Counter-Revolution and Myths of Foreign Plots

Counterrevolutions and military coups have always played the foreign conspiracy card tocreate distrust and label anyone who opposes them atraitor.Theforeignthreat createsastateofnational hysteriathattheregimeexploitstocoverupitscrimesandjustifyrepression. It is no surprise that Mubarak era voices both inside and outside the government all of which currently seem to be under direct orders of the intelligence agencies harangue us day and night about Brotherhood terrorism and its US/Zionist backing. Consequently any US/European statements referring to the coup or the massacres that ensued are considered part and parcel of thisdevilishplantoreinstatetheBrotherhoodandassaultEgyptanditssecurity. Those opposing military rule are not only accused of supporting the Brotherhood terrorists and the Brotherhood.Theyare considered traitors backingtheforeignplottobringdownEgypt.Allwho rally for democracy, all who challenge military policy and all who join strikes or sitins are considered enemies and agents of the ZionistAmerican plot. All who criticize Sisi or consider recent events in Egypt to be a counterrevolutionary bloody coup aiming to reinstate Mubaraks EgyptarenotonlyBrotherhoodterroristsbutshouldbechargedwithhightreason. FromMubaraktoSisi Let us take a step back to analyse. Mubaraks Egypt which Egyptians revolted against in 2011 wasbasedonthreecentralinterlinkedstrategies: The first was a policy of neoliberal capitalism that impoverished the majority of Egyptians to the benefit of a handful of businessmen, multinationals and the heads of state institutions with military andsecurityattheirforefront. Thesecondwasatyrannicaldictatorshipthatfacilitatedtheimplementationofthefirststrategy. The third was a coalition of military, security and political forces with American imperialism. This was to protect the interests of the US and its main partners the Zionist state and the oilrich gulf statesandthekingdomofSaudiArabiaparticularly. Throughout Mubaraks 30year rule Egypt maintained its role as the US andIsraelschiefregional ally. It helped quash the Palestinian revolution. It contributed to Americas war on Iraq and it facilitatedallpossibleservicestoUS/Israeliimperialism. Mubaraks foreign policy was in the same vein andwas spearheadedbythearmythat wasarmed, trained, funded and inherently tied to the US military. The same goes for the intelligence and security services that played a significant role in Americas war on terror and inhelpingtoprotect USregionalinterests. These axes are the essence of the state that Egyptians revolted against in January 2011. The US administration backed Mubarak to the bitter end until it, and the Egyptian military establishment, realised that the only way to save the regime was to sacrifice Mubarak and a few other figureheads. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces then stepped in to protect the very same principles Mubarak had represented.Thesametyranny the samecapitalismthesame strategic

alliance with Washington, Tel Aviv and Riyadh. But the revolution had left deep cracks in the regime and the military needed a partner that could comprehend and abort the continuous revolution. This was the cue for the role of the Muslim Brotherhood the largest political organisation, which enjoyedthegreatestinfluenceamongthemasses. TheBrotherhood,themilitaryandtheUS It goes without saying thatEuropean andUS oppositiontothecouphadlittleto do with humanity or democracy. These imperialist powers operate only in accordance with their interests. Neither did condemnation of the coup come from choosing the Brotherhood over their historicalallies,namely thearmyandsecretservice. So what is the US and its European partners imperialist strategy in our region andtowards Egypt specifically? The strategy can be broken down to two main elements. The first, naturally, is US political and military domination of oilrich Arab nations and specifically Saudi Arabia. The second is securing theZioniststatethatservesasthemilitaryallycentraltoUScontrolovertheregion. The importance of the regions oil to the US has increased over the last three decades for several reasons. Firstly, oil from the region continues to be the main source of energy for many major capitalist states namely China, Japan and the EU. US control of this valuable prize is central for Washington to maintain its position at the top of the capitalist pyramid despite the rapid ascent of capitalist powerhouses like China. Secondly, and particularly recently, Saudi and the Gulf sheikhdoms have becomecentralfinancial centresin theglobal capitalistsystem.This rolebecame vital as a result of the 2008 financial crisis. Here we see logic behind the increasing centrality of the Carter doctrine that declared, after the Iranian revolution, that any threat to the Arab oilrich countries would be considered a direct threat to vital US interests and would be met with force wherenecessary.ThiswasdemonstratedinthewaronIraqof1991anditsinvasionin2003. Washington