our son of a bitch

Obama urged Mubarak to just go
Egyptians long for freedom, same as us.
But Clinton feared to lay a strongman low
and threw Mohammed Morsi 'neath the bus.
el-Sisi butchers Muslims in the square,
but Saudis back him as a force for good
as if barbarity were somehow fair
when they're confronted with the Brotherhood.
A Clinton never fails to compromise
when wealthy donors want to bend a rule;
Riyadh's not challenged on its grossest lies
when policy's enacted by their tool.
Our empty hymns to Liberty fall flat
when we embrace convenient autocrats.

wih friends like these...

the Cairo junta disappears its foes
and makes a mockery of Rule of Law
democracy's exploring a new low
 as Morsi writhes in Riyadh's puppet's jaws
the Arsenal of Liberty's a whore
embracing tyrants when it serves our ends
opposing whom we hate buys merit more
than any ethics one seeks in a friend
we rule a despot "good" or "bad" at will
depending on the crises of the day
and even Josef Stalin fit the bill
until--with Hitler dead--we parted ways
no moral compass could plot out this course
where "rights" are merely figleaf for brute force