In The Case of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, Another Episode of Ugly America...We Posture Them, Then Drop Them...

By PATRICK ALCATRAZ
Editor

AUSTIN, Texas - Perhaps it's the craggy faces, or maybe it's the fact that these are cruel dictators who abuse their powers and their people. But Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, shown in photo above, has much in common with fajita-faced Manuel Noriega and Saddam Hussein - all three were once great allies of the United States and all three were thrown to the political wolves.

Mubarak, a tireless friend of the west, yesterday announced he will not seek re-election in his country's next general elections, which come in September. It will apparently mark the bitter end of a 30-year reign as president for the man who aptly replaced assassinated Anwar Sadat in 1981. On TV, Mubarak's face looked not only worn (he's 82 years old), but it also looked defiant.

That defiance may have something to do with his dispelasure at seeing America push him out the door. President Obama also took to the airwaves yesterday and suggested the idea that Mubarak leave office as soon as possible, something the millions of Egyptians who gathered in Cairo also insisted was the troubled president's next logical move.

It is something to see when the U.S. arrives at its decision to cut relations with leaders it has long supported for our selfish sake. The Shah of Iran, as western a Persian as there ever could be, also fled his country after that country's Ayatollah-led unrest forced his ouster. Noriega, long a backer of the U.S. involvement in Central America, also saw his reign end, his by way of a U.S. invasion that saw American stealth fighters descend over Panama skies. Noriega rotted in a Florida federal prison for decades before he was flown to France to complete his imprisonment.

We all know what became of Saddam Hussein, even after he fronted our war against Iran for years and allowed the U.S. military to base its covert operations against Tehran in his country. Who will forget the incident involving the U.S.S. Stark, when Iraqi jetfighters mistakenly strafed the American ship, killing more than a dozen sailors? As could be expected, the U.S. accepted the explanation that the Iraqi pilot had simply misidentified the ship. Hussein is dead, having been hanged after the most-recent U.S. invasion of his country.

No excuses need to be made for our handling of these foreign leaders. Our security needs to be uppermost in the minds of our government and military leaders. So, when revolutionary winds come as they have in Egypt, we measure the effects they will have on our future and act accordingly. Dropping allies such as Mubarak is cruel and cold, but happen it must.

Now, how our role in all this is seen by those with terrorist plans against us will surely play out in the coming weeks and months. Mubarak served his purpose. However, he was wrong to stifle internal criticism and he was wrong to ignore the freedom cries of his people.

For that, and perhaps much more, he is hated even more now than his predecessor Sadat was hated when he signed that Camp David agreement with Israel during the Jimmy Carter administration, angering Egyptian Muslims to no end. Who knows what Mubarak's fate will be? Noriega will likely never see another day of absolute freedom, and Hussein is dead. The Shah of Iran lived out his days in Paris.

It would be better justice if Mubarak also smelled the winds of change in his homeland and stepped aside gracefully. Yeah, the France enjoyed by the Shah is bettter than the prison being endured by Noriega and, well, the manner in which Hussein saw his last day.

America's role in all this is not something to feel good about. We fully endorsed Mubarak's leadership, and, without question, we fully knew of his strongman-style of governing...

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