considered the Arab revolutions, and particularly the Egyptian revolution, anightmare even more dangerous than the Iranian 1979 revolution. The possibility of these revolutions spreading to the Gulf States posed and continues to pose a serious threat to strategic interests of theU.SanditsEuropeanallies. Revolutionary forces coming to power pose another threat. Peace accords with the Zionist state couldbescrappedandcompromisetheIsraelsinfluenceandevenlongtermexistence. The US backed the Muslim Brotherhood because it became obvious duringSCAFs rulethatforce alone could not halt the state of revolution. The Muslim Brotherhood would uphold the previous regimesstrategicalliances. With Americas blessings a deal was made between the Brotherhood and the Army. The Brotherhood ascent to power was accepted in return for maintaining Mubarak era policies and alliances and the guaranteeing that the regimes vital interestswouldnotbethreatened whilepublic angerwouldbeactivelydissipatedandtherevolutionaborted. The Brotherhood were more than ready to play this despicable role and immediately pledged allegiance to Washington, to the Camp David accords and to the Saudi king whose hand they rushed to kiss. Retribution for the Martyrs and all other revolutionary demands, were thrown outof the window. Army and Police commanders were granted safe exit andeconomicpoliciesinitiated byMubarak,hisbusinessmenandgeneralsweremaintained.

The five months preceding June 30 Egypt witnessedthelargestlevelofprotests andstrikesacross the globe. In these five months Egypt saw more strikes and protests than in the whole of 2012 despite that year witnessing more protests that the entire previousdecade.(TheEgyptianCenter for Economic and Social Rights and Democracy Index Report Centre for International Development,May2013) It became clear that Morsis presidency and Egyptians escalating revolutionary anger was threatening, not only Morsi and the Brotherhood, but Mubaraks state itself, including its generals and businessmen. Theescalatingrevolutionary waveprecedingJune30struckfearin theheartof the US administration. The generals and the remnants of the old regime plotted to curb the revolutionary wave in the build up to the July 3 coup. The subsequent massacres and the blatant reinstatement of the old apparatus are merely a prelude to the counterrevolution whose birth we arecurrentlywitnessing. The US is not plotting to reinstate the Brotherhood. The US fears that Sisis crackdown could backfire and prove detrimental to all parties. One scenario could take Egypt down the path of Algeria a proliferation of terrorism and a prolonged civil war threatening American and European strategic interests. The Suez canal, Israels security and waves of illegal immigration across the Mediterraneanareallfactors. Another possibility is that Sisi is drawn into confrontation with yet another revolutionary wave, as were SCAF and Morsi before him. This round could genuinely threaten the Egyptian ruling class, thedeepstateandregionalUSimperialistinterestsatlarge. The dispute between Sisi and the US is simply over the approach adoptedtostabilise thesituation to the benefit of both historical partners. At the end ofthedaythisrow willnotleadtoa breakdown in their relations or any real sanctions.USpolitical andeconomic investmentinitsrelationshipwith Egypt and its army will not be traded for the Brotherhood an organisation which has already provenitsfailure. Perhaps the Brotherhood and the wider Islamic movements guaranteed reaction to assault and massacres is what helped Sisi the most. An armed terrorist campaign targeting not only the army and police, but also tens of churches and Christian institutions was their kneejerk reaction. Despicable sectarian incitement and massacres ensued as though it were the Copts, and not the generalsandthepolice,thatstagedthecoup. The objective of linking the Islamic movement and its resistance (whether armed or unarmed) to foreign conspiracies is not only to demonise the Islamists and others who oppose the counterrevolution. It is also a promotional campaign falsely claiming the armys patriotism and its leaderssymboliclinktoGamalAbdelNasserandtheeraofnationalliberation. Unfortunately many Liberals and those formerly on the Left are contributing to this campaign. An example is this statement from the Egyptian Communist Party that refers to Islamic terrorism and its links to the Zionist American alliance that aims to breakup and dismantle our nation and the region with the aim of redrawing the map within the framework of the Greater Middle East project that places the United States as the world leader, Israel the strongest nation in the region and weakens the state of Egypt. The rest of the Arab nations would simply be tentacles of the TurkishIsraeli American alliance. The statement also refers to the necessity of standing by the police and the army in its waragainstterrorist religiousfascismetc. Itisasthoughit were abattle ofnationalliberationandSisihadjustnationalisedtheSuezCanal.

