The Rise and Fall of America’s Military Henchmen: History Repeats Itself? From the “King of Java” to the Pharaoh of Egypt

In “Dictators are “Disposable”: The Rise and Fall of America’s Military Henchmen: History Repeats Itself? From the “King of Java” to the Pharaoh of Egypt”, Michel Chossudovsky cautions against overestimating the role of people power in the toppling of Mubarak in Egypt, lest we overlook the other forces at play.  Reviewing the overthrow of Suharto, the brutal U.S. backed dictator of Indonesia, he argues that the regime change was induced by western powers because Suharto had outlived his usefulness to the global capitalist order.  He draws parallels with events in Egypt:

The outcome of Suharto’s demise was continuity. To this date, the military machine combined with a ruthless form of capitalist development prevails in Indonesia. The country is rich in natural resources. It is an oil producing economy. Yet poverty and unemployment are rampant. The country’s wealth is appropriated by foreign conglomerates with the support of the military machine and police apparatus.

Both Suharto and Mubarak were America’s henchmen recruited from the ranks of the military. They are disposable leaders. When they are no longer needed, they are replaced. In the words of Finian Cunningham in relation to Indonesia (1998), “the country’s military machine continues to operate with brutal efficiency…”

Democratic elections took place in 1999,  Abdurrahman Wahid was appointed president by the Parliament with Sukarno’s daughter Megawati as Vice President. Wahid was later impeached. The illusion of a populist government prevailed with Megawati as a figurehead president (2001-2004).

Meanwhile, the role of the military and its links to the US have remained unscathed. In 2004, a (former) career military commander with close ties to the Pentagon, trained at Fort Benning  and the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono became president. He was reelected in 2009.

Egypt: US Sponsored Coup d’Etat?

In Egypt, following Mubarak’s demise, the military machine prevails. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Egypt’s defense minister, commander in chief of the Armed Forces and since February 11, 2011 head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, is the de facto Head of State, the Vice presidency is held by Omar Suleiman. Both men are US appointees.