What Money Can't Buy

Well, there's "love" according to the Beatles, but we were thinking more about just a little loyalty, a little respect from people on whom we have spent a pretty penny.

O.K., the graphic tipped you off. We're talking about Egypt, our staunch friend in the Middle East. $50 billion we have lavished on them since they made peace with Israel. More than $1 billion a year, on average.

So, we want to do a little regime change in the neighborhood, get rid of a bad guy, clean up the place, plant democracy and what do we get ?

We get Al-Ahram, Egypt's largest newspaper and one regarded as the virtual voice of the government, giving us a quick one where it hurts. "Predictable defeat", "imperial diktats", "plundering [Iraq's] natural resources" and on and on and on. If you can stand to see President Bush's policies disrepected in print, read it here.

Now the choice is: do we up the ante by throwing in Lake Tahoe or do we bomb Al-Ahram ?

Stay Naked