The Socialist Popular Alliance Party suggests the same regarding the conspiracy and ends one ofitsrecentstatementswithworkingtogethertoconfronttheZionistAmericanplot. All the above is in stark contrast to events on the ground. The main backers of Sisis bloody campaign are the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates on the one hand and Israel on the other. In other words, the main centres of counterrevolution in the Arab worlds over the last six decadesandthestaunchbackersoftheMubarakregime. SaudiArabia,Sisiandtheopposition The Gulf States economic power and influence has grown over the past two decades. The center of power lies in the SaudiEmirati axis that has become aglobalpowerhousecentraltofundingthe capitalist system. According to statistics published in Fortune Magazine the value of petroleum exports from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) reached $500 billion in 2008. The foreign investments by these same countries reached $530 billion in the period 20022006. This included $300 billion in the United States and $60 billion in the Middle East. This investment tripled in the period 20022009toatotal estimatedatover $1.4 trillion. HeadedbytheSaudiEmiratialliance,the GulfStateshavebecomethethirdlargestholdersofUStreasurybondsafterChinaandJapan. This economic weight is reflected both in these countries positioning in American policy and in their growing influence over the Arab region and Egypt specifically. The relation between the Egyptian economy and the Gulf has transformed from Egypt merely exporting labour to being actual partners of the Egyptian ruling class and the military establishment in all areas of the economyfromagricultureandindustrytorealestateinvestmentsandfinancing. There is no space here to detail the extent and nature of this partnership but it is suffice to state that it exceeds that of American and European investment in most areas particularly with banks, real estate and construction. (for details see: Gilbert Achcar, The People Want. Adam Hanieh, CapitalismandClassintheGulfArabStates) It is logical that these states are at the forefront of support for Mubaraks regime, generals and businessmen. It is no surprise that they are the main supporters of General Sissi and the counterrevolution and it is clear why Sisi has bet on the will and ability of the Saudi King and his partnerstofundthedestructionoftheEgyptianrevolutionandtheresurrectionoftheoldstate. The King of Saudi Arabia the center of backwardness and tyranny and the oasis of Wahhabism and Islamic fundamentalism was the first to congratulate the coup and dedicated a speech to praising Sisi and supporting his war on terrorism. He promisedhimcountless billions.Whatisodd is not the Kings position or his tribute toSisi,but thereactionofthe Egyptianpoliticalplayerswho were considered to be not only in opposition but even revolutionary. The Tamarod movement showered praise in its speechstatingrespectofEgypts legitimacyand its politicalwill,effectively saluting King Abdullah. The Nasserist and head of the Egyptian Popular Current, Hamdeen Sabbahy, praised Saudis role as the provider and confirmed his support of the regimes actions against protesters. On his private Twitter account Sabbahy wrote A salute to the stance taken by SaudiandtheEmiratesinsupportofEgypt. This King, this archenemy of the Egyptian revolution, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, WashingtonandTelAvivbecameaherointhesepeopleseyes! IsraelandSisi What we hear nothing of in the security services media is the positiontaken by theleadersofthe

Zionist enemy State. One would assume that if Sisi was a true national hero he would reclaim Egypts independence and the Zionists, shaking in their boots, would call for the return of the Brotherhood.Therealitycouldnotbefurtherfromtheseconstructedfantasies. Binyamin BenEliezer, the former Israeli Defense Minister and an ally of Mubarak stated In my opinion, had Sisi not taken these swift decisive steps the Egyptian regime would have become similar to that of Iran. We would have faced an Egyptian version of Revolutionary Guards on our Southern border. He also stated that the peace accord would be safe in Sissis hands and that cooperationbetweentheEgyptianandIsraeliarmiesisongoing.(Maariv20/08/2013) The previous Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, declared that the whole world endorses and supportsSisi.