Backing the bad guys: US helping to sabotage new Arab uprising

Major Danny Sjursen

In the wake of the public uprisings in certain Arab countries, Washington instead of respecting people’s will for change of government, has decided to back the new military rulers who have taken power.

Stay with us for an article in this regard that appeared on the ‘Antiwar’ site, titled: “Backing the Bad Guys: US Helping To Sabotage New Arab Uprising”.  

The writer is retired US Major Danny Sjursen, who served combat tours with reconnaissance units in Iraq and Afghanistan and later taught history at his alma mater, West Point, before authoring a memoir and critical analysis of the Iraq War, titled: “Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge.”

Months back when protests rocked Algeria and Sudan, observers almost immediately dubbed it a “New Arab Spring.” This, of course, was a reference to the popular demonstrations that rocked several Arab states in 2011, ranging from Tunisia to Egypt, Libya and Bahrain to Yemen. The results 1.0 were ultimately disappointing – Egypt’s elected president was ousted in a military coup, Libya remains in a state of near civil war, Yemen is a war-ravaged humanitarian disaster area, and the Saudi Army invaded and quashed unrest in nearby Bahrain. Only in Tunisia was there a semblance of (fragile) success and relatively limited violence.

Perhaps, then, it should come as little surprise that matters are shaking out in a similarly disappointing fashion in Algeria, and, especially, Sudan. Military juntas (they call themselves "transitional" governments) hold power in both states and, in the case of Sudan, soldiers and militiamen have taken to slaughtering their own people. It seems there shall be no democracies in North Africa any time soon. Pessimism aside, it’s still a tragic and rather disturbing state of affairs. Nevertheless, I’m no proponent of US intervention in these complex affairs in distant lands. Indeed, I’ve previously asserted that Uncle Sam ought to "keep his hands off" the New Arab Spring this time around.

Solutions, such as they are, must be Algerian and Sudanese solutions. Recent regional history firmly demonstrates that foreign meddling tends only to stoke already chaotic fires and make matters far worse. Here’s the problem: the US may not be directly engaged, but, rather than staying out completely, continues to back Arab autocracies – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE – that are actively destroying any hope for democracy in Sudan. It’s unconscionable. And, coming from a country that’s a self-proclaimed "beacon of democracy," it is also embarrassingly hypocritical.

What’s unfolding in Sudan, and America’s tacit role in these events, is far worse than it seems, and nearly ignored in US mainstream media.

Want to get actual news on North Africa? Better tune into Al Jazeera, because you’ll get minimal coverage and zero context from CNN. Here’s the rub: a mass uprising in April in Sudan toppled the thirty year incumbent, indicted war criminal President Omar al-Bashir.

Not a bad turn of events. Problem is the military – in tenuous alliance with government supported militias – took power and failed to hold democratic elections or transition to civilian rule. When the brave protesters refused to go home, a paramilitary group calling itself the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began slaughtering peaceful demonstrators, gunning down at least 100 on June 3rd alone.

Since then matters have turned from bad to gruesome. The RSF, which, incidentally, grew out of the infamous Janjaweed militia responsible for the genocide in Darfur a decade ago, has gone on a murderous rampage in the capital, Khartoum. Protesters have been thrown off bridges, shops looted, men and women raped. Just when it seemed matters could hardly get worse, well, that’s when America’s best buddies in the region stepped in. That’s right, our chums the Egyptians, Emiratis, and Saudis – all dictatorships themselves – actively back the Sudanese junta. They’ve offered a combined $3 billion in cash to the military regime. The Saudis go one step further, loading the notorious genocidal militiaman (and number 2 leader in the junta) Hamdan Dagalo up with bundles of money and guns with which to slaughter the innocent.

So what, you might ask, does the US, does President Trump, have to say about all this? Crickets, that’s what.

Washington has released paltry platitudes at best and done absolutely nothing to restrain – pay attention now – its brutally dictatorial "friends" from empowering a genocidal maniac and military junta whose foot soldiers toss peaceful activists screaming from bridges to their deaths.

