Jeffrey Goldberg writes about how some leading American neoconservatives are “scratching their heads at what they see as Israeli shortsightedness” at the prospect of Hosni Mubarak’s removal from power in Egypt.
He quotes Elliott Abrams, a former adviser to President George W. Bush and someone whose picture you would likely find if you looked up “neoconservative” in the dictionary.
The Israelis first of all do not believe in the universality of democracy. They believe what many American “experts” did in, say, 1950–democracy was fine for us and Western Europe, but not for Latins (too much Catholic culture) and Asians (too much Confucianism). They believe Arab culture does not permit democracy.
They see a danger in Mubarak’s fall, and they are right: we do not know who will take over now or in a year or two from now. But this is at bottom a crazy reaction. What they are afraid of is the Muslim Brotherhood, right? Mubarak has ruled for THIRTY YEARS and leaves us a Brotherhood that is that powerful? Isn’t that all the proof we need that dictatorship is not the way to fight the Brotherhood? He crushed the moderate and centrist groups and left the Brothers with an open field. He is to blame for the Brothers’ popularity and strength right now. The sooner he goes the better.
I’m uncomfortable with Abrams’s use of the term “the Israelis” when clearly all Israelis don’t agree on this (or anything else). But he has a point– although the closer you are to what’s happening in Egypt, the less long-range your thinking is likely to be.
