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.

counter-coup injury

"the people will be served" Obama said
when Egypt dragged Mubarak from his throne
but Saudis balked, and hopes were trampled, dead
as they installed a puppet of their own
the ArabSpring aspired to so much more
and Morsi tried to do the People's work
but he was booted out by Riyadh's whore
el-Sisi's quite the autocratic jerk
convenient strongmen run the trains on time
while bread and circus keeps the mobs amused
would it be petty to nickel and dime
our allies for each journalist abused?
Obama's legacy's just mortal-sized
too slim to justify that Nobel Prize

repressed

Mubarak trusted Clinton had his back
when ArabSpring dragged other despots down
Mukhabarat was primed for an attack
when Egypt roared for him to cede the crown
Obama called her home to have a chat
about priorities in the MidEast
just 'cause she dislikes CHANGE must not mean that
the U.S. is in bed with her pet beast
Obama flinched, the Saudis won this round
installing their man Sisi on the throne
now journalists are gagged, as well as bound
and Morsi rots in his dank cell, alone
democracy world-wide seems in retreat
until the next spark lights the ArabStreet

under the bus

Mohammed Morsi shook the Saudi throne
assuming rule by popular consent
if Arabs could select one of their own
what others might embrace his precedent
but Washington won't call this coup a "coup"
and billions unabated flow in aid
no matter what the Cairo junta do
we guarantee the officers get paid
behind our rhetoric, one hard fact lurks
the people on the street don't have our trust
in Egypt, it's the army corps that works
where other institutions are a bust
we preach the Rights of Man, but it's a sham
when--tangibly--we just don't give a damn

exceptionalism

el-Sisi's a convenient autocrat
compliant to his Saudi masters' will
a half-domestic military cat
who butchers whom his patrons bid him kill
democracy was nipped off in the bud
for fear their Arab brothers would grow bold
he washed the streets of Cairo down in blood
and hopes the opposition parties fold
hope springs eternal in the human breast
and people everywhere want what we've got
we condescend to tell them what is best
but crush them if they would improve their lot
'til we treat Arabs like they're people, too
no neighborhood is safe to be a Jew

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