The West wants “stability” in the Middle East. So the status-quo works just fine. But wait, how about democracy? Well, maybe, but just so long as those fundamentalist Islamists (or anybody who is a Muslim, really) doesn’t take over.
Slavoj Žižek gets it in one:
The hypocrisy of western liberals is breathtaking: they publicly supported democracy, and now, when the people revolt against the tyrants on behalf of secular freedom and justice, not on behalf of religion, they are all deeply concerned. Why concern, why not joy that freedom is given a chance? Today, more than ever, Mao Zedong’s old motto is pertinent: “There is great chaos under heaven – the situation is excellent.”
Where, then, should Mubarak go? Here, the answer is also clear: to the Hague. If there is a leader who deserves to sit there, it is him.