The US backed counterrevolution during the Arab Spring while professing support

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: Directly connects to the vault cluster treating Islamophobia-adjacent policy as empire-serving rather than values-driven; illustrates the mechanism of selective rhetorical embrace masking counterrevolutionary funding. — connects to: Obama rhetorically embraced the Arab Spring while funding its counterrevolutionaries — 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; US Arab Spring response co-opted opposition or backed counterrevolution to limit change — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 381 (+4 more)
• QUESTION: The claim that Obama chose Libya/Syria support ‘to deflate movements demanding meaningful social change’ is a strong causal reading worth cross-checking against other sources.

Broader Connections

• US policy backed dictators and counterrevolution against the Arab Spring #corroborates (1.00) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 580
• US Arab Spring response co-opted opposition or backed counterrevolution to limit change #corroborates (1.00) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 381
• The US responded to 2011 uprisings by backing counterrevolution #corroborates (1.00) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 210
• US Arab Spring policy oscillated between co-opting and counterrevolution, never democracy #corroborates (0.95)
• Obama backed Arab Spring rhetorically while funding the Egyptian military’s counterrevolution. #exemplifies (0.95)