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March 12, 2007

Taking responsibility
Posted by Rosa Brooks

It's good to see that top Army brass are taking responsibility for the poor conditions and inadequate support provided to injured soldiers at Walter Reed. But it's ironic that more people have now lost their jobs over the issue of inadequate care for wounded soldiers than over the war that left those soldiers wounded in the first place.  Rumsfeld resigned... very belatedly. When will Dick Cheney resign? Hmm, and when can we expect to see the President resign? If we're to believe Chuck Hagel, resigning just might be the only honorable way out for a President who seems to believe he's "not accountable anymore."

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It's untrue that the Army brass are taking responsibility, that Rumsfeld resigned and that Hagel is suggesting Bush resign. In fact, Gates has fired three top Army figures, Rummy was fired and Hagel is suggesting impeachment for Bush. The difference is more than semantics. The "taking responsibility" in each case was external not internal. This can be extended to the current destructive US foreign policy--it won't change because of internal forces but by external forces, i.e. the people aligned against the government. The lack of accountability you mention extends beyond Bush to include Congress and the Supremes. Aren't we fortunate to live in a democracy. Say what?

Gates has fired three top Army figures

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On my Egypt Air flight yesterday to Cairo, I witnessed one of the more intriguing in-flight exchanges that I can remember. A bearded, well-dressed man sitting a few seats behind me began shouting at the flight attendant. He was complaining that the in-flight movie was inappropriate. What are these “offensive images?ugg boots clearance” he asked. These included a 15-minute stretch of the movie where at least one woman at any given time was wearing a bikini. In a couple of scenes at a club, members of opposite sexes were dancing in close proximity while, it appeared, consuming alcoholic beverages. “Are we really all Westernized now?” the man behind me asked, as if posing a question to those of us in the back of the plane.

The man’s arguments were rather interesting. He pointed out that if you took a poll of the passengers,ugg boots outlet most would agree the film was morally offensive. He asked the attendant, “if we ask the passengers what they think and they agree with me, then what will you do?” The attendant responded, “we don’t take public opinion (ra’i al ‘am) on the airplane.” The man was right: most passengers, and most Egyptians – the vast majority of whom don’t drink, go to clubs, or wear bikinis – would object to the film’s content. But at what point do they have the right to restrict minority expressions of unfaithfulness?

It was an odd, amusing exchange that justified the otherwise unpleasant experience of flying on EgyptAir.ugg boots clearance But it was a reminder of the fundamental lack of consensus in the Arab world over the boundaries and limits of the state. There are two groups – Islamists and secular elites – with worldviews which couldn’t be more different. They live parallel lives in parallel worlds, with parallel institutions. They rarely intersect.ugg boots clearance One group believes it has both history and the Egyptian people on its side. The other side, considerably smaller in number, likely has neither. It does, however, have the power.

This stalemate has paralyzed the Arab world for decades now.ugg boots outlet

Sunday’s elections will be just another version of this.ugg boots clearance The main players are the Muslim Brotherhood – populist, religious, and righteous – and the regime coalition which, with its president soon to pass, finds itself in an uncertain place. Both sides are strong in different ways – and weak in others. Neither seems to have anything resembling a coherent strategy for dealing with the impending transition that is soon to come.

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