Cairo’s monitored transition

To the left of the photo, Zahraa Said, sister of Khalid Said, a young Egyptian entrepreneur honored posthumously. He had posted a video on the Internet showing evidence of police corruption, before being assassinated. Carl Gershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy, stands with his back to the camera. The ceremony was followed by a round table featuring Abuzaakuk and Aly Radwan Ziadeh, two of the main organizers of the unrest in Libya and Syria.

During a touching ceremony at the White House, President Obama paid tribute to an Egyptian businessman killed at the hands of the Mubarak police (armed and trained by the USA), who was decorated with the “2011 Prize Democracy Prize” from the Natinal Endowment for Democracy (NED).

The United States, underscored the President, strongly supports Egypt’s transition towards democracy, by promoting the leadership of emerging voices in civil society, especially among the youth. The NED and other “non-governmental” organisations - in reality offshoots of the State Department and the CIA, which fund dozens of projects in Egypt - have been in charge of their training. Other programs are managed directly by the US Government. The Global Entrepreneurship Program, established by the Obama administration to "promote a culture of entrepreneurship in developing countries", organizes courses, run by US entrepreneurs, for the benefit of Egyptians from the middle and upper-middle classes. The best are sent to the USA for advanced training. Special attention is devoted to the training of young website managers in English and Arabic, who receive funding and are taught the know-how of US private companies. In this way, a new Egyptian ruling class is being groomed, which the New York Times defines as "entrepreneurs of the revolution."

A "revolution" monitored by Washington, which aims to give a "democratic" face to a country where power continues to rest with the upper echelons of the armed forces. It is this military class which - funded, armed and trained by the United States - occupied the seat of power throughout the Mubarak regime. The same one which came forward as the guarantor of "the peaceful and orderly transition" required by President Obama when Mubarak, after thirty years of loyal services rendered to the United States, was overthrown by a popular uprising.

With the billions of dollars received from Washington and a balance sheet kept secret in parliament, this class created its own economic basis, including hotel chains, electronic stores, car industries and numerous other activities. It is on this military-economic caste that Washington is betting on for a “peaceful and orderly transition” that will leave intact the pillars of US domination in the country. Thus, Washington continues to fund and to arm it, even though in Congress there are doubts about its reliability.

However, not everything is going the way the White House would like. Protesters have returned to Tahir Square, disappointed in their hope for real democratic changes, in a country where 40% of the population is living in poverty. The top brass military, while cracking down on the demonstrations, had to make concessions, such as a government reshuffle or an early retirement plan for the 600 police officers responsible for the bloody repression at Tahir Square. However, the names of the authors were not revealed and no one was punished. And top military officers are yet again the guarantors of the new constitution, the drafting of which was entrusted to a commission nominated by these same officers. As supreme guarantee, the US has made the commitment, endorsed by the President, to uphold universal human rights not only in Egypt but also in all the countries in the region.