Thread: "EGYPT IS FREE!" - The Egyptian People Celebrate

Originally Posted by Crocodile

Everything is measured in comparison. What have the Soviet Union done to the Middle East in those glorious days?

Many things, actually. Education, power plants, weapons, money, know-hows, etc.

Originally Posted by Crocodile

Having said that, I'm not really sure what's the point of the caricature. It's not like the US didn't pay for the oil, did they? By the way, the Soviet Union exported their oil too, to those same capitalists, so why wouldn't they write СССР beside Ближний Восток?

I was sure you'll recognize it because it's a very old one, made by Кукрыниксы.

Originally Posted by Crocodile

As to the "blood" that is shed, I think the USSR should have sat quiet like a mouse, since the dominant majority of the Middle East countries have adopted the soviet weapons (until today) and the USSR was a major exporter of those weapons to the Middle East. On the other hand, Israel adopted NATO weapons. It has never been a secret the Middle East was a field testing for the soviet and the NATO weapons. (And not only the Middle East, by the way.)

Yes, we've been selling giving them weapons sometimes for free and pursuing our own agenda, but weapons were only a part of it (see above).

Originally Posted by Hanna

[I]The hypocrisy of suddenly condemning a regime it has propped up for 30 years is unbelievable.

Why? It was expected. Churchill once said 'Britain has no permanent allies, it only has permanent interests.' I don't see why US policy would differ from this.

Originally Posted by Ramil

Many things, actually. Education, power plants, weapons, money, know-hows, etc.

Ah, I see, when both you and Gromozeka replied similarly, it means it was my fault I didn't expressed myself correctly. I'll try to elaborate. For example, according to F.A.Q. on U.S. Aid to Egypt: Where Does the Money Go—And Who Decides How It’s Spent? - ProPublica since Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel, "Egypt gets the most U.S. foreign aid of any country except for Israel. [...] The amount varies each year and there are many different funding streams, but U.S. foreign assistance to Egypt has averaged just over $2 billion every year since 1979. [...] That average includes both military and economic assistance, though the latter has been in decline since 1998 [...] but is generally in the hundreds of millions annually." In a nutshell, in terms of the aid the US had been doing for years pretty much the same thing that the USSR had been doing for years before that. With the soviet military aid, Egypt had started several wars against Israel. Each time the blood was shed and the price of oil went up (helping to boost the USSR economy as a by-product). So, what I meant was the USSR and the US were both doing the same thing developing Egyptian infrastructure and the Egyptian army and since everything is measured in comparison, the USSR wasn't entitled to criticize the US.

Originally Posted by Ramil

I was sure you'll recognize it because it's a very old one, made by Кукрыниксы.

Ahm.. I'm not that old as you think I am. It's just you added that caricature to the context, so I asked you to explain why.

Originally Posted by Hanna

The hypocrisy of suddenly condemning a regime it has propped up for 30 years is unbelievable.

That's what they call the politics, my dear.

Originally Posted by Hanna

I would have respected the US more if it had actually stood by Mubarak. At least that means standing up to some principle...

I think that is a very naive comment for someone who said she wants to become a politician. Do you think Mubarak was loyal to the US because he actually stood to a principle?????????

Originally Posted by Crocodile

according to F.A.Q. on U.S. Aid to Egypt: Where Does the Money Go—And Who Decides How It’s Spent? - ProPublica

You masterly switched the context, sir crocodile. I wan't speaking of US, but of CIA. )))
It was you who tried to oppose CIA (an organization) and USSR (a state).

Originally Posted by Ramil

You masterly switched the context, sir crocodile. I wan't speaking of US, but of CIA. )))
It was you who tried to oppose CIA (an organization) and USSR (a state).

Whoa!! Please, explain yourself. What do you mean I switched the context? I assumed the CIA reports to the US government as well as the KGB/GRU used to report to the USSR government. The USSR used to help Egypt and the US used to help Egypt. Both military and infrastructure-wise. Where do you think I crossed the line?