Trump has nothing but praise for the Egyptians and Saudis. He proudly pronounced that Egypt’s strongman, Abel Fattah as-Sisi is “doing a great job.” His Jewish son-in-law, Jared Kushner – nepotism incarnate – carries on a bromance with his literal pen pal, Saudi Heir Apparent and de facto ruler Mohamed bin Salman (MBS). Trump even declared a national emergency so as to defy Congress and push through a hasty $8 billion arms deal to the Saudis.

I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that some of those guns and bombs are going to make their way into the clutches of the murderous RSF. That puts Sudanese civilian blood on Americans’ collective hands.

It gets just a bit worse. Why, one might ask, does MBS back the war-criminal-in-chief of Sudan? Well, beyond MBS’ general affinity for fellow Arab dictators, he’s especially fond of Dagalo. That’s because Dagalo’s militias reportedly supply thousands of mercenary Sudanese foot soldiers – including child soldiers – as cannon fodder for the Saudi terror campaign in Yemen. It is truly a twisted state of affairs when two states – Yemen and Sudan – that are already the world’s worst humanitarian disaster areas, are manipulated even further by the Saudis to add to the bloodshed and preclude any hope for democracy. And still we’re told the Saudis are our "friends."

Let us review, then: the United States unconditionally backs a Saudi absolute monarchy that is terror bombing Yemeni civilians, and then trading guns to a genocidal Sudanese dictator in exchange for child soldiers that add to the fighting in Yemen. As such, any hope for democracy, or even basic human rights, dies in both locales. You can hardly make this up!

One last thing, our friends the Saudis, well, they recently had a teenager on death row for a crime – simply protesting the government – that he allegedly committed when just ten years of age. What friends Uncle Sam makes these days; talk about running with a bad crowd.

Not that many Americans notice. Media silence, ample profits for the arms dealer corporations that own many congressmen, and public apathy about foreign affairs, combine to keep the despicable, twisted Saudi-Sudanese nexus off the American grid. Still, what we ignore, the global community – especially in the West Asia-North Africa region – does not forget. The United States has widely come to be associated with imperialism and militarism. It’s certainly no friend of regional democracy. As such Washington acts as the terrorist recruiting sergeant’s best friend.

The US will one day reap the whirlwind for these sins. When it does, the American government, and the American people, will have no one to blame but themselves.

Trump’s America and Egypt’s dictatorship deserve each other

 Major Danny Sjursen

The US is notorious for its support of unrepresentative rulers and tyrannical regimes, coupled with its hostility towards popular and democratic systems of government, which it tries to overthrow.

Here we present you an article that appeared on the Truthdig site, titled: “Trump’s America and Egypt’s Dictatorship Deserve Each Other.”

The writer, Major Danny Sjursen, is a retired US Army officer, who after serving combat tours with reconnaissance units in Iraq and Afghanistan, taught history at his alma mater, West Point, and became a critical analyst of the Iraq War,

Mohammed Morsi was the first duly elected president in the Arab world and the first in Egyptian history. Now he is dead, collapsing on June 17 in his glass cage during his show trial in Cairo—a victim, it seems, of criminal negligence during a brutal six-year stint in prison. His death only highlights the distinct malevolence of a military junta that (illegally) overthrew Morsi in a coup. He languished in an Egyptian prison system that’s incarcerated thousands of others—critics of the regime, mostly—in a country that Amnesty International has described as an “open air prison.”

As for President Trump, he could care less. Egypt’s police state, perhaps the most repressive in the country’s modern history, remains a bosom buddy of the Donald’s administration. And most Americans hardly notice. Foreign policy isn’t of great interest for most of the citizenry, despite the fact that it’s the one area in which a US president seems to have nearly unlimited power and influence.

Morsi’s demise demonstrates just how far the once-bright hopes for democracy in the Arab Spring have truly fallen. Hardly anyone even thinks about the prospects of democracy in the Arab World. So tight has Washington become with a variety of Arab authoritarians and strongmen that veritable tyranny has been normalized in the region. If Americans don’t notice, I assure you that the people of the region absolutely do.

