Some information about the Middle-East and current events
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I have read western news reports about Egypt and noticed the lack of similar reports about Iran. The media have chosen sides again, as did our politicians who called on Mubarak to step down but won't openly point out the complete illegitimacy of the Iranian regime.
Here is some information on current events that everyone might find useful. My sources are this poll: washingtoninstitute.org…pollock-Egyptpoll.pdf and friends and acquaintances that could confirm the poll and tell me more.
Here it goes.
1. El-Baradei is celebrated by the western media as a leader of the Egyptian opposition. In reality he is an Islamist, almost unknown in Egypt and not very popular. [Former president] Mubarak and [former secret service head] Suleiman are more popular.
2. Only 15% of Egyptians approve of the Muslim Brotherhood, practically noone supports the Muslim Brotherhood leaders.
3. 37% support the peace treaty with Israel, 22% oppose it. Only 5% think the protests were about Mubarak being too pro-Israel.
3. Ironically the US fares less well among Egyptians. 36% vs 29% think that Egypt should have good vs bad relations with the US. And 8% think the protests were about Mubarak being too pro-US. Note that these were the same people asked, i.e. more Egyptians want good relations with Israel than with the US and Mubarak was seen as too pro-US by more people than he was seen as too pro-Israel. The US have lost trust in the ME in the last few years!
4. Only 18% of Egyptians support Hamas or Iran. (Most of the remaining support the PLO. But I guarantee that this will end once they find out what the PLO are actually doing.)
All of the above are based on the poll confirmed by talking to friends. I.e. I myself also found that of 10 Egyptians about 4 support peace with Israel while 2 are against it. I have also seen them complain more about the US than about Israel. I had Egyptian friends introduce me to Egyptians who as a pro-Israeli Jew I wouldn't have met otherwise, so there is little selection bias. Plus I accidentally started a fight between pro and anti-Mubarak Egyptians last week, before Mubarak stepped down. I explained to the anti-Mubarak guy that if he wants to shout at me he either has to speak English or very very slow Arabic.
5. There are major protests in Iran. The BBC are lying when they speak of a "few thousand".
6. Bibi Netanyahu is an idiot. (In case that wasn't yet obvious to everyone.)
7. Ariel Sharon remains well-respected among Egyptians, including among those who dislike Israel.
8. There is a crisis in Jordan between "West-Bankers" (native Palestinians) and "East-Bankers" (Bedouins who support the king). Palestinians are 92% of Jordan's population and the king has begun to strip them of citizenship. Queen Rania is loved by the west but hated by Palestinians (even though she is Palestinian). I hear stories about shopping sprees etc.. Perhaps surprisingly the Palestinians of Jordan are less conservative than the Bedouins and tend to vote Islamists out of parliament when given a chance. But the voting system in Jordan gives fewer seats to cities (where Palestinians live) and comparatively more seats to the countryside (where East-Bankers live). The West-Bank has Jordanian citizens but no Bedouins or country side.
9. There are Kurdish protests in Syria that nobody is reporting.
10. There are protests in Bahrain and Yemen which are not heavily reported.
11. Thousands of Tunisians are fleeing the country. This is perhaps widely reported now.
12. Egyptians are on massive strikes. Egypt needs economic aid and lots of it. This is the moment for the US to shine!
13. Both Hamas and the PLO have prohibited protests supporting the Egyptians against Mubarak. The PLO has also defended Mubarak together with Israel to the last minute. This hasn't cost Israel but it will cost the PLO.
14. There was a protest planned for Syria but nothing came of it (except for the Kurdish protests).
15. There are protests coming in Gaza.
There you go. What the media don't tell you.
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