Mubarak's lobbyist friends in Washington sticking by him (for the money)

Lobbyists feeding at the public trough

Seeing things from afar, it does appear that things are tapering off a bit in Egypt and an opportunity to transform society has passed, although the protesters in the square are vowing to stay put despite a number of members of Mubarak's ruling party having stepped down; they want Mubarak out they say.

Things will not be the same regardless, concessions will be made, lessons will be learned by the participants who have shown great heroism and sacrifice, but it appears as time goes on that the same folks behind Mubarak will still control society. 

But it must fill any normal person with rage, Hilary Clinton in the Middle East talking about the future for the region and warning that, "The Status quo is simply not sustainable".   The hypocrisy of these characters knows now bounds.

Things have gone well for thirty years.  Money has been made by the Egyptian bourgeois, the looting of the region's wealth by US imperialism has gone on unabated and the Zionist regime in Israel has had its western flank covered and the Palestinians hemmed in.  This all came at a terrible cost for the average Egyptian especially those foolish enough to oppose this status quo; the status quo Hilary Clinton now says is "not sustainable".  When American workers hear about anti-Americanism in the region from our heavily censored mass media, when they show us Arabs or others holding signs saying "I hate Israel and America" like the one we showed here the other day, it is these truths that are behind the hostility, the support of dictators and thugs while strutting the world as Hilary Clinton has talking about freedom, justice and democracy. And it is these representatives they are angry at.

Money has come easy all round at the expense of democratic rights and torture for the Egyptian workers and youth; until the recent uprising that is.  "President Hosni Mubarak had kept a tight grip on power and billions of dollars in US aid flowing with few strings attached..." says Business Week in its latest edition. * Since the late seventies, the US taxpayer has forked over more than $65 billion to Egypt according to the Congressional Research Service, "much of it in the form of jets and other military hardware." says the Washington Post .

In 2005, the US Congress added a condition on US aid that barred Mubarak from personally selecting which pro-democracy  groups would receive the agreed upon $20 million of the $1.8 billion the US taxpayer was giving him that year.  That condition was softened in 2007 after  Egypt hired a high powered trio of lobbyists

The three bribery experts have good connections in the business.  Tony Podesta has his own lobbying firm, rated the highest revenue getter in Washington by public interest groups according to Business Week. He has  "close ties to the Obama administration" and his brother, John was a chief of staff in the Clinton administration.  Bob Livingston, a Republican, was a lobbyist for the state of Louisiana, and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee during the late nineties; a very lucrative little slot if there ever was one;  he also has his own company.

The third is former Democratic rep Toby Moffett, who was known as a bit of a liberal in his early years with links to Unions even.  Opportunist as he is, Moffett severed those links when it suited him and has defended the dictator Mubarak vigorously. Moffett told the Post  it is "'an honor to serve Egypt' and that none of the country's lobbyists have any intention of severing ties with the Mubarak government." He told The Hill on January 28th, "We have always been very proud to represent Egypt."

These three have formed an umbrella group to represent Mubarak's regime and have received over one million dollars a year for their lobbying efforts.  The Post adds that, "The lobbying efforts over the years have included thousands of meetings between lawmakers and Egyptian civilian and military officials. Some of the meetings have included participation by major U.S. defense contractors, which have a vested interest in continuing U.S. foreign and military aid payments to the Arab nation".


Some of the lobbyists that work for the Egyptian government work for US defense companies as well.  We can only imagine the staggering sums involved as this must occur with Israel, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and various unsavory characters around the world. It becomes clear when we think about it that constant tension, everlasting insecurity and warfare is the status quo that is preferable, and profitable to the US capitalist class and its allies in the Middle east. Many countries spend more hiring lobbyists to bribe US politicians than Egypt.  The United Arab Emirates spent almost 11 million in 2008, Britain $6.9 million, Japan $4.2 million. (Sunlight Foundation).  It becomes pretty obvious what draws these folks to political life, and after you retire you can become a lobbyist.

It is these same policies that are the cause of the attacks at home; on jobs, education, health care and living standards in general.  The folks in Washington have to find the money somewhere for all this, and its to us they turn.

* The Lobbyists Watching Egypt's Back  BW 2-7-11