Trump didn’t start the US on the road to backing dictators; that’s been an American proclivity for decades now. But the president does seem to relish and flaunt his relationships with unsavory characters in that region with particular enthusiasm. General Abdel-Fattah as-Sissi—the butcher of perhaps a thousand peaceful Morsi supporters back in 2013—is one of Trump’s favorites.

Never short on hyperbole, the Donald described as-Sisi as a “great president.” They deserve each other, these two strongmen atop Egypt and the US no longer even feigns interest in promoting human rights or democratic institutions in the areas where it interferes.

How could it? Trump has rather dictatorial designs as well. This is genuinely dangerous and only encourages would-be tyrants in the region and worldwide. Unsurprisingly, as-Sisi has set himself as a perpetual president. The US hypocrisy, it seems, knows no bounds.

Look, this author is by no means a proponent of George W. Bush-style democracy promotion at the end of a gun. A realistic appraisal of US national interests and a healthy dose of restraint ought to inform American foreign policy. Still, Washington certainly must have some values. No, it doesn’t have. It should expect more from its international partners than a vaguely anti-Islamic stance and willingness to purchase American guns and bombs.

We know, by now, that international perceptions of Uncle Sam distinctly affect the potential for terrorism and thereby the safety of the homeland. The scandal-plagued US detention centers at Abu Ghraib in Iraq and Gitmo in Cuba, as well as the practice of waterboarding, probably motivated thousands of anti-American fighters.

It’s also vital to consider the paradox that Arab countries with authoritarian regimes that are tight with Washington also tend to produce more anti-American populations.

So it was that all 19 of the supposed 9/11/2001 hijackers hailed from just four countries—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Lebanon—closely allied with Washington. They didn’t come from Syria, Iraq or any other nation-states like Iran, which the US regularly demonized.

This is instructive. Blowback is a thing, and mark my words: The next terror attack in the US will likely emanate from a country Trump considers a “partner.” They usually do.

Morsi may not have been perfect, but his legitimate election to the presidency and championing of the relatively moderate Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt offered an acceptable alternative to secular dictatorships or clan rule in the region.

The populations of Egypt and other Arab countries won’t be able to look to the Washington’s supposed “beacon of democracy” for support. Trump’s America is ever-so-flagrant in its championing of autocrats. It’s somehow refreshing and disturbing all at once.

Nevertheless, expect America’s sins to come home to roost. They tend to do that. When that happens, we’ll have the wannabe authoritarian in the White House to thank.

Jesus would be appalled by US immigration policy

by Major Danny Sjursen

The United States of America which claims to be Christian is certainly opposed to the teachings of the Virgin-Born Messiah, as is evident in its inhuman policies.

Here we present you a thought-stimulating article in this regard for Antiwar.com by Major Danny Sjursen, a US Army officer and former history instructor at West Point who served tours with reconnaissance units in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The title of the article is “Jesus Would Be Appalled by US Immigration Policy”.

Whether or not you believe Jesus was the literal Son of God as alleged by the Church – I have serious doubts myself – two truths remain salient at this time of year: America is, by and large, the most religious (Christian) wealthy country on the planet; and the founder of that religion was, according to its holy book, a refugee. Depending on the gospel you favor, Jesus was born on the run from wicked Israelite King Herod, spending the first years of his life not in his reputed birthplace, Bethlehem, but in Egypt and/or the small village of Nazareth in the Galilee.

Ironic then, isn’t it, that so many Americans lack empathy for a new generation of refugees – many of them victims of US foreign policy generally and its militarism specifically. This has been especially true for people of color, which constitute the vast majority of migrants seeking refuge and repatriation today. As 2018 turns to 2019, the largest migration of people since the end of World War II has become a global crisis. And US military policy is at least partly – if not mostly – responsible for some of the worst humanitarian disasters the world over.

