The White House seems determined to encourage the loudest voices in Egypt to push Hosni Mubarak to relinquish the reins of Government. Perhaps White House and State Department staffers have been too enthralled by the beatings inflicted on U.S. reporters to notice that the real beating is being inflicted upon the true Egyptian voices for democracy and meaningful reform who initiated the first peaceful protest that has since been hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood. The New York Times would have us believe the Brotherhood has little clout and should not be taken seriously.
That's not what a prominent Egyptian, who knows a bit more about conditions in Egypt than the college professor writing for the NYT, thinks. His reasons for telling President Obama to slow down and back off are presented here.
At this point, no one knows whether the protests in Cairo will be a step toward democracy or a step toward a radical Islamist regime. Calling for Mubarak to turn his government over to an uprising that has yet to be defined is ill-advised and reckless.
According to this well-informed businessman, Egypt will descend into chaos if President Obama, and some "conservatives" such as Senator John McCain, continue their knee-jerk reactions to the protests by pushing Mubarak for an immediate transfer of power. The link above leads to an excellent overview of who was protesting what, and when, and what is at stake for Egypt, the region, and the U.S.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Obama Legitimizes Muslim Brotherhood One Day, Brotherhood Vows War with Israel the Next
One day after stating to a global audience that many groups, including the radical Muslim Brotherhood, should play roles in governing post-Mubarak Egypt if they would swear off violence, the Brotherhood dropped any charade of peaceful intentions by assuring they would cause Egypt to withdraw from it's peace treaty with Israel.
Apparently a decade of intelligence reports naming the Brotherhood as a terror sponsor and supplier wasn't enough to convince the President they really meant it when they said they want to establish a global Islamic caliphate on the smoking ruins of Israel, so the Brotherhood had to spell it out clearly for him today. Good luck Mr. President. Your diplomatic relations with a provisional Egyptian government will be very productive with such level-headed beheaders as the Muslim Brotherhood playing a role in Egypt's power structure.
Apparently a decade of intelligence reports naming the Brotherhood as a terror sponsor and supplier wasn't enough to convince the President they really meant it when they said they want to establish a global Islamic caliphate on the smoking ruins of Israel, so the Brotherhood had to spell it out clearly for him today. Good luck Mr. President. Your diplomatic relations with a provisional Egyptian government will be very productive with such level-headed beheaders as the Muslim Brotherhood playing a role in Egypt's power structure.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Timing is Everything in Middle East Revolutionary Uprisings
Is it mere coincidence that revolutionary uprisings bearing high global stakes seem to occur when the U.S. