The  response of the US political establishment to the popular uprising in  Egypt reveals the hypocrisy of a long-standing bipartisan foreign  policy consensus.  Unlike Democrats and Republicans, Greens and  Libertarians are united in their support for the people of Egypt in  their fight to topple its oppressive regime.

The  protest movement that erupted in Egypt over two weeks ago aiming to  topple the nation’s authoritarian regime, headed by Hosni Mubarak,  immediately captured the attention of the global media and heightened an  acute contradiction in the decades-old foreign policy consensus of the  US political establishment.  Rhetorically, the bipartisan  Democratic-Republican party consensus stands for the expansion of  freedom and democracy across the world.  In actuality, however,  Democratic and Republican administrations alike have consistently  supported repressive and tyrannical governments with massive amounts of  foreign aid.

Hosni  Mubarak assumed the presidency of Egypt in 1981 following the  assassination of Anwar El Sadat.  The government of Egypt has imposed  “emergency rule” on its people more or less continuously since 1967.   Under this law, the country’s president has free reign to restrict the  freedom of assembly and speech, police are empowered to search and seize  any individual at will, and the government has the authority to arrest  and imprison citizens indefinitely without trial.  Among the primary  demands of the protest movement in Egypt are the resignation of Hosni  Mubarak, the repeal of the emergency law, and the implementation of legitimate constitutional reforms.

The  United States has provided between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in military  and economic aid to Egypt every year since 1979.  The untoward uses to  which such aid is put became apparent when the state’s police forces  sought to quell the January 25th uprising and launched all out attacks  on protesters.  As ABC News reported on January 28th:

“Egyptian riot police are firing tear gas  canisters bearing the label "Made in U.S.A" against street  demonstrations in Cairo.”  The article continues, “the protesters see  U.S. aid as the key that allowed President Hosni Mubarak to hold power  for almost thirty years.”

The  contradiction between the rhetoric of the US political establishment regarding  the promotion of freedom and democracy abroad, and the reality of the  bipartisan Democratic-Republican foreign policy consensus in support of  dictatorial regimes, has been apparent for quite some time.  As George W. Bush stated in an address to the United Nations General Assembly in 2004,  “For too long, many nations, including my own, tolerated, even excused,  oppression in the Middle East in the name of stability.”  The disconnect  persists, however, and is obvious in the confused response of the Obama  administration to the events unfolding in Egypt.  Administration  officials and emissaries continue to express support for both Mubarak  and the protest movement that seeks to topple his government.  On the  other side of the duopoly divide, Republicans are equally conflicted about the popular uprising half a world away.

Unlike  the Democrats and Republicans, the Green and Libertarian parties have  both taken an unambiguous stance in support of the Egyptian people and  against the bipartisan Democratic-Republican policy in favor of foreign  entanglements with corrupt and repressive regimes.

Green  Party leaders declared their support for non-violent protesters in  North Africa and throughout the Middle East in a statement issued late  last month.

“The Green Party of the United States supports democracy,  here, and throughout the world. We hope that the protesters in Egypt  succeed in deposing President Mubarak, and we're thrilled to see so many  young people stand up against dictators,” said Dr. Anthony Gronowicz, a  former Green candidate for Congress and a member of the party's  International Committee.

“We condemn the brutal responses to the  protests, including police violence and the shutdown of the Internet,"  he continued.

David Doonan, the mayor of Greenwich New York and a Green  Party member, criticized the US policy of supporting dictators such  as Hosni Mubarak.

“The US continues to send the Egyptian government  billions of dollars in military aid, some of it now being used by  security forces to beat and teargas protesters,” he said, adding, “For  true stability in the region, North African and Middle Eastern  governments must serve the interests of their own people instead of the  demands of the US State Department and western business."

This  sentiment was echoed in a statement released by Libertarian Party Chair  Mark Hinkle.  Hinkle declares his support for the Egyptian democracy  movement on the basis of the Declaration of Independence.

“My  sympathies are with the Egyptian protesters. Our very own Declaration of  Independence said that government exists to secure people's rights, and  'whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it  is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute  new government,” he wrote.  Hinkle then calls on the US government to  cease “foreign meddling.”

“In almost every case, U.S. intervention has  made American taxpayers poorer, and it has usually served to entrench  corrupt authoritarian rulers,” he stated, calling for an end to such  “aid.” “Libertarians call for the U.S. government to stop interfering  in the Egyptian crisis, and to end foreign aid to all nations, including  Egypt.”

Those  who continue to advocate US intervention and aid in every corner of the  globe in the supposed interest of promoting freedom and democracy  abroad might consider revisiting George Washington’s farewell address  and reflect on the state of freedom and democracy at home:

“The nation  which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness  is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its  affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty  and its interest.”