soldier is under oath not to fire on Egyptians”
Who does Mona Eltahawy think she’s fooling?

Palestine Israel Links

Waging Peace: Students Campaign to Boycott Israeli Aggression
Russell Tribunal on Palestine Examines Corporate Complicity in Israeli Crimes
Why should Israel be the only democracy in the Mideast?
The neo-con corruption of Judaism
Israel urges West: Make sure new Egypt regime honors peace deal
M16 drew up plan to curb Hamas

Wikileaks Links

WikiLeaks, Al Jazeera expose how Israel, US block justice
Bradley Manning is UK citizen and needs protection, government told
WikiLeaks cable shows three Qataris in Sept. 11 plot

Other Links

Wal-Mart’s Eco-Friendly, Anti-Aging Make-Up for Eight-Year-Olds
Australia faces scrutiny on human rights record – ‘Some of the most major concerns relate to the plight of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.’
Artists challenge NT intervention whitewashing

Situations in the Sinai

On January 15, the US mobilised the Connecticut National Guard Detachment 2, Company I, 185th Aviation Regiment of Groton to be deployed to the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, “to support the Multinational Force and Observers”.

The unit left Connecticut Jan. 15 for Fort Benning, Ga., for further training and validation. The unit operates C-23C Sherpa aircraft and has deployed three times in the last seven years in support of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The unit will provide an on-demand aviation asset to the Multinational Force and Observers commander to support its mission of supervising the security provisions of the Egypt/ Israel Peace Treaty.

Chief Warrant Officer Four James Smith of Ivoryton commands the aviation unit.

Here’s a list of US deployments in the Sinai and a breakdown of the constituency of the multinational force.

The US contributes three units collectively known as Task Force Sinai:[8]

* Force HQ – 40 personnel
* Infantry Battalion (USBATT – drawn from National Guard units)- 425 personnel currently members of the Illinois Army National Guard to be replaced in early 2011 by the Maryland National Guard[9]
* Support Battalion – 235 personnel consisting of:
o Headquarters
o Medical Company consisting of Dental, Medical, Physical Therapy, Veterinarian, and Preventative Medicine.
o Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment (EOD)
o Aviation Company

As far as I can discover, the deployment has yet to reach its eventual destination and was routine.

Considering the lengthy buildup to the present people’s revolution in Egypt however, and telltale Wikileaks cables, it is difficult to imagine that the US has not been prepared for such an eventuality and pre-planned with Israel and Egypt tactical contingency moves in the Sinai including the present jointly coordinated remilitarisation off the Sinai by Egypt, despite the multinational force’s role ostensibly being the enforcement of the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

As Yossi Gurvitz notes:

The entrance of Egyptian military forces into Sinai is prohibited by the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, to which the US is a guarantor. Lisa Goldman and myself tried to get a reply from the IDF Spokesman, to no avail. The spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, Yigal Palmor, gave Goldman the following response: “We will have to analyze the situation. We are under clear instructions not to make any comment on the Egyptian situation, no matter what. So it’s not as though we’ll have an answer later on. You’ll just have to wait and see, okay?”

According to Laura Rozen:

Several foreign policy scholars and former officials have been urging the U.S. administration for months to prepare for the end of the Hosni Mubarak era and the instability that would accompany it.

However, according to General James Mattis yesterday:

The United States has no plans to redeploy troops or ships in response to the unrest roiling Egypt and the instability in Tunisia and Jordan, the head of the U.S. Central Command said Tuesday.

On a visit to London, Gen. James Mattis said military leaders and lawmakers were closely watching developments, but stressed that he had no orders to rearrange his forces in response.

“These issues do not call for a military solution right now,” Mattis said. “There’s no reason right now for any shift in military forces, or anything like that. I’ve not received any orders.”

Mattis spells out the primary US strategic interest:

… he said it was unlikely events in Egypt would lead to difficulties for ships passing through the Suez Canal – another major concern for lawmakers and businesses.

The canal is the key route to the Mediterranean and used to avoid the longer and perilous path around Africa to the Atlantic Ocean.

“When you look at the fiscal impact of that on whoever is in a position of authority in Egypt, I just can’t imagine a motive to shut that down,” said Mattis, who succeeded Gen. David Petraeus as head of the military’s Central Command in August.

Related Links

With the anger, Bedouin youth now present a face of triumph. “It is a revolution,” one says simply.
US embassy cables: Egypt’s strategic importance to the US

President Mubarak and military leaders view our military assistance program as the cornerstone of our mil-mil relationship and consider the USD 1.3 billion in annual FMF as “untouchable compensation” for making and maintaining peace with Israel. The tangible benefits to our mil-mil relationship are clear: Egypt remains at peace with Israel, and the U.S. military enjoys priority access to the Suez Canal and Egyptian airspace. We believe, however, that our relationship can accomplish much more. Over the last year, we have engaged MOD leaders on developing shared strategic objectives to address current and emerging threats, including border security, counter terrorism, civil defense, and peacekeeping. Our efforts thus far have met with limited success.

