Foreign Policy Magazine: The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2011

Foreign Policy, the most highest American magazine about geopolitics and foreign policy, published its yearly Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2011.

For the second year in a row, Dr. Mohamed El Baradei is featured on the list (as if suddenly they discovered how brilliant el Baradei is) but this year he shares the 1st position with a list of 14 persons, whom FP calls “The Arab Revolutionaries”, the list includes:

Alaa Al Aswany
Mohamed ElBaradei
Wael Ghonim
Rached Ghannouchi
Tawakkol Karman

but more interestingly, The Arab Revolutionaries list includes Otpor‘s Srdja Popovic and AIE’s Gene Sharp!!!

Other dignitaries among the other”Top” 100 thinkers on the FP list include:
Barack Obama (11)
Dick Cheney (12)
Condoleezza Rice (12)
Mark Zuckerberg (17)
Hillary Clinton (20)
Nicolas Sarkozy (21)
Bernard-Henri Lévy (22)
Samantha Power (53)
Jared Cohen (83)

Quite a list! Seems like the list of Top American Imperialism Advancers, not Top Thinkers!

Notable to mention is that until the end of 2008, FP was owned by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in September 29, 2008, The Washington Post Company bought it.

US Embassy Cables: 2009 El Baradei Presidential Candidacy Remain Unclear

EL BARADEI’S “CONDITIONED” PRESIDENTIAL RUN

Ref ID: 09CAIRO2279

Date: 2009-12-10 13:35

Origin: Embassy Cairo

Classification: CONFIDENTIAL

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/09/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT: EL BARADEI’S “CONDITIONED” PRESIDENTIAL RUN

REF: CAIRO 2209

Classified By: Minister-Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs Donald A. Blome, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
1.Key Points: — (C) Mohammed El Baradei’s December 4 statement stops short of a commitment to run in Egypt’s 2011 presidential elections. Now no longer at the IAEA, El Baradei expanded on earlier criticism of the state of democracy in Egypt and set a high bar for his candidacy. — (C) Reaction from members of the government and state-run media has been harsh and personal but not uniform; with some suggesting competition has its benefits. — (C) Opposition political and human rights activists have praised the “conditions” outlined by El Baradei but have not uniformly endorsed his candidacy.

2.(C) Comment: Thus far El Baradei’s true political aspirations remain unclear. He is surely aware of his ability to influence the debate at home and may only seek, as he told CNN December 6, to do what he can “to make sure that Egypt…moves in the right direction.” As a favored son of Egypt, El Baradei’s remarks are harder to reject as purely “international interference.” As a result, even if he is not a “serious candidate” El Baradei’s endorsement of “home grown” demands keeps political reform in the public spotlight, particularly in the wake of attempts by the ruling party and President Mubarak to downplay it in favor of social and economic issues. (Reftel). End Comment.

US embassy cables: Kifaya leader George Is’haq met with US Embassy Officials in 2009

CAN KIFAYA REGAIN LOST MOMENTUM?

Ref ID: 09CAIRO2308

Date: 12/17/2009 12:41

Origin: Embassy Cairo

Classification: CONFIDENTIAL

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TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KDEM, PHUM, EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT: CAN KIFAYA REGAIN LOST MOMENTUM?

REF: A. CAIRO 2279 B. 05 CAIRO 1413 C. 05 CAIRO 5274 D. 06 CAIRO 2493

Classified By: Minister-Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs Donald A. Blome, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

– (SBU) Kifaya celebrated its five-year anniversary with a December 12 protest on the steps of the Cairo Appeals Court.

– (C) While the turnout was lower than announced by movement leaders, supporters see the protest as a sign that Kifaya still plays an important role in pressuring for political reform and an end to the Mubarak presidency.

– (C) Kifaya members have endorsed political reforms recently outlined by former IAEA Chair El Baradei. Kifaya’s current Coordinator Qandil has called for boycott if those conditions are not met.

