Retirement home for recalcitrant strongmen
I have a hunch that President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad is hiding a rather good golf swing behind that frown.
I suggest Switzerland as a location rather than Saudi Arabia, which already functions as the unofficial resting place for unwanted strongmen. Switzerland is, after all, neutral, picturesque and a favourite among well-heeled sanitarium seekers the world over. You would also be close to your bankers.
I can hear the howls of indignation. And, yes, we will get to the issue of accountability for past sins in a minute. But, first and foremost, this is about practicalities and avoiding the kind of messy, drawn-out transition that is turning Cairo into a battleground.
The reason Mr Mubarak is digging his heels in until September is that he wants to exit with dignity. Face is so important to people who have thrived on a personality cult.
But so many strongmen know that when it comes to retirement they are faced with few choices: they can be in power or they can languish in jail, or worse. There is very little compromise when so much is at stake.
Mr Mubarak's long and - as we discovered today - reluctant goodbye is a real cause for concern and chaos in Egypt. So in return for free board and lodging and escape from the mob, the strongmen could see out their days in the Swiss Alps. What's there not to like?
There would however be certain conditions. The guests would be required to wear national costume at all times during the day, including head dress. When sitting down for dinner they would be expected to sit on their thrones or presidential high chairs. Each meal would be preceded by the national anthems of each retiree. They would have to take all meals communally and when in their rooms they would have to listen to their best speeches on a never-ending loop. If that's not a definition of hell, what is?
I give them a few months before they will be screaming to be handed to the custodians of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. To face real justice in the serenity of a quiet cell and the comfort of prison pyjamas.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~11~RS~)
© MMXI
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The US and Israel have squandered 30 years of peace with Egypt. There is no Two State Solution and never will be.
The Muslim Brotherhood is the new excuse for no Two State Solution to be implimented.
Now is the time for the Cold Equasion: The US has to choose between two allies, or make is main ally behave honorably. It won't be pretty, but it has to be done.
The US since post-WWII has been trying to reinstate Colonialism in the name of freedom and democracy by instally Strong Men all over the so-called Third World, even in its own backyard. Haiti is a priciple example.
Now the People of Egypt have been shamed into wresting its freedom from the Fascism of a Strong man supported by the United States.
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Didn't Pink Floyd have a song related to this on their "Final Cut" album, something called "The Fletcher Memorial Home" or some such? Apparently this is another case of great minds thinking alike (I hope).
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#1 mary gravitt
Mary, what nut house did you escape from? You're delusional.
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The United States' State Department and CIA have been caught unprepared against. We have believed our own propaganda, somehow expecting that the dirty secret of our Middle East policy will go unpunished.
Just like our "cold war" mentality that any anti-communist strongman was worth upholding as long as they professed to be anti-communist; So too is our recent policy that as long as they did not challenge our policy of unquestioned support of Israel, that any tyrant was OK!
We support oppressive policies by our "allies", while professing to promote democracy. Meanwhile we support an oppression of Palestinians in general, and particularly harsh treatment of Gaza, under the Israeli propaganda that Hamas must be emasculated.
The reality is that the "cat is out of the bag", and no one knows the next chapter. One thing is for certain, time has run out for a two-state solution in the Levant. Israel has created a new demographic reality, and the only answer with resonance is that a united Israel must be forced by International pressure to regularize citizenship to all in its borders. Apartheid is based on unjust allotment of resources, and it will never quell the resultant violence.
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Not sure Switzerland is the best choice for locating your defenestrated despots retirement home Matt. Have you tried building a minaret in one of the nicer Cantons recently? I suspect your target market will be wanting to spend much of their waking hours in prayer and pursuit of absolution. Switzerland is better at dispatching retirees in its euthanasia clinics than providing facilities for the study of the Koran.
@ 4 Shaheen
There is about as much chance of achieving a united Israel as there is of you or I meeting Moses. Zero. It simply shouldn't be there and the indigenous population of the middle east are not likely to let up until its gone. Without the continued backing of the international community, which is clearly dwindling, it cannot survive. But it won't go quietly. Which means much blood is yet to be spilt. And all for the love of god. take your pick as to which one. I'll take Scott's advice @ 2 and listen to some Pink Floyd instead.
