I found this at the Egyptian Chronicles blog (below), where it and some comments pissed me off so I replied. I don't know if Zeinobia will post it so I paste it here:
Brava, Zeinobia!
At Gary Lord: Can't deny W' contributed to Arab Spring? First, I get to decide what I can deny, not you. Second, I deny it! The dubious W' Tunisian cable was released two days AFTER ben Ali fled. Once again, that is AFTER ben Ali left the country.The fact that loyalist media like CNN and the Washington Post post-dated the lie doesn't make it true. Perhaps it is you who should contemplate changing news sources.
Did Muhamad Bouazizi's immolation have no effect? It happened months before the cable was released. Wikileaks was neither cause nor catalyst for the Tunisian revolution. Assange had nothing to do with it.
And what of Khaled Said? Was his murder not important? Should Zeinobia replace his photo with one of Julian Assange?
I wonder if this isn't just another case of racism. What Gary Lord is suggesting is as insulting as it is absurd. One has to believe that Arabs are just too darn stupid to understand when they are being oppressed, and need Julian Assange to enlighten them. One must believe that the people of Egypt and Tunisia were sitting around contentedly thinking they had it made until they saw those cables, and then millions of people poured into the streets as a result. That anyone attribute these uprisings to Assange, and that he now takes credit for them, is condescension and defamation toward the Arabs. It is an outrage.
I'm 51, and the Arab Spring has been the most exciting political development of my lifetime. The sight of all those brave people uniting against injustice has occasionally filled me with awe, and moved me to tears. To see these glorious eruptions of hope and humanity reduced to the machinations of one man, demeans not only the event, but the valor and brilliance of the people who made them happen. It is just obscene.
Ps, Those wishing to make contributions to Wikileaks can make their check out to the Central Intelligence Agency...
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/07/dear-julian-it-was-not-wikileaks.html#comment-form