2.(C) Comment: Mohammed El Baradei’s comments have helped to energize, at least for the moment, the efforts of protest movements like Kifaya. However, these groups have struggled to gain traction more broadly with the Egyptian public. There is little evidence that Kifaya’s essentially liberal and constitutional message has had wide resonance among a deeply cynical Egyptian street more concerned with bread and butter issues. Perhaps recognizing this reality, some of these groups, including Kifaya, have begun turning to a simpler “anyone but Gamal” message that they hope better captures the public mood. End Comment.

3.(C) Egypt’s Kifaya (or “Enough” movement, also known as the Egyptian Movement for Change) staged a protest in front of the Cairo Appeals Court on December 12 to mark the five-year anniversary of the movement’s first protest on those same steps in 2004. Egyptian media report that several hundred participated in the demonstrations. One Kifaya contact told PolOff numbers reached 200. However, separately an Embassy contact present at the demonstration said there were no more than 100 present and that they included “plainclothes security and the media.” Kifaya is best known for staging public demonstrations in the lead-up to the 2005 elections and its effort to rally support for judges critical of those elections in 2006. Several Kifaya members told the private daily Al Shorouk they see the current protest as evidence of Kifaya’s resurgence. Kifaya leader George Is’haq told PolOff the December 12 protest will be the first of many Kifaya-organized demonstrations in the lead-up to the 2010 parliamentary and 2011 presidential elections.

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“Egypt is not a Family Farm”

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4.(C) Kifaya remains a loosely organized group of opposition politicians and political activists from a variety of ideological perspectives, from leftists to Islamists. Many credit Kifaya with breaking taboos against public criticism of President Mubarak. Since its start in 2004, Kifaya has advocated an end to the Mubarak presidency, condemned possible hereditary transfer of power to his son Gamal, and criticized the role of the security services and the culture of corruption they believe Mubarak’s leadership has fostered. During a Kifaya-led demonstration on May 25, 2005, organized to mark the referendum on constitutional reforms (which the group still criticizes as “tailor made” for Gamal’s succession), members were attacked by what were believed to be pro-ruling party thugs. The resulting international and domestic reaction allowed for additional protests in the lead up to Egypt’s 2005 elections without the same kind of government interference (Ref C). Kifaya also led thousands in May 2006 protests critical of GoE disciplinary action against two leaders of the Judge’s Club “revolt” that followed the 2005 elections. The judges were accused of slander after revealing details of fraud and malfeasance in judicial monitoring of the 2005 elections (Ref D).

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Antipathy to U.S. Remains

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5.(C) Throughout its history, Kifaya has also continued to be strongly critical of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and rejects Egyptian normalization with Israel (Ref B). As a result, official USG contact with Kifaya has been limited. Members of the movement boycotted President Obama’s June 2009 speech in Cairo. Long-time Kifaya leader George Is’haq (protect), now active in a variety of other CAIRO 00002308 002 OF 002 election-related coalitions, met with Embassy Officials for the first time in July 2009. Kifaya members have been openly critical of others who deal with foreign governments, particularly the U.S. Following the announcement that he intended to travel to the United States, Ayman Nour, also a Kifaya member, met vocal criticism from current Kifaya Coordinator and editor of the Nasserist newspaper Al-Arabi, Abdel Halim Qandil.

US embassy cables: April 6 activists discussed preparations for El Baradei’s Arrival with US embassy in 2010

ACTIVISTS PREPARE FOR EL-BARADEI’S ARRIVAL; DETAINEES RELEASED

Reference ID 10CAIRO215
Created 2010-02-18 16:04
Released 2011-01-28
Classification CONFIDENTIAL
Origin Embassy Cairo

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SUBJECT: ACTIVISTS PREPARE FOR EL-BARADEI’S ARRIVAL; DETAINEES
RELEASED

REF: 09 CAIRO 2279

CLASSIFIED BY: Donald A. Blome, Minister-Counselor, State, ECPO;
REASON: 1.4(B), (D)

1. KEY POINTS

– (SBU) Activists affiliated with the political opposition are planning to greet former IAEA Chairman Mohammed El-Baradei upon his scheduled February 19 arrival in Cairo from Vienna. In recent months, El-Baradei has spoken about a possible 2011 presidential run if the GOE (Government of Egypt) enacts political reforms to ensure free and fair elections (reftel).

