US politicians show delusions of grandeur

It's really fascinating to see US politicians ordering foreign governments around. You would think they have no concept of sovereignty, the way they huff and puff in front of the TV cameras, insisting that erstwhile US puppet dictators hew to the party line:

The Associated Press: Egypt's ruling generals play risky game with US: "Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, demanded that Egypt return all assets and funds seized in the raids of the NGOs, allow them to reopen their offices and end the investigations and prosecutions.
"The Egyptian government's actions cannot be taken lightly and warrant punitive actions against certain Egyptian officials, and consideration of a cutoff of U.S. assistance to Egypt," she said."

Since when does Washington make demands to other governments?

Well, since always actually. Up until recently, those things were usually handled in private, and the paymasters got their way -- no question.

Now, however, there's a different calculus in play. The US never demands the Israelis follow orders. If anything, the Likudniks set the tone, and Washington politicians fall over themselves to show their obsequiousness.

With war brewing in Syria and Iran, the US is embroiled in too many controversies at the moment to play its enforcer role in every little dispute that arises. The Egyptians, under their own pressures with a restive population, will use the opportunity to enlarge its capacity to act unilaterally. This is only to be expected when the world order not only tolerates the suppression of dissent, but nearly requires it.

Note the harsh repression of the Occupy movement in the US.

It's fascinating in its own way how quickly the power of the US empire has declined, and will continue to decline in years to come. The days of some two-bit politician demanding that foreign powers bow down before them are quickly receding into history.

Pretty soon, we'll all see chumps like Ros-Lehtinen for the yapping little lapdogs they are.