This Week with Christiane Amanpour - Feb. 13, 2011

Guests:
Newt Gingrich
Sameh Shoukry - Egypt Ambassador to the U.S.
Terry Moran - ABC news
Martha Raddatz - ABC news
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Amanpour: whoa ‘people power’ overthrew
a 30-year dictator in Egypt so of course we will talk to Newt Gingrich

Audience: yay

Amanpour: 18 days that shook the world - the people fought for their freedom and democracy
and they won

Audience: wow

Amanpour: last week Mubarak told me he wouldn’t leave but the people wouldn’t accept anything less and the military backed the protesters

Audience: woo hoo

Amanpour: Mubarak tried to stay - but the people were furious and just like that Mubarak was out

Obama: the Egyptian people have demanded democracy which someday may inspire Americans to do the same

Terry Moran: there is already split among protesters - those who want to stay in the square and demand real hope and change those think enough has
been done

Audience: sounds familiar

Amanpour: speaking of out-of-touch egomaniacs - here’s Newt Gingrich

Amanpour: you called Obama timid, confused and amateurish

Gingrich: right Obama is weak and stupid and just keeps getting lucky

Amanpour: so what would have done about Egypt?

Gingrich: I would tell Mubarak privately and quietly he must leave but you must never abandon an ally or our dictator friends will think we don’t support dictators like Mubarak which we don’t

Amanpour: don’t you think they will figure it out when Mubarak updates his Facebook page?

Gingrich: no they don’t get the Internet in Syria
or Texas

Amanpour: you loved Mubarak once - not without cause

Gingrich: right - look my position is very very clear - we should maintain two conflicting policies

Amanpour: Obama openly supported the protesters

Gingrich: but he cut funds to them

Amanpour: so you support democracy there?

Gingrich: no I don’t because the Muslim Brotherhood is scary

Amanpour: so what do we do now?

Gingrich: threaten to pull our $1 billion in aid if they don’t put in a friendly government

Amanpour: why would you do that

Gingrich: because America stands for freedom

Amanpour: what does that mean concretely?

Gingrich: demand the Muslim Brotherhood be banned from participation in democracy

Amanpour: why would you do that?

Gingrich: they are conservative radicals who have a 30-year to plan to take over the government starting with the schools

Amanpour: I didn’t know the tea party was in Egypt

Amanpour: How do you reconcile democracy with fear of Muslims?

Gingrich: Did you know Adolf Hitler was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Zimbabwe?

Amanpour: you are fascinating - are you running
for President?

Gingrich: yes - it’s a great way to scam money from people

Amanpour: excellent

[ break ]

Amanpour: Who is in charge of Egypt?

Shoukry: the Supreme Military Council

Amanpour: that’s very comforting - but what
about democracy?

Shoukry: we’ll get to that in due time

Amanpour: what about the Emergency Law?

Shoukry: we need to keep that - this is a real emergency

Amanpour: and elections?

Shoukry: we will have those in a year or ten

Amanpour: nice - will the new government be pro-America?

Shoukry: it will be pro-Egypt

Amanpour: where is Mubarak?

Shoukry: I’m not sure - he Tweeted me from Disneyworld

Amanpour: what about the peace treaty with Israel?

Shoukry: it’s very nice - after all who wants war?

Amanpour: George Bush did

Shoukry: ah but he said he didn’t

Amanpour: that’s what worries me

Martha Raddatz: People in Yemen are protesting
but it’s scary because it’s a major breeding ground for al-qaeda

Audience: oooh

Raddatz: the failed underpants bomber was trained in Yemen

Audience: eeek

Radd: the U.S. has given Yemen’s military $250 million to fight al-qaeda and it is stronger than ever

Audience: umm ok

Radd: then the U.S. government killed a few
Yemen civilians

Audience: oops sorry

Yemenis: kaithnx America
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