– (U) El-Baradei’s scheduled arrival has generated interest among political activists and the independent press.

– (C) Early on February 17, the GOE detained two “April 6″activists and filed charges against them February 18 before releasing them later in the day.

2. (C) Comment: Discussion of El-Baradei’s potential candidacy and his planned February 19 arrival seems to have energized opposition political activists and the independent press, but El-Baradei’s broader public support remains unclear. Public reaction to El-Baradei’s actions once he arrives could be an indication of his potential political staying power. El-Baradei has recently said he does not intend to run for president, but wants to advance democracy in Egypt. End comment. 

Is El-Baradei for the Egyptian people?

PressTV interviews Ralf Shoenman, author of the Hidden History of Zionism.

Mohamed el-Baradei, recognized by both the US and other foreign powers, who was absent from Egypt in the past 30 years, wants the top spot in the country.

But, do the Egyptian people want him and would he bring about change, which would go against the US agenda?

In this regard, Press TV interviews Ralph Shoenman, author of the Hidden History of Zionism and expert on Zionist impact on the Middle East.

Press TV: Referring to the statements made by US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, where she said it is important to support the transition process headed by new vice president Suleiman. In your opinion is the US finally showing their support for Suleiman by raising his profile?

Ralf Schoenman: Let’s be clear about this. What you are describing is a cruel deception and a complete hoax; a deception and a betrayal of the Egyptian people.

A map of Turkey was published in the New York Times as a model of what is intended for Egypt. You have to keep in mind that Egypt now under Mubarak and in the past 30 years has become a semi-colonial country – One hundred families own more than 90% of all property and wealth. And the map of Turkey that was published laid out what was intended in Egypt – an alliance between the senior military and the oligarchy to preserve the status quo, to deepen the privatization of the property and the wealth of the country and to intensify the exploitation of its workers.

Obama’s War in Libya and Soros’ R2P Doctrine

by Rick Moran on Mar 28th, 2011

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which authorizes a no-fly zone over Libya and the protection of civilians by all means necessary, is the culmination of a decade-long effort to radically strengthen the ability of the UN to intervene in sovereign nations through the “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) doctrine. Behind the initiative are, unsurprisingly, some of the usual suspects: National Security Council adviser Samantha Power and her patron George Soros. Their call to prevent human rights abuses through military intervention masks an agenda to alter drastically the concept of state sovereignty and to allow the United Nations to essentially co-opt the US military.

A 2008 backgrounder produced by The Heritage Foundation on the Responsibility to Protect articulates one of the most dangerous aspects of the doctrine: “R2P would effectively cede U.S. national sovereignty and decision-making power over key components of national security and foreign policy and subject them to the whims of the international community.” What we are seeing unfold in Libya today may very well be a test case for this doctrine: the United Nations has “borrowed” the US military to enforce its idea of Gaddafi’s “responsibilities.” And one question of grave concern is: Might the UN also “borrow” the U.S. and other Western militaries in future to impose its will on member states it feels are not living up to the UN’s nebulous idea of state responsibilities?

Watch The Great Deception Addendum

Before we examine the ingredients of this potentially catastrophic scenario, a bit of historical background is necessary. The Responsibility to Protect doctrine, which is deliberately nebulous and ill-defined, is not new. In fact, Hitler’s intervention in the Sudetenland was justified by “humanitarian reasons.” Hitler’s propaganda machine created mass hysteria in Germany by falsely accusing Czechoslovakia of carrying out atrocities against ethnic Germans. Hitler negotiated with Neville Chamberlain on the basis that he was only going to intervene to save lives. Chamberlain may not have bought Hitler’s lies, but Munich occurred nonetheless.

