I'm sure most of the Guardian's readers are aware of America's far Right wing media figures to some degree, but the Guardian's explanation of the American Right's bizarre view on the events in North Africa and the Middle East should cause more than a few British jaws to drop.
Middle East unrest according to Glenn Beck and friends
Beck, the apocalyptically-minded TV host, has the most complete theory on Egypt: the protests there are part of what he calls the "coming insurrection".
He illustrates how it will happen in the clip below using blackboards featuring maps of Europe and the Middle East. He marks friends with a yellow smiley face (Israel), "Frenemies" (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, etc.) with blue faces and enemies (Iran) with red. Through the use of stick-on fires to illustrate riots he announces to his American viewers: "I'm going to show you how all this cascades over to us".
Key to all it all is that Europe, as his map shows, is already in flames because of some of our recent street protests. Beck never explains the connection between the Greek government's austerity programme, tuition fees demonstrations in the UK and radical Islam (which no one on the ground in Egypt says is behind the protests there). Do I need to? Because I can't.
To cut to the chase, a new caliphate will emerge in the Middle East and push further east until China, as Beck puts it, says "Knock it off guys" and takes over India, reaching some way into Pakistan. The caliphate will then push north, which is when it will absorb the UK:
What happens to the overwhelming radical population of the UK, of radical Islamicists. What happens? Do they just sit around on their hands or do they see an opportunity? When you take the Marxists and you combine them with the radical in Islam the whole world begins to implode
'Obama is on the side of radical Islam'
Michael Savage, who calls Obama the "socialist-in-chief", talks over the US president's recent statement calling for a transition to democracy in Egypt.
Obama: ... people want the same things that we all want. A better life for ourselves and our children ...
Savage: What the heck does that mean? This is the rhetoric you would have heard from the Black Panthers
Michael Savage video
And here is a key quote:
Grievances? Here is the community organiser now using community organisational mentality for a nation of Egypt, which is flooded with the Muslim Brotherhood. This is astounding. We are listening to the biggest mistake in US diplomatic history. This fool. This pinheaded fool running this country either doesn't know his history or is on the side of radical Islam. There's no two ways about it
Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the US government'
Frank Gaffney, neoconservative:
There are questionable people who are sympathetic to the program of the stealth jihadists who have influence with the United States government. Some I think are actually working for it, but for sure people who are persuaded that the folks that they need to work with to reach out to the Muslim-American community, for example, who incessantly turn to Muslim Brotherhood organisations for that purpose, are a very real problem
(Via Think Progress / Gawker)
We will have a world war on our hands'
Bill O'Reilly forsees a domino effect where, aided by al-Jazeera, the Muslim Brotherhood takes charge in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt and Jordan and gives al-Qaida free reign.
Alex Jones Channel video
I am embarrassed for my country that so many of my fellow Americans take these ignoramuses seriously, and believe their wild ideas about parts of the world that they know next to nothing about.
UPDATE: Here's the latest Right Wing nonsense on Egypt from Rush Limbaugh's show this morning:
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Reagan Helps Us Analyze Obama's Carter-Style Bungling of Mubarak
RUSH: ...Obama gave a speech. In fact, he's made another message to Egyptians. This one has not aired in public in this country because it wasn't intended to. This message is specifically for Egyptians. We just got it this morning.
(playing of Egyptian spoof)
RUSH: That's the latest from on the ground in Egypt. You haven't heard that anywhere else because that's exclusive to us. If I didn't know better (and I may know better, I don't know) you look at this and Obama seems determined to give us Iran on the Nile. I mean, this is... Folks, there's something about this. I'm seeing so many people get to the bandwagon here claiming that this is a "pro-democracy" movement and that's what we're all about. Nobody's asking the question that I think is really crucial for us, and that is, how does this affect our No. 1 ally in the region, which is Israel? That doesn't even seem to be a factor out there, and it is somewhat troubling.
Limbaugh: "We Need To Be Rooting For Mubarak ... If You Are Concerned About U.S. National Interests"