[1595] MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE? - Okay- let’s try and go with the narrative thing a bit more. What do I think the ‘real story’ is right now? I mentioned yesterday that I have been reading the N.Y. Times these past few weeks- in order to get a more in depth ‘feel’ for the things going on in the world today. Sure enough- an article I read in the morning- on a man named Frank Wisner- helped me put together a few more pieces of the geopolitical puzzle. The article described Wisner as the premier U.S. representative on the stage right now- our ‘go to’ man for Egypt. He is sort of an undercover Richard Holbrooke- the popular ambassador who died a few months back. Wisner is a guy with just as much [or more] experience as Holbrooke- it’s just he isn’t a flashy type guy- sort of like comparing the old mafia bosses with John Gotti, you know- the quiet type versus the celebrity hound. So in the article Wisner goes to Egypt- he is a personal friend of Mubarak- and he leaves quickly. His abrupt trip to Egypt raised some questions- sort of like Mubarak might be saying ‘what is wrong with your American president- he is going to ruin the Middle East’ [I’m guessing]. Wisner is questioned by the press on why he left so soon- and he gives some politically correct answer. Then sure enough last night I saw a bunch of reports- and Wisner himself- coming out and saying how he thinks Mubarak should not step down immediately- like the president is asking- and that Mubarak should stay in power until a safe transition can occur. Then other voices came out and said the same thing- The president of Israel [ Shimon Peres] gave a speech in which he praised Mubarak as a man of peace who was willing to stand for peace and whose rule saved the lives of many people. The feel I got was that behind the scenes- the smart players do indeed think Obama has blown this thing. How? Mubarak and other Egyptian leaders have said ‘what’s wrong with you- how can you be calling for our overthrow so quickly- in Iran- a major enemy of the U.S.- a real nuclear threat to world peace- just a few months back you had a popular uprising in the streets- and chose not to side with democracy- why now?’. We must understand that many serious minded people are asking this question. Now- being I have read a lot about this story in the past few weeks- one of the things I read was a story about the book ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ it’s a conspiracy type book that traces Obama’s roots and says he was prepped his whole life to one day become the U.S. president- and because of his leanings towards Islam- he will use his power to realign the nations and assist them in becoming Islamist states. Now- I do not believe this at all- yet the book is out there. Why mention this? These books were indeed donated to Mubarak and his cabinet- they were given 20 of these books by the author- who claims he did discuss this theory with a top Egyptian diplomat. If this is true- it would not be hard for Mubarak- a man who has served Egypt for 60 years [30 in the military- 30 as president] who has sent his family out of the country for their safety- who has been told by the U.S.presdient ‘leave now’ I mean the man is 82 years old- he never saw this coming- he actually has said he wants to step down- but heck- I would assume he doesn’t want to flee and live the rest of his life in some other country. The man might very well intend on stepping down- but if he is pushed out like this- his life is over. Now- am I sympathizing with the man- no. Realistically when you put a proud person like this in a dilemma- he might just try and hang on and ‘get’ you in the end. So the smart politicos [Wisner] are trying to leave the man some dignity- actually publicly disagreeing with the White House- in public- because they see the dire situation of the whole thing. It is very, very rare to see such a public split between different voices who are representing the president. The White House had to immediately put out a statement disassociating themselves from Wisner- saying it was his personal view. All this tells me that there are indeed some major problems going on right now- major fears the president has about this thing spiraling out of control. If- in even a small way- world leaders [Mubarak- Peres, etc.] are buying into the Manchurian Candidate ‘narrative’ then we have huge problems. Don’t think it impossible for these leaders to possibly think this. Last year- some diplomat [It might have been an Egyptian? I read the story a while back] swore to the media that he met with Obama in 2007, before he was running for Pres., and that Obama assured him he too was a Muslim and wanted to work for the peace of all people. Of course the story made headlines when Obama became president. The man never retracted the story. Then you did have the famous interview by George Stephanopoulos-a Clinton Democrat- where Obama did say ‘my Muslim faith’ if you watch it on UTUBE- it does not seem to be a slip of the tongue- it seems like he might have been used to embracing his past [Time in Indonesia as a boy- attended school with Muslims- his dad was a proud Muslim- etc.] while at the same time embracing his present Christian beliefs. Sort of like a person who is open to all types of cultures and religions- but who realized he couldn’t use that line if he were to run for president. I mean I can’t think of a more ‘acceptable’ explanation than this. These types of things [telling the diplomat he was indeed ‘part Muslim’ and seeming to embrace it during the interview] can’t simply be slips of the tongue. Now- do I think the president is Muslim? No. Do I think he might have played to that background in the past- in sort of a multi cultural way? Probably. But when you take all these dots- put them together in a book- then feed them to a king/president- who indeed is confused- family on the run for their lives- being told ‘step down now’ while Iran got a free pass [a real Muslim radical theocracy] in this environment was it possible for Mubarak to have told Wisner ‘your president is trying to destroy Egypt and Israel- we have read about all his past connections’ of course it’s possible for them to accept the narrative- and for Wisner to possibly have seen the real fear in these leaders faces- that would explain why he would publicly come out on TV and back Mubarak- against his own president. Now- I am not a ‘birther’ nor do I hold to the Manchurian Candidate conspiracy- I think Obama was sidelined with this whole crisis- did his best [yes- at times amateurish-I think Susan Rice and others lack real world experience] and he began commenting on the side of Mubarak- got blindsided- he did give a speech last year in Egypt- publicly telling the Egyptian people that he would be on their side in their future struggle for Democracy- and he probably got some advice saying ‘look- you told them you would be on their side- don’t make the same mistake you did in not supporting the Iranian protestors- this time side with freedom’ and he then makes the 180 degree turn- and he indeed caught Mubarak off guard-Mubarak was an ally for 30 years- Iran an enemy. Yet he sees it as he is the one getting thrown under the bus- not the radical Muslim country. Now- is it possible for Mubarak to believe the Manchurian narrative from his view? Of course! Okay- mistakes have been made- It’s probably best to go for a slow transition than a fast one- you need some time for other opposition parties to organize- right now you only have Mubarak’s party and the Muslim Brotherhood- not too many choices. And if we think it’s in our best interest- and Egypt’s- to give Mubarak a chance to save face- to give him some credit for his willingness to be our ally for 30 years- then let’s be smart about this- I see how the man might really be thinking that Beck was right all along! I personally don’t accept the theory- but when you have an 82 year old man- on the verge of him and his family possibly being killed or fleeing to some foreign country- yes, with stress like that- Beck just might be what the doctor called for.