I am interested in the impact of the shortage of Nasser's in the world today. Bashir Al Assad is the only true remaining Arab leader. This is something which ought to concern people in the west, because the lack of men like Nasser is why the world has so many of the problems it does today. The lack of leadership from the puppet Presidents and corrupt kings is what drives ordinary people into the hands of radical Islam. If there were leaders fighting for these peoples interests they would not look to such ideologies.

Nasser is perhaps most famous for nationalizing the Suez Canal. Of course we all know how that ended up - with attack from the imperialist armies of Britain, France and Israel. It is worth noting that when Nasser nationalized the canal this was judged as fair and just by the United Nations Security Council. Yet some historians still try to present Nasser as the bad guy in this story. I mean, how dare the President of Egypt take control of Egyptian territory, the cheek of the man.


He is also much reviled by some for leading Egypt in the 6 day war. This was a noble act by Nasser. He sought to protect his comrades in Syria from the imminent Israeli attack. Soviet intelligence had warned him of the inevitability of such an attack. So Egyptian forces were built up along the Sinai Peninsula. Of course this would give the Israeli's a conveniant pretext to make their attack and start the war that has shaped our world to this day.


When Nasser originally came to power he made some great changes to Egypt. He oversaw a new constitution which included in its aims "the eradication of imperialism, the extinction of feudalism, the destruction of capitalistic influence, and the establishment of a strong national army, of social justice, and of a sound democratic society."

He gave voting rights to women. an all too rare step in the Arab world. He also introduced free education.

He oversaw a huge nationalization drive which took control out of the hands of the neocolonialists and into the hands of the people. This included control of bankng and industry.

He was even viewed as a friend by many in the west. That was of course until he bought weapons from the communist world. Which automatically propelled one to the role of enemy and communist in such times. Nasser though should have been considered neither.

Never before or since has an Arab leader had such widespread love and support right across the Arab world. In his lifetime he achieved a union with Syria creating the UAR, he was one of the few people to recieve the Order of Lenin. Following his death in 1970 his funeral attracted over 5 million mourners.

This was not only Egypts loss, not only the Arabs loss, but the worlds loss and the gain of Islamic extremism and the puppet presidents and corrupt kings who have pillaged the Arab world.

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Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

He was an interesting character. I'm old enough to remember the "Suez Crisis" and the reaction of the British government at the time. I think Nasser was feared and hated by the West because he was a socialist. I know, I know, a simplistic idea, but heck I was only a kid at the time of Suez, I do remember though that the condemnation of Nasser mentioned "socialism" a lot.

That does seem the mosy likely story. At that time people were condemned for being socialists quite often, even those who weren't socialists - as Mono's Guatemala thread is testament to.

I really believe it is an example of some of the short sighted decision making of the cold war era. His treatment probably comes second only to aiding what is now the taliban, simply because they were fightng the Soviet Union. Sometimes its better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

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Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

Nasser was a tool and so was Sadat. Overthrowing King Farouk over the War of 1948 and loss with Israel.. then Nasser ended up getting his arse handed to him. Which is something I always get a chuckle out of.

Nasser ended up getting stuck in the same step all Socialist and Communist fall into.. a dictatorship. Nasser end up fueling hate towards Soviets (which bit the Soviets in the arse) as the Muslim Brotherhood saw Afghanistan as a way to get back at the Soviets for backing Nasser and his dictatorship. And the end result end up being Egypt relies on the US for aid and the Muslim Brotherhood's entrenched backing of Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda and the Chechens.

Way to go.. just imagine if his arse lived as long as Saddam and the problems it would have created.

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Pioneers are walking all around singing songs about Lenin and they should be shot for it.

Handlebars

"If you are looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror"- V

It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.
H. L. Mencken

come on you know you wanna play football..

Beagán agus a rá go maith.

Economic Left/Right: 3.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.87

Accurate and simple.

My problem with Nasser is he keeps the pretense that Egypt is a democracy, but then he imprisons opposition leaders. I am a non interventionist and it is THEIR country, but personally in order to respect that man I would need to know that he is truly the choice of his people.

Nasser died in about 1970. I think you mean Mubarek. And I agree, Egypt is a repressive state now.

Yes. Mubarak. The government here is almost as corrupt as the US (putting the opposition in jail for being opposition aside). It is full of paid off yes men who only vote on things because it benefits them in some way, or they have been paid to vote a certain way.

Still, life here is not so bad. The local police chief where I live gives me a hearty and friendly greeting every morning, and I'm off to swim in the red sea on the weekend. Thats not so repressive

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"Well done Dubya. You freakin' imbecile." - ViolaLee