Saudi Arabia and Propping Up Mubarak

I've discussed Saudi Arabia before. Basically, I think the old guard in the desert kingdom is doing a pretty good job of trying to maintain a culture that was ancient when Abram moved out of Ur. Whether they should be trying to do so is another matter.

Anyway, here's something about Saudi Arabia and Egypt's president. Mubarak obviously has a few friends left.

"Saudi Arabia has threatened to prop up President Mubarak if the White House tries to force a swift change of regime in Egypt. In a testy personal telephone call on January 29, King Abdullah told President Obama not to humiliate Mr Mubarak and warned that he would step in to bankroll Egypt if the US withdrew its aid programme, worth $1.5 billion annually...."
(The Times (UK) (February 10, 2011))

Egypt's president Mubarak has been doing a fine job of humiliating himself, in my opinion: and doesn't need any help.

From the looks of it, back in 1981 Hosni Mubarak got the job as Egypt's president: liked it, and made sure that nobody else got elected. Can't say that I blame him, in a way. It's nice to have a steady paycheck, a degree of job security, and the perks that often come with an executive position.

I have nothing against autocracy as a form of government: in theory. In practice, autocrats seem unable to pay attention to what their subjects actually need. I've discussed that, recently, in another blog. (Apathetic Lemming of the North (February 5, 2011))

Don't get me wrong: as an American citizen, I like living in a constitution-based federal republic with strong democratic ('small d') traditions and a bicameral legislature. I just recognize that it's not the only sort of government that can adequately serve the people of a nation.

Still, we've got a pretty good system of checks and balances - and that's almost another topic.

More of today's posts:

• "Today's World: Not Boring; Not Simple"
  (February 10, 2011)