Israel + Egypt (+ the US too) coordinating Sinai moves
Rights NGO claims that Israeli planes carrying crowd dispersal weapons have arrived in Egypt
Report: Egypt request crowd dispersion equipment from Israel
Israel denies sending riot gear to Egypt
Why is the Egyptian Army in Sinai?
Made in the USA: Tear Gas, Tanks, Helicopters, Rifles, and Fighter Planes in Egypt Funded and Built Largely by US Defense Department and American Corporations
Israel agrees to some Egyptian troops in Sinai
Three Decades of Weapons, Training for Egypt Keep U.S. in Loop
MAHALLA RIOTS: ISOLATED INCIDENT OR TIP OF AN ICEBERG?

The key question is, will the localized incident in
Mahalla spark a wider movement? The government is clearly
focused on containing unrest. Even while the riots were
still winding down, PM Nazif traveled to Mahalla, paid
bonuses to factory workers and praised those who did not join
in the riots (ref D). The government has also accelerated
arrests of activists in Cairo (ref E). The organizers of the
April 6 strike — distinct from Mahalla — have already
called, via Facebook, for a follow-on national strike on May
4, Mubarak’s eightieth birthday. Even regime insiders have
acknowledged the political savvy behind this tactic —
channeling current outrage towards the next big event. The
GOE responded with a press release announcing that President
Mubarak will give a May 5 speech to “underline Egypt’s keen
to desire to protect the rights of laborers and accentuate
the role they can play in the development process …. and to
reiterate the government’s commitment to safeguard the
interests of workers against any backlashes they might face
as a result of the economic reform program.” More broadly,
the government continues to address the shortage of
subsidized bread by using military bakeries and distribution

Egypt Links

In Pictures: Egypt protests
Voice-To-Tweet
Why Are Americans Blocked From Watching Al Jazeera English?
U.S. Scrambles to Size Up ElBaradei
Live blog Feb 1 – Egypt protests
Protesting At Tahrir Square
Al Jazeera report from Tahrir Square 8:30am, February 1
A Virtual “March of Millions” in Solidarity with Egyptian Protestors
On the eve of the ‘march of a million people’
The human wall protecting Cairo museum.
The widening double standard
An Egyptian Woman Speaks Out
Australians in Egypt frustrated by embassy
Live blog Feb 1 – Egypt protests
Erdogan Tells Egypt’s Mubarak He Should Listen to His People

Palestine / Israel Links

Hope ends here: The children’s court at Ofer Military Prison
Could US abandon Israel too?
Settlers start to cultivate Palestinian land east of Al-Khalil
Unprovoked attack on local shop, pregnant woman gassed
Google unveils Web-free ‘tweeting’ in Egypt move
Israeli critics open up on US ‘abandonment’ of Mubarak – ziofascists:

Another strain of this criticism, articulated most forcefully by Yediot Aharonot columnist Eitan Haber, who was a top aide to Yitzhak Rabin, is that this sends a dreadful message to Israel.

Obama threw Mubarak “to the dogs,” Haber wrote in a column that appeared on Monday.

“America, which waves the banner of ‘citizens rights,’ ‘democracy,’ and ‘freedom of information,’ turned its back in a day on one of its most important allies in the Middle East.

Obama sold Mubarak for the pot of lentils of popularity among the Egyptian masses,” Haber wrote, adding that the US president did this without a true understanding of the Middle East.

“Our conclusion in Israel needs to be that the man sitting in the White House is liable to ‘sell’ us over night.

The thought that the US might not stand by our side in the day of need causes chills. God help us.”

This theme was also picked up by former Mossad head Danny Yatom, who said in an Israel Radio interview that the US treatment of Mubarak was a dangerous message to Washington’s allies in the region – including Israel – that they could not rely on America.

Yatom said Washington’s first error was not in more aggressively supporting the opposition in Iran when it took to the streets against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the summer of 2009.

By contrast, Yatom said, “there is an important relationship” between the US and Egypt, with Egypt an important layer in Washington’s regional policy.

“The way Obama and Hillary Clinton abandoned Mubarak at once is very problematic, and I think hints to other allies – for instance Israel – that these things can happen under certain grave circumstances to us as well, and to others.”

Yatom said the US erred in talking – as Clinton did on Sunday – of an orderly transition to lasting democracy, and should have instead sufficed with demanding reform.

They should have supported him [Mubarak], but demand more reform,” he said. “I think he would have responded.”

Israel shocked by Obama’s “betrayal” of Mubarak
Can Israel only make peace with dictators?
Netanyahu must prepare for a new regional order
Bernard-Henri Lévy Indicted! – Tariq Ali
U.S. Interests in Egypt: A Proposed Statement of U.S. Policy – the AIPAC/WINEP mix
It’s never been about Palestine – neocon John Podhoretz
Amnesty International Condemns Makhoul Sentence

Wikileaks Links

Whistleblower ‘isolated’ in US jail
Julian Assange calls for support from Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard
Assange’s lawyer says FOI inspired WikiLeaks

Other Links

Afghan elite ‘plundered $900m’ from leading bank
United Nations must intervene to protect Sri Lanka’s media
Government accused as Sri Lankan news office is torched