The doctrine was applied sporadically for the next 50 years because military intervention of any kind during the Cold War risked nuclear confrontation. Although the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was justified by Moscow as a “humanitarian” endeavor, there were few other cases.

April 6 and the lead up to the 25th of Jan Revolution

Under the title “A Tunisian-Egyptian Link That Shook Arab History” the New York Times ran a report about links between the Tunisian revolt, the Egyptian Revolution, Otpor, April 6 & Wael Ghonim.

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: February 13, 2011

The Egyptian revolt was years in the making. Ahmed Maher, a 30-year-old civil engineer and a leading organizer of the April 6 Youth Movement, first became engaged in a political movement known as Kefaya, or Enough, in about 2005. Mr. Maher and others organized their own brigade, Youth for Change. But they could not muster enough followers; arrests decimated their leadership ranks, and many of those left became mired in the timid, legally recognized opposition parties. “What destroyed the movement was the old parties,” said Mr. Maher, who has since been arrested four times.

By 2008, many of the young organizers had retreated to their computer keyboards and turned into bloggers, attempting to raise support for a wave of isolated labor strikes set off by government privatizations and runaway inflation.

After a strike that March in the city of Mahalla, Egypt, Mr. Maher and his friends called for a nationwide general strike for April 6. To promote it, they set up a Facebook group that became the nexus of their movement, which they were determined to keep independent from any of the established political groups. Bad weather turned the strike into a nonevent in most places, but in Mahalla a demonstration by the workers’ families led to a violent police crackdown — the first major labor confrontation in years.

Relation Maps: The Key Players

Diagrams showing the relations of Mohamed El Baradie, to International Crisis Group, George Soros & Zbigniew Brzezinski

International Crisis Group & Mohamed El Baradei

Zbigniew Brzezinski

George Soros

Relation maps via Muckety.com

Read more on Mohamed El Baradie connection to George Soros

Soros Connection to El Baradei & Egypt Revolution

Open Society Institute

In 1993, Soros created the Open Society Institute, which supports the Soros foundations working to develop democratic institutions throughout Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The “open society” basically refers to a “test and evaluate” approach to social engineering. The Open Society Institute has active programs in more than 60 countries around the world with total expenditures currently averaging approximately $600 million a year.

Regime Collapse in Egypt

Watch The Great Deception Addendum

Many are asking who started the riots in Egypt around Jan. 25, 2011, including Walid Phares on Fox News. Phares stated that he believed it was bloggers on Facebook who began the riots.

In April of 2010, a weekly magazine aiming to link Arab bloggers with politicians, the elderly and the elite was launched in Egypt. The weekly Wasla – or “The Link” – is being heralded as a first for the Arab world, with plans for articles by bloggers as a way of giving them a wider readership.

Wasla is published by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and is financially supported by the Open Society Institute created by none other than George Soros.

In the 1st edition of Wasla, the cover featured Mohamed ElBaradei. ElBaradei is Wasla’s chosen candidate and he is also supported by the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran. George Soros and ElBaradei both sit on the Board of Trustees for the International Crisis Group. Radio talk show host Michael Savage lays out in detail the ICG’s ties to the current Islamic uprising in Egypt.^[26] In a June 2008 report entitled, “Egypt’s Muslim Brothers Confrontation or Integration,” ICG urges the Egyptian regime to allow the Muslim Brotherhood to participate in political life.

Soros’ Open Society also funded the main opposition voice in Tunisia, Radio Kalima, which championed the riots there that led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

More from WND:

In September, Soros’ group was looking to expand its operations in Egypt by hiring a new project manager for its Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, which is run in partnership with the Open Society Justice Initiative. The group is seeking to develop a national network of legal empowerment actors for referral of public-interest law cases. Such organizations in the past have helped represent Muslim Brotherhood leaders seeking election or more authority in the country.

