Une seule chose unit les Égyptiens : l’antiaméricanisme

Une seule chose unit les Égyptiens : l’antiaméricanisme

Cet article de Bassem Sabry, commentateur égyptien, pour le site Al-Monitor, ce 5 août 2013, décrit le seul sentiment commun à toutes les factions de ce pays déchiré et au bord de la guerre civile : l’antiaméricanisme ... Et ce terme, pris dans son sens exact, c’est-à-dire l’hostilité à l’américanisme en tant qu’émanation au sens le plus large de la direction politique washingtonienne. C'est ainsi que conclut Sabry : «Virtually everyone I have ever met in a demonstration carrying an anti-Obama sign told me his problem was with the US government, not the American people.» (Cela n’est d’ailleurs pas une position de forme, comme on a pu le voir lors des manifestations de Madison, dans le Wisconsin, au début de 2011, alors que la “révolution” de la place Tahrir battait son plein. La population égyptienne affirma plus d’une fois sa solidarité avec les gens de Madison, qui le lui rendirent d’ailleurs fort bien [voir le 17 février 2011 et le 18 février 2011].)

Il s’agit donc de la politique américaniste, qui se voudrait habile en jouant sur tous les tableaux, d’une façon délibérée jusqu’à être grotesque, qui distribue les divers prébendes de tous les côtés, qui clame “démocratie !” et qui s’interroge comme Hamlet autour de la définition de “coup” (coup d’État). (La très récente visite du duo McCain-Lindsay Graham au Caire pour aider (!) à la résolution de la situation a eu comme effet classique et attendu de déclencher une vague de protestation contre les déclarations des deux sénateurs, notamment McCain, considérées comme une ingérence dans les affaires intérieures égyptiennes [voir PressTV.ir le 7 août 2013]) Le résultat est évidemment catastrophique. Tout le monde au Caire et en Égypte est antiaméricain. Si l’on veut insulter un adversaire politique aujourd’hui, on dit de lui qu’il a “rencontré Anne Patterson” (l’ambassadrice US). Les chiffres statistiques de la popularité US sont consternants. Description du paysage égyptien à cet égard :

«More than ever, Egyptians are now divided over everything. They are divided on being pro-Sisi, pro-Morsi or pro-neither. They are divided on the “coup vs. revolution” debate, on the usage of force against sit-ins, on how the political process should move forward, on who really to blame for the violence and bloodshed in the country. The list goes on. But one thing they are all united on: US Ambassador Anne Patterson must leave, and American “interference” in Egypt has had a negative impact.

»In fact, even the suggested new ambassador, former Syria envoy Robert Ford, is already the subject of a mounting popular rejection campaign, being seen as “the man who divided Syria and created the Free Syrian Army to destroy the country,” as a common refrain goes. Those behind the campaign think either Ford is being sent to Egypt to turn it into another Syria, or that he’s just not the right man for the job. Other than Patterson, everyone hates Obama as well. There’s even a new, and quite peculiar song, about that.

»Many in the opposition have often made a point of using varyingly harsh rhetoric regarding the United States, whether it was the Islamists during the Mubarak era or the secularists under Mohammed Morsi. A number of independent secularist figures, as well as members of the National Salvation Front (NSF), the liberal and leftist alliance, publicly shunned meeting with US representatives. They increasingly spoke of the Brotherhood as “allies in close contact with the US” as if that were an insult by definition, and brandished such actions as signs of patriotism and nationalism. Over time, it became normal for a political figure or group to be negatively branded or accused of having “met with Anne Patterson,” as a self-evident crime, as if political groups and figures are not expected to meet with ambassadors, let alone the ambassador of the only superpower remaining in the world.

»Research and polls have shown a steady decline in favorable attitudes in Egypt toward the US. In 2008, George W. Bush’s last year as president, a Pew poll showed that only 22% of Egyptians had a favorable view of the US, down from 30% in 2006. The number slightly grew to 27% after Obama took office, only to decline in early 2013 to 16%. Confidence in Obama dropped from 42% in 2009 to 26% in early 2013, with 72% having no confidence in the American president.

»In early 2013, only 24% of Egyptians saw the relationship with the US to be of some importance, while a whopping 69% saw it to be of little to no importance. Even perhaps more remarkably, the same early 2013 poll indicated that 55% saw US economic aid to Egypt to be of “mostly negative” impact. Similarly, 58% saw the military aid to be of mostly negative impact, 28% saw no impact and only 10% saw it to be of mostly positive impact. The poll also showed that those voting for secularists and liberals are more likely to have a positive view of American economic aid to Egypt. One month after June 30, the numbers are likely to have worsened...»

Bassem Sabry essaie ensuite d’expliquer la cause de ce sentiment si général, si fortement implanté, si répandu qu'il en devient lien commun. Divers arguments sont avancés, et sans doute ont-ils tous quelque chose d’un peu de la vérité. Enfin Sabry termine par ses propres explications. Il ne cache pas qu’elles relèvent du cliché, mais comment faire autrement ? En vérité, le vraie problème de la politique égyptienne de Washington, ce n’est ni la politique, ni l’Égypte, mais Washington soi-même, en majesté, en complet autisme psychologique, en complète inculpabilité-indéfectibilité et le reste... Par conséquent, ultime recommandation de Sabry : il faut que Washington conduire une appréciation critique profonde de sa politique US ; effectivement : «Any policy that makes a deeply divided country only unite around hatred for you is quite an utterly unsuccessful one.»

«In my opinion, the deeper direct causes are actually the almost cliché answers that many have given in previous discussions. Egypt remains, even with what appears to be newly rising nationalism, a strongly pan-Islamic and pan-Arab country. For example, the war in Iraq and the destruction that ensued (and continues to ensue) have left a strong scar on how Egyptians see the US. Every car bomb that explodes in Baghdad and makes it to the news rekindles that anger, and reignites the “blood oil” discussions. The most profound reason for anger and dislike comes from US policy on the Arab-Israeli conflict — a conflict with strong national, cultural, political and religious significance. Particularly, a profound reason for discontent has been what is seen as an unfair and disproportionate amount of support that Israel gets from the US. For most Egyptians, the US isn’t a balanced mediator of the conflict; it is willing to allow Israel to continuously change the facts of the situation on the ground to its favor, and allow Israel get away with violence against Palestinians.

»Clearly, the deteriorating US public image in Egypt is not something that can be fixed overnight, but the long process toward some rectification can nonetheless begin now. The first step would be for the US to conduct a thorough review of its policy on Egypt. Any policy that makes a deeply divided country only unite around hatred for you is quite an utterly unsuccessful one...»

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