The most shocking indictment of US government action comes in Yemen, already the Arab world’s poorest country before the terror bombing and starvation blockade began. Here, the American military is deeply complicit in a Saudi-led, Washington-supported war on the Yemeni people. Without US intelligence, munitions, in-flight refueling and international cover, Saudi Arabia’s villainous regime could never have starved or bombed people, mostly civilians, with such effectiveness.

The results have been nothing less than horrifying: tens of thousands of civilians killed in air strikes, 85,000 children already starved to death, the world’s worst cholera epidemic spreading, and, yes, the creation of more than 3 million refugees. Imagine the popular outcry if those starving faces and bodies were white and Christian. (Side note: our beloved Jesus was himself rather brown, despite the best efforts of the institutional church to literally whitewash that inconvenient fact).

To their credit, the US Senate has voted, however belatedly, to end US support for the Yemen war. Still, don’t expect a change in Washington’s criminal policies any time soon: the president has announced his intention to veto the resolution, and the Senate thus far lacks the votes to override him.

In the Gaza Strip, the most densely populated sliver of the planet earth, Israel has forged the largest, all but permanent refugee camp in the world – this with the unconditional backing of the US Now in its 11th year, the inhuman blockade of Gaza has reduced Palestinians trapped in the Strip to a state of complete dependency on humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations. And when the Gazans have the gall to protest their deplorable (and preventable) conditions, they are indiscriminately mowed down by Israeli Forces. None of this would be possible, again, without the support of Washington’s $3 billion in annual military aid and the reflexive cover of America’s most powerful institutions.

Forgetting, conveniently, that Jesus was himself a brown Palestinian, the US has relegated the Gazans to second-class citizenship, subjugating them to an increasingly unhinged, far-right Israeli government. For good measure, and as a final slap in the face to Palestinian sovereignty, President Donald Trump has also unilaterally moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem. Despite it being home to three world religions, the region is now for Jews only, Washington has apparently decided. Paradoxically, and ever so cynically, American evangelicals have thrown their full support behind the decision.

A staggering 30 percent of Americans believe that end times are near and that backing of the Israeli regime will help usher in Jesus’ return.

Of course, according to the evangelical view, when the Messiah does materialize, all those Jews will promptly go to hell unless they accept Christianity, but that’s a risk Zionist Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and his reactionary regime is willing to take. The $3 billion in arms support goes a long way, I suppose.

Then there’s the migrant crisis on the US’ own southern border. The president, naturally, wants a “tremendous” wall to keep the stream of asylum-seeking men, women and children out of the country. He’s even proved willing to shut down the government until he receives funding for his “artistically designed steel slats.”

This Christmas, in fact, US soldiers are spending the holiday season stationed on the border to halt an “invasion” that isn’t an invasion at all but a collection of impoverished refugees seeking a better way of life. While celebrating the Virgin Birth of their refugee savior, away from their families, these troops will continue sealing off the border with what the president has called “beautiful” barbed wire, empathy be damned. So much for Lady Liberty’s call to “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses. …”

To return to Americans’ favored theology, let us admit the baby Jesus was born a refugee, and the grown up Jesus essentially was one such.

Beginning his preaching mission, Jesus had “nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8.20; Luke 9.58), and he and his followers counted on the hospitality of ordinary villagers to survive (Mark 6.8–11; Matthew 10.9–11; Luke 9.3). Reflect for just a moment this Christmas on the starving Yemeni children, perennially blockaded Gazans and the migrants tear-gassed on America’s southern border or separated from their parents. Think then, as the song says, of the children “shivering in the cold.”

When you do, ask what role the US has played in creating and perpetuating the latest refugee crises. Is the United States living up to the ostensible ethics of its zealously proclaimed Christianity?

The oldest gospel speaks of Jesus telling his transient apostles this: “And if any place will not receive you and refuse to hear you, shake off the dust on your feet when you leave, for a testimony to them” (Mark 6.11).

This author, at least, reads that passage with much discomfort. Our country the US, which today does most of its teaching with bombs, is complicit in some of the worst humanitarian and refugee crises in the world. And, by and large, it will not receive its victims, refuses to hear them and bars entry to most. That this is so, is, I fear, an unforgivable testimony to us all