Soros made public statements that he supported the uprising in Egypt. He also tacitly supports the Muslim Brotherhood.

From WND:

In a Washington Post editorial entitled, “Why Obama Has to Get Egypt Right,” Soros recognized that if free elections were held in Egypt, “the Brotherhood is bound to emerge as a major political force, though it is far from assured of a majority.”

He stated the U.S. has “much to gain by moving out in front and siding with the public demand for dignity and democracy” in Egypt.

He claimed the “Muslim Brotherhood‘s cooperation with Mohamed ElBaradei … is a hopeful sign that it intends to play a constructive role in a democratic political system.”

Soros did not mention his ties to ElBaradei.

Soros did, however, single out Israel as “the main stumbling block” in paving the way toward transition in the Middle East.

“In reality, Israel has as much to gain from the spread of democracy in the Middle East as the United States has. But Israel is unlikely to recognize its own best interests because the change is too sudden and carries too many risks,” he wrote.

And there is more concerning Soros being behind lobbying efforts for Egypt on Capitol Hill. From Gulag Bound:^[28]

In attempting to explain how lobbyists get U.S. foreign aid for Egypt, journalist Pratap Chatterjee of the George Soros-funded Center for American Progress writes that Tony Podesta, “the brother of a former White House chief of staff,” joined with Toby Moffett, a former Democratic Congressman, and Bob Livingston, a former Republican Congressman, to create a lobbying organization, the PLM Group, to represent Egypt in Washington.

Tony Podesta is the brother of John Podesta. He is Chatterjee’s boss at the Center for American Progress.

More from Gulag Bound:

Politico reported that Tony and John Podesta started Podesta Associates in the late 1980s and that it was later renamed the Podesta Group. So John Podesta was in on this money-making scheme from the start. Soros subsequently asked John Podesta to run the Center for American Progress, whose foreign policy expert, Brian Katulis, has been arguing on MSNBC that the U.S. ought to pull the plug on the Hosni Mubarak government in Egypt and deal with the Muslim Brotherhood.

In other words, the Podesta brothers are on both sides of this international crisis.

…

Politico has since reported that the lobbyists in the Podesta Group and the Livingston Group had lobbied on the issue of a Senate resolution calling for free elections in Egypt. The story didn’t mention that a former Politico editor, John Ward Anderson, now works for the Podesta Group.

Source: Wikipedia & KeyWiki

For more on the El Baradei – Soros Connection, Watch  The Great Deception Addendum

ElBaradei: Soros’s Man in Cairo

by Maidhc Ó Cathail, February 12, 2011

In a February 3 Washington Post op-ed piece titled “Why Obama has to get Egypt right,” George Soros wrote that the U.S. president had “much to gain by moving out in front and siding with the public demand for dignity and democracy.” Notwithstanding the reasonableness of his advice, past experience suggests that the Hungarian-born hedge fund manager has something to gain himself from regime change in Cairo.

In his public memo to the president he helped elect, Soros noted that it was a “hopeful sign” that the Muslim Brotherhood was cooperating with Mohamed ElBaradei, whom he disinterestedly described as “the Nobel laureate who is seeking to run for president.” He neglected to mention, however, that up to ElBaradei’s January 27 return to crisis-torn Egypt, the former IAEA chief had been a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Crisis Group, which Soros, the thirty-fifth richest person in the world, helped create and finance.

The International Crisis Group describes itself as “an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict,” but self-descriptions can often be misleading. “The ICG is a fascinating case study of the way human rights organizations, governments and international corporations work hand in glove these days,” George Szamuely wrote of the influential think tank’s role in the Balkans. “‘Independent’ figures like Soros identify a ‘crisis’ demanding urgent government attention. Governments act on them and then parcel out the lucrative contracts to Soros and his pals.”