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#4
"Apartheid is based on unjust allotment of resources, and it will never quell the resultant violence."
Agreed. All the surrounding Arab nations should immediately grant Palestinians their respective citizenship and welcome them with open arms. Problem solved.
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I was just recently discussing this with a friend.
Switzerland is out. Texas is in. It's a big state, and there are already a bunch of nutty people living there, right? Adios, Cairo...
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I'm afraid Pink Floyd beat you to this idea. Check out the track The Fletcher Memorial Home on the The Final Cut album.
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Saddam Hussein was offered a safe, secure, and -- might I say -- comfortable retirement in exile in the small town of Soveria Mannelli in Calabria. I don't know if he even responded to the offer.
Robert Mugabe was offered a lucrative "retirement" package (this from an embassy cable of 27 September 2000 made available through WikiLeaks) engineered by United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan. There was reportedly another offer to Mugabe on the table about the same time. He declined both.
Whether the actions of these two autocrats can be generalized to other cases is not clear, but certainly the record of dictators voluntarily standing down, even to comfortable circumstances, is not one to inspire confidence. However, there are the two examples of Alfredo Stroessner, who was forced out of Paraguay by a coup, but, once in Brazil, retired quietly, and Augusto Pinochet, who tried to insulate himself from ex post facto prosecution by legislative fiat.
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The Fletcher Memorial Home
For colonial wasters
Of life and limb
Is everyone in?
Are we having a good time
Now the final solution
Can be applied
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Matt,
That retirement plan for ex-tryrants is a stroke of genius. How about adding the following: At all three joint meals a voluteer will be choosen to recite out loud sections from Mein kampf in English or sing thier respective National Athems while doing a little two step. Those who fail to comply will have to sing "God Bless American" (in English) or "American the Beautiful" for those assembled each night for a week and distribute a weekly written report about why they love their mothers.
After a year of this treatment, BBC should be invited to do a documentary on "Retirement in Switzland" featuring the charming patter of the inmates.
__Jockamo
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And we now know of Mubarak?
Aside the sanctimony and Mr Frei's predictable inclusion of President Chavez,what has been the BBC's role in exposing the repression and torture inflicted on impoverished populations and 'involuntary tourists' by regimes of the Middle-East supported by 'The International Community' (US, UK, France, Germany, etc)? By the way, tell us of Mubarak's Vice-President Suleiman?
And what Home would Mr Frei recommend for his Western Architects of the Iraq War, and even Middle-East 'policy'?
Another long overdue day has come, as we welcome the objectivity of more trustworthy media of the true International Community (Brasil, Argentina, India, China,etc.) case in point, AlJazeera.
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@ 11 JN Nielsen
I think its a matter of selling it properly. 'Soft' marketing can produce disappointing results but by using a more direct approach these lovable old rouges will buy into a nice new home when it is offered. The French for example managed to 'tempt' Napoleon to see out the autumn of his years on Elba, a fashionable Mediterranean island.
@ 6 J May
You have a very twisted sense of who the resources of the middle east belong to. The issue is not the Palestinians, it is the cuckoos in the nest that the UN built. Until the UN admit their mistake there is no prospect of peace. We all know there is no point in even having a conversation about it wit the cuckoos themselves, such as time to move on. I don't see why they make such a fuss actually, as they have a very long history of reveling in persecution and have always seemed to do everything they can to provoke it. Especially when it comes to property. Their chutzpa when it comes to acquiring and exploiting the 'ransom strip' in property development situations never fails to amaze me. Unfortunately in making their land grab in the middle east they have bitten off more then they can chew, not that they will ever admit it (which is why the UN will eventually have to, or its successor). However it won't stop those who have been displaced from their rightful lands from asserting their grievance to the point of mutually assured destruction. What else can they do? They are certainly not going to let the cuckoo enjoy the nest.
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American Frei is stale and stodgy as a day old French Fry. Can’t you think of anything else to write about except the poor old Egyptians?
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#15
"However it won't stop those who have been displaced from their rightful lands from asserting their grievance to the point of mutually assured destruction. What else can they do? They are certainly not going to let the cuckoo enjoy the nest."
Are you talking about the Jews or the Palestinians?
They both make the exact same claim, on the exact same grounds.
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