Obama rhetorically embraced the Arab Spring while funding its counterrevolutionaries
Evidence
In the context of the Arab uprisings of 2011, known as the “Arab Spring,” the Obama administration at first supported its dictatorial allies (such as Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, a personal friend of the Clinton family). When it became clear that they were going to be swept from power, Obama embraced the Arab Spring, at least rhetorically, while at the same time supporting counterrevolutionary forces around the region. The United States continued to fund the Egyptian military, the key source of counterrevolution in that country. Elsewhere the Obama White House stayed silent—such as when Saudi Arabia not only repressed its Shi’a rebellion, but also sent troops to Bahrain to crush the uprising in that country. Had Obama wanted to intervene on the side of the pro-democracy demonstrators in Bahrain, he could have used the Fifth Fleet, which is stationed there. Instead, he opted to support pro-Western forces in Libya and Syria as a means of replacing inconsistent allies and deflating movements demanding meaningful social change. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 506
Categorization
- XREF: Echoes the ‘Complaints About Immodesty’ article’s pattern of reading political signals beneath surface rhetoric; also connects to scholarship on US democracy rhetoric vs. counterrevolutionary practice. — connects to: Obama backed Arab Spring rhetorically while funding the Egyptian military’s counterrevolution.; The US backed counterrevolution during the Arab Spring while professing support — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 506; US policy backed dictators and counterrevolution against the Arab Spring — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 580 (+11 more)
- SEED: Seed for an essay on the ‘democracy façade’ — how great powers frame counterrevolution as democratization, with Bahrain as the sharpest case since intervention was feasible and refused.
Broader Connections
- Obama backed Arab Spring rhetorically while funding the Egyptian military’s counterrevolution.
#corroborates(0.98) - The US backed counterrevolution during the Arab Spring while professing support
#corroborates(0.95) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 506 - US policy backed dictators and counterrevolution against the Arab Spring
#corroborates(0.93) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 580 - US Arab Spring policy oscillated between co-opting and counterrevolution, never democracy
#corroborates(0.92) - US Arab Spring response co-opted opposition or backed counterrevolution to limit change
#qualifies(0.90) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 381 - Revolutionary rhetoric can mask active counterrevolutionary alliances
#expands(0.88) - Obama continued the War on Terror through rhetorical seduction.
#expands(0.85) - Washington co-opted or counterattacked every Arab Spring uprising
#qualifies(0.85) - Obama continued the War on Terror with rhetoric rather than swords
#expands(0.84) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 296 - Obama’s conciliatory rhetoric masked continued drone and surveillance warfare
#expands(0.82) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 299 - The Bush-to-Obama transition was rhetorical, not structural
#expands(0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 527 - Obama’s liberalism and right-wing Muslim-baiting both served US imperial hegemony
#expands(0.78) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 512 - Obama’s inclusive rhetoric coexisted with surveillance that later licensed Trump’s explicit Islamophobia
#expands(0.75) - Obama’s rhetoric masked drone strikes and mosque surveillance.
#expands(0.72)