Words from our Allies in Eqypt

In the potential upcoming confrontation with Iran, I constantly read of countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan referred to as our "allies." It is interesting to hear what our allies in the region have to say about us. This one is a beauty, written by Ayman El-Amir of Egypt's state sponsored Al-Ahram. Despite the hundreds of millions our government has given Egypt to keep their longtime dictator propped up, Mr. El-Amir has no problem blasting America as a failed nation guilty for all the world's miseries.

I wonder how much Mr. El-Amir is paid by the Egyptian government to focus on American issues and not the poverty and despair most young Egyptians live in. Somehow I'm sure his decision is a no brainer; write state- sponsored propaganda or nothing. Challenging the government would result in Mid-Eastern style justice, something I am sure Mr. El-Amir wants no part of.

The decline of empire
Arrogant and deaf to history, the American imperial moment already appears short-lived
writes Ayman El-Amir

Few empires in history have recognised the limits of their power and in good time saved themselves from the consequences of over-ambition. While historians point to the Roman Empire as the most classical example of the decline of overstretched empires, there are equally disastrous models in modern history. The Romanov's imperial Russia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire of the Habsburg and the Ottomans who ruled the Islamic State all collapsed under circumstances of revolution or global conflict. The British Empire learned the lesson of the limits of imperial power after it was battered by Germany in World War II and pressured by national liberation movements. London chose to relinquish the empire on which "the sun never sets" because it was unsustainable. The Soviet Empire, on the other hand, imploded. Contrary to claims by some US analysts, it was not Ronald Reagan's confrontational policies that brought it down.

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/827/op23.htm