Richard Bulliet: The Military-Mubarak Complex
[Richard Bulliet is professor of history at Columbia University and author of “Islam: The View from the Edge” and “The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization.”]
“We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.” So said President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1961. Americans understood this warning to refer to the incestuous relations between high-ranking military officers and the arms industry.
In the Arab world’s military autocracies the industrial side of this complex is not arms manufacturing. The officer corps reaches into every profit center in the country.
In his televised speech to the Egyptian people, Hosni Mubarak refused to step down, saying he personally embodies his noble and historic nation.
In actuality, he is persisting in office because his departure would threaten the economic ties that connect the army officer corps with the business world — ties that have been an almost continual feature of Egyptian society, and Arab society more generally, since the year 1250. Vice President Omar Suleiman may negotiate constitutional changes, but he will never agree to a restructuring of Egyptian politics that diminishes the privileges of the military....
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“We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.” So said President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1961. Americans understood this warning to refer to the incestuous relations between high-ranking military officers and the arms industry.
In the Arab world’s military autocracies the industrial side of this complex is not arms manufacturing. The officer corps reaches into every profit center in the country.
In his televised speech to the Egyptian people, Hosni Mubarak refused to step down, saying he personally embodies his noble and historic nation.
In actuality, he is persisting in office because his departure would threaten the economic ties that connect the army officer corps with the business world — ties that have been an almost continual feature of Egyptian society, and Arab society more generally, since the year 1250. Vice President Omar Suleiman may negotiate constitutional changes, but he will never agree to a restructuring of Egyptian politics that diminishes the privileges of the military....