The Guardian’s report about Tony Blair and his possible work as adviser for El-Sisi in Egypt under Emirati Sponsorship is the talk of the town at least online in Egypt today instead of football match.
The British newspaper published a report saying that former British PM Tony Blair accepted to ‘advise’ president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as part of a programme funded by the UAE to help ‘business opportunities’ in Egypt.
Not only Blair was said to advise El-Sisi but also his former press secretary Alastair Campbell was also giving a PR advice to El-Sisi and the Egyptian government. Oh yes Campbell of the doggy report of Iraq invasion. I wonder if El-Sisi and Egyptian government know read more about Campbell !!
Both Blair and Campbell are part of the UAE programme according to the report. This report is not made by The Guardian’s correspondent in Egypt Patrick Kingsley but by Seumas Milne.
Milne wrote yesterday that Blair should be sacked from his position as Middle East peace envoy mentioning more interesting details about Blair and his UAE connections in Comment Is Free. The Guardian’s editorial also spoke about him too.
Of course today El-Sisi’s supporters accused the Guardian of lying and that it was being owned by the Qatari which is untrue while some of them did not reject the idea that the man who led Iraq invasion and supported the New Middle East map in 2003 was actually advising Nasser 2014 aka El-Sisi because Obama hates him !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the end Blair’s office issued a statement denying that the former British PM was working as ‘ formal adviser’ to El-Sisi and that neither he and his companies ‘have any commercial interest in Egypt, nor are they seeking business in Egypt’
Well interesting use of wording indeed because the Guardian actually said that Blair was being paid by the Emiratis for their own plans to help El-Sisi economically so he can be “informal” adviser.
Already Blair has been from the early western politicians that declared their support to El-Sisi and the regime in Egypt after 3 July and has been a frequent guest in Cairo for months so far. Already Daily Mail published a similar report about the visits of both Campbell and Blair in last May.
Update#1:
Alastir Campbell spoke with Channel 4 News correspondent Alex Thomson and he did not deny his visit to Egypt or his hate to the Muslim Brotherhood nor that he was paid by someone to go and visit Egypt.
It is worth to mention that after leaving the office Blair was also a guest in Gamal Mubarak’s conferences in Mubarak SR’s last years in office if you can remember this.
The scary part in the Guardian’s report is not Blair’s consultancy , already the man used to advise Qaddafi and we all know what happened to him but actually those words “UAE-funded Egyptian taskforce in Cairo now forms a shadow government within the government.”
Talk to me about Egyptian sovereignty !! This reminds me so much how UK and France appointed officials in the Egyptian cabinet after the British invasion in Egypt.
Anyhow when I look to it from another side not only UAE and Saudi Arabia as well are trying to help El-Sisi to succeed economically and politically but they also are worried that all those billions they spent in the past year would end like the billions or the trillions they had used to send to Mubarak in corruption.
Now I can not help thinking about how many Pro El-Sisi supporters are cursing ElBaradei and blaming him for what has happened to Iraq and yet their president has been receiving one of the true criminals who destroyed Iraq by lies for months and their media is praising Blair and his war on the Muslim Brotherhood in UK and in the world.
I mean now Blair is said to be advising El-Sisi whom they believe that he saved Egypt from a similar Iraqi chaos scenario as well the region from the so-called New Middle East plan launched by none other than G.W Bush and Tony Blair !!
By the way for those who forgot ElBaradei’s position from the war on the Iraq blaming him for the destruction of this great nation exhausted by after years of dictatorship and failed military conquests , I dedicate this video.
On the other hand here is Egypt and Gulf’s friend Tony Blair delivering his speech about Iraq and the importance of military action against it .
Here is Tony Blair speaking in 2010 about the Iraq war. I hope someone translate these videos to Arabic and dedicate it to those El-Sisi’s supporters crying rivers on Saddam now.
And he has no regret for what happened.
Also I hate to bring this up but if we are bring to blame ElBaradei for the destruction of Iraq then you must bring up the role of Mubarak and before him the great Gulf above them Saudi Arabia whether in 1990s or in 2000s. I have not forgotten.
Actually seeing Blair in Egypt makes me fear the fate of Iraq as I remember the visits of Donald Rumsfeld to Iraq in the 1980s as well how Blair himself was advising and helping Qaddafi not to mention the US economic help to Augusto Pinochet in Chile.
I am concerned on our national security and its secrets seriously speaking with all that Gulf-Western politician aka war criminals like Blair meddling in our matters like that.
The British newspaper published a report saying that former British PM Tony Blair accepted to ‘advise’ president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as part of a programme funded by the UAE to help ‘business opportunities’ in Egypt.
Not only Blair was said to advise El-Sisi but also his former press secretary Alastair Campbell was also giving a PR advice to El-Sisi and the Egyptian government. Oh yes Campbell of the doggy report of Iraq invasion. I wonder if El-Sisi and Egyptian government know read more about Campbell !!
Both Blair and Campbell are part of the UAE programme according to the report. This report is not made by The Guardian’s correspondent in Egypt Patrick Kingsley but by Seumas Milne.
Milne wrote yesterday that Blair should be sacked from his position as Middle East peace envoy mentioning more interesting details about Blair and his UAE connections in Comment Is Free. The Guardian’s editorial also spoke about him too.
Of course today El-Sisi’s supporters accused the Guardian of lying and that it was being owned by the Qatari which is untrue while some of them did not reject the idea that the man who led Iraq invasion and supported the New Middle East map in 2003 was actually advising Nasser 2014 aka El-Sisi because Obama hates him !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the end Blair’s office issued a statement denying that the former British PM was working as ‘ formal adviser’ to El-Sisi and that neither he and his companies ‘have any commercial interest in Egypt, nor are they seeking business in Egypt’
Well interesting use of wording indeed because the Guardian actually said that Blair was being paid by the Emiratis for their own plans to help El-Sisi economically so he can be “informal” adviser.
Already Blair has been from the early western politicians that declared their support to El-Sisi and the regime in Egypt after 3 July and has been a frequent guest in Cairo for months so far. Already Daily Mail published a similar report about the visits of both Campbell and Blair in last May.
Update#1:
Alastir Campbell spoke with Channel 4 News correspondent Alex Thomson and he did not deny his visit to Egypt or his hate to the Muslim Brotherhood nor that he was paid by someone to go and visit Egypt.
Update#2 :
Here is the full of Thompson about his chitchat with Campbell earlier today.Update#3 :
Another interesting old Reuters report issued last month saying El-Sisi was turning into Western economic advisers.It is worth to mention that after leaving the office Blair was also a guest in Gamal Mubarak’s conferences in Mubarak SR’s last years in office if you can remember this.
The scary part in the Guardian’s report is not Blair’s consultancy , already the man used to advise Qaddafi and we all know what happened to him but actually those words “UAE-funded Egyptian taskforce in Cairo now forms a shadow government within the government.”
Talk to me about Egyptian sovereignty !! This reminds me so much how UK and France appointed officials in the Egyptian cabinet after the British invasion in Egypt.
Anyhow when I look to it from another side not only UAE and Saudi Arabia as well are trying to help El-Sisi to succeed economically and politically but they also are worried that all those billions they spent in the past year would end like the billions or the trillions they had used to send to Mubarak in corruption.
Now I can not help thinking about how many Pro El-Sisi supporters are cursing ElBaradei and blaming him for what has happened to Iraq and yet their president has been receiving one of the true criminals who destroyed Iraq by lies for months and their media is praising Blair and his war on the Muslim Brotherhood in UK and in the world.
I mean now Blair is said to be advising El-Sisi whom they believe that he saved Egypt from a similar Iraqi chaos scenario as well the region from the so-called New Middle East plan launched by none other than G.W Bush and Tony Blair !!
By the way for those who forgot ElBaradei’s position from the war on the Iraq blaming him for the destruction of this great nation exhausted by after years of dictatorship and failed military conquests , I dedicate this video.
ElBaradei and his speech in front of the security council about Iraq and its nuclear project
Tony Blair makes the case for the Iraq war in 2003
Tony Blair defends his position in Iraq inquiry in 2010
Tony Blair has no regret for what happened “Iraq is better and our security is better” in 2010
Actually seeing Blair in Egypt makes me fear the fate of Iraq as I remember the visits of Donald Rumsfeld to Iraq in the 1980s as well how Blair himself was advising and helping Qaddafi not to mention the US economic help to Augusto Pinochet in Chile.
I am concerned on our national security and its secrets seriously speaking with all that Gulf-Western politician aka war criminals like Blair meddling in our matters like that.
Sisi supporters love to claim that everyone else is a foreign agent, supposedly bought and paid for by foreign entities. However, not only is this a delusion, but it is the Sisi loons themselves that have the most extensive foreign patronage and propensity to sell themselves to foreign groups.
ReplyDeletePrior to July 3, 2013 (and after that date as well), it would have been very naïve to fail to grasp that Sisi and his sponsors have numerous and massive economic and political connections that were driving their agendas. The idea that the military or its front man are any kinds of "saviors" or heroes is just absurd hogwash. The Egyptian military aristocracy is much like the one in Thailand. Both are deeply beholden to unsavory foreign interests and both desire to keep their own countries in states of perpetual subjugation and exploitation so as to benefit an anti-liberty, anti-democratic political-military elite. Neither the Blair news nor the regime's use of the Falcon Group are surprising. There is so much more waiting to be discovered on this iceberg.
The truth about Egypt's despotic elite is going to keep getting more and more obvious. Eventually, it will penetrate even the skulls of Sisi supporters that they have been duped, used, and discarded by people who are totally unworthy of their loyalty and allegiance. At that point, the Sisi regime will meet its end, though it may happen even before then.
The notion that a police state is somehow stopping an Iraq scenario is just dumb propaganda. Not only is Egypt too different from Iraq for the comparison to hold well, but the claim actually contradicts the arguments of Sisi supporters. Authoritarianism and police state policies, fuel, aid, and abet militant insurgencies. Political extremism thrives in destitute and unfree places.
Iraq also showcases the growing failures of Saudi foreign policy. Given the Sisi cult's love of Saudi Arabia, it is odd that they bring up cases which do not reflect well on their beloved ally. It is disgusting that Sisi prefers police states like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to democratic and free countries like Tunisia.
In spite of Iran's problems, if a post-sanctions Iran emerges from the nuclear negotiations, it will look a whole lot more appealing that a more dictatorial Egypt that is spinning its wheels in economic terms. The arguments in the West in favor of defying the Gulf states/their Egypt vassal to reestablish relations with Iran will keep getting more powerful. Eventually, the voices espousing this course of action could well grow stronger than those of the political and economic entities that wish to keep the fate of the U.S. tied to monarchical and military dictatorships.
I am very surprised....
ReplyDeleteYou are right in all your concern.
Tantay & El Sisi they still think we are under British occupatiom ????!
In 2011 the British PM came tp Egypt (to visit Tantaway) with the presidents
of 8 British Arms factories (to fight the Revolution) !!!"""
Now what is Tantawy's friend El Sissi want ???
Why Egypt need foriegn advisers ???
we have all the Qualifications
Dr. Hamdy Youssef, Ph.D., P. Eng.
What was it exactly that you disagreed with in Tony Blair's speeches? I watched all three clips and I couldn't find a single wrong or objectionable thing. Keep in mind he didn't, at the time he made those statements, know of the most recent developments in Iraq (no Status of Forces Agreement between the US and Iraq, ISIS on the rampage, etc.) as they postdate his speech. Blair seems to me like an honest man and a stand-up guy with a good moral compass.
ReplyDeleteZeinobia, you appear to take for granted that any rational Egyptian would prefer Saddam to al-Maliki. Why on Earth? Surely getting rid of a mass-murderer and his rape-hobbyist sons is a good thing even if the justification was imperfect? They lowered their political opponents slowly into tire shredders, you know. They displayed mercy by lowering them head first. Ooohh, I know why you prefer Saddam: It's because al-Maliki is a Shiite! Am I right? Shiites are not true Muslims.
Jason:
ReplyDeleteI think the theory is that democracy means freedom and human rights, and lack of democracy means lack of freedom of human rights. I disagree with that, because in the third world (and any place really) democracy gives the majority the right to tell the minority what they can do in their personal lives. For example, the majority in Egypt cannot allow civil liberties that contradict with Islam and the ancient views of the Coptic Orthodox church... in other words, no freedom, and no civil liberties. But that's the operating theory in Egypt and many countries, that democracy is a goal in itself regardless of the results, instead of just a tool to achieve freedom and civil liberties. So, when democracy in a place like Egypt contradicts with freedom and civil liberties, it doesn't matter, democracy has to stay... that's basically the theory.
The evolution of liberty in a society doesn't normally complete itself during periods of authoritarian government. Historically, the practice of self-rule through democratic governance was a necessary step is enabling the struggle for freedom to progress. The amount of freedom present in a society which has just shed centuries or more of dictatorship is naturally not going to be as high as one that has experienced democracy for a lengthy period of time. But even such a new democracy (including in the third world) will generally have a greater level of freedom than a modern or traditional autocracy.
DeleteThis is also a reason why a real constitution that actually can be used to protect freedom is an important component for political success.
It takes some time for the population to adjust and start expanding self-rule (which is connected to the growth of liberty) but this cannot really be accomplished by an authoritarian system. Authoritarianism by nature requires repression and censorship of information. At some point, freedom can only progress through encouraging the general population to participate in their own governance. The countries that have the highest level of civil liberties at present had to go through lengthy struggles to reach the stage that they presently have attained.
Orange Catsup: That was meaningless twaddle from beginning to end. Stop your incoherent babbling. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
DeleteConsider what the post was a response towards. The anonymous mentioned about the connection between democracy and human rights and about how this connection functions in Egypt and the third world. My argument is that democracies tend to expand human rights over time while the same process is halting or nonexistent in dictatorships over an equivalent period of time. This is one reason why those who value civil liberties push for the implementation of democracy, even if it will not lead immediately to a civil liberties utopia.
DeleteUnlike some arguments about the Iraq war presented here, it does not present a false (and incoherent/demagogueic) dilemma.
jason bury your head in shame. We are talking about tony blair.....you can't twist the truth that much to make him look nice! Ask any Brit what they think of him (despise him) and ask any Pro Zionist Israeli (love him) or any pro peace Israeli (hate him).
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: I understand and agree about the independence of, on the one hand, democracy, and on the other hand, freedom and human rights. If you want all that stuff, it's probably best to have freedom and human rights permanently enshrined in a Constitution or similar document that's difficult or impossible to undo by, for example, stupidly voting in authoritarians or despots, as majorities sometimes do, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteLatifa: Well, that's just silly. Lots of Brits like Tony Blair. He was Prime Minister for ten years or something, so it should go without saying. Your circle of acquaintances must be limited to fringe leftists who were butthurt when Blair took the British alliance with the USA seriously. They couldn't believe a Labour PM would side with a Republican president. I remember they were calling him Bush's lapdog and worse. But the Anglosphere really does have special relationships that transcend party ideology. While Britain's loony left will never forgive Blair, he earned the respect of at least as many Tories.
Also, your categorization of Israelis doesn't make sense. What about Israelis who do want a Jewish state (i.e., they are Zionists) but don't want war with their Arab neighbors? I don't pretend to be an expert, indeed I have never been to the Middle East, but I would guess most Israelis subscribe to that.
Some criminal killers escape justice only in this life.
ReplyDeleteOne group of people suffering from the Sisi regime are LGBT Egyptians: more than 77 arrested since last year. Blair, the "pro-gay" British prime minister, is complicit in Sisi's crackdown on them.
ReplyDeletehttp://paper-bird.net/2014/05/18/brutal-gender-crackdown-in-egypt-the-tomorrows-that-never-came/