The Blog

Mubarak Supports a Democratic Outpouring

1:02 PM, Jun 19, 2009 • By RACHEL ABRAMS
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Egypt's state-run newspaper Al-Ahram yesterday took the "international community" to task for its cautious response to the Iranian uprising.

Between the mass demonstrations [of the reformists] decrying electoral fraud, and the counter-demonstrations accusing the reformists of allegiance to the West, the international community has stood confused about what position to take towards this democratic outpouring. . . . The caution that has characterized the position of the principle international actors towards the abuses occurring in the streets of Iran, up to and including the killing [of protesters], may be sending the wrong message to the ruling powers there.

"Democratic outpouring?" From a newspaper wholly owned by a man who routinely uses violence against democratic outpourings in his own country and receives nearly nearly 90 percent of the vote--that's so much better than Ahmadinejad's measly 63 percent--when he runs for president?

Hah! That's the most shameless piece of editorializing since the ayatollacracy's apologist-in-chief Roger Cohen had the chutzpah to complain Monday in the New York Times that "Millions of defrauded Iranians are thirsting for a little more" from the United States government than the "off-key" "air of business as usual at the White House."

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