(InterviewwithCNN16/08/2013) An Israeli spokesman told The New York Times that Sisisregimeshouldbesupportedbecause it isthebestoptionavailableatthemoment. Mordechai Kedar, researcher at The BeginSadat Center for Strategic Studies, expressed similar opinionsintheJerusalemPost. In practical terms, AIPAC is intensively lobbying in Washington for support for Sisi andtoprevent acessationofaidtotheEgyptianArmy(NewYorkTimes18/8/2013) In other words, the socalled enemy of the Egyptian people thatcounterrevolutionarymediaclaim supports Islamic Terrorism in Egypt are in fact in full support of Sisi. They stand fast behind the Egyptian State and institutions, their coup, their counterrevolution and of course theircrushingof allopposition, firstandforemosttheMuslimBrotherhood.Somisleading.Such acapacityto lie and fabricateanalternativereality.Itcouldnotbefurtherfromthetruth. Theexceptions:QatarandTurkey Qatar alone bucks the trend of the oilrich Gulf Sates. While these States tow the political line dictated by the SaudiEmiratiaxis,Qatarattemptstomaintain alittleindependencefromthe Mother Kingdom. Futile as it may be, and despite being dwarfed in size and populace, Qatar is in a state ofpermanenttensionandcompetitionwithSaudiforeignpolicy. Qatar is able to entertain its ambitions because of themassive wealthitgeneratesfromnaturalgas and oil exports. The value ofwhich exceeded$43billionintheyear2010/2011 andiscontrolledby theEmirofQatar. This continuous flow of wealth is used by the Qatari Emir to gain regional political weight beyond directSaudiinfluence.Therearecountlessexamples oftheseventures:Establishingclose relations with Iran while at the same time extending an open hand to Israel and hosting the regions largest US military base.BackingHamas andfacilitating talks withFatah.SupportingSaadElHaririsparty and then bankrolling the reconstruction of South Lebanon after the 2006 war. But Qatar madetwo particularly significant moves in its quest to create an independent national voice. When Muslim Brotherhood relations with the Saudi Sheikhdom were shaky, Qatartookthe Brotherhoodunderits wing. Since the 80s Qatar has provided abode for the Brotherhoods leading theoretician Yuseff El Qardawi. Then there is Aljazeera Qatar has allowed, particularly since the start of the Egyptian revolution, this media heavyweight toactasaBrotherhoodmouthpiece. This isallagainst the backdrop of long standing tensions between the Brotherhood and SaudiArabiastemmingfrom theBrotherhoodsoppositiontoAmericaswaronIraqinthe1990s. This is the context in which to understand this small Statelet andit ambitiousAmirs supportforthe Brotherhood before and during Morsis one year in power. It also explains its stance against

MorsisoustingandSissisrule. Turkeys position is simpler and more rational than its Qataricounterpart.WithhisIslamistpopular base, rapid economic growth and foiled attempt at joining the EU, Erdogan is in dire need of gaining regional geopolitical weight modeled on the old Ottoman Empire. This vision began to materializewiththearrivalofIslamiststopowerinTunisiaandEgypt. It is clear, within this framework, why Erdogan condemned Sissis coup and violent attack on the Brotherhood. His concern stems from the negative effects this change has on Turkish regional interestsandcertainlynotfromhishumanityorthirstforrevolutionarychange. The counterrevolution claims that the world supports the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood would indeed have acceptedassistancefromthedevilhimselfbut factsonthegroundindicate thatSissis coupisstronglysupportedbyIsrael,SaudiArabiaandindirectlybyananxiousWashington. The Egyptian peoples revolution will not succeed without a genuine break from the imperialist agenda enforce by America, Israeland their regionalallies, be they SaudiArabiaand theEmirates or Qatar andTurkey.Morsifailedtosecureany autonomyor breakthe constraintsofdependency. BythrowinghimselfintothearmsofthekingsandprincesofGulfoil,Sissiisfollowingsuit. Sadly reality matters little in the face of the fictitious media frenzy the counterrevolution is orchestrating to cover up their crimes. Accusations of treason will not stop at the Brotherhood.As suggested at the start of this article, accusations of betrayal will be extendedtoallwho opposethe coup and demand their rights. As well as the usual suspects, vilifications will be peddled by Liberals,Leftistsandintellectualsthathavesoldtheirsoulstothegenerals. All this does not warrant despair or hopelessness fortheEgyptianrevolution. Thisisnot thefirst or last time the regime has sought to deceive the public. Egyptians have proved time and time again that they quickly see through the lies and, with revolutionary experience behind them, recognize their true enemies. There are many more battles tocome.Somewe willlose,otherswewill winbut wewillcontinuetolearnfromourmistakesandsacrificesuntilourrevolutionsucceeds.