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DarkSteven -> Egypt was invaded by the ghost of the United States. (2/3/2011 6:28:37 AM)
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Not militarily. Ideologically.
Way back when, the USA stated a radio station called the Voice of America. It broadcast pro-US sentiments and sentiments against the local country. I know that Cuba was a target, and believe that the Soviet bloc was also targeted.
I don't know if that's still in existence, but one factor not mentioned in the convulsions of Egypt is US television and movies.
The American Dream is powerful. If you work hard and keep your nose clean, you can achieve. Even Al Bundy and Homer Simpson were able to afford stay at home wives, a house, a car, and children on a blue collar salary. Picture the effect on a college educated, unemployed young Arab man seeing the gilded story of the American Dream. In a country where criticism of the country's leader can lead to interrogation and imprisonment, what a weird place it must seem where the GOP's current sole mission is to criticize and impeded Obama, like the Dems' mission was under Bush.
The irony is that the American Dream is slowly dying in the US. Factory work is drying up as it's offshored. Easy money and life's little luxuries are getting harder to come by. It's a ghost of what it once was. A very powerful ghost nonetheless.
IMO, that's the real reason that the Islamic states demonized the West so much. They were terrified of American ideals, American values.
This is one of the reasons I'm cautiously optimistic about how well the US will be able to relate to whatever new regime arrives in Egypt. They may not like some of our values, but they sure as hell like our iPods and cars.
I just hope that we're farsighted enough to offer economic advice to the Egyptians. If they start developing capitalist structures like production facilities and call centers over there, we'll be able to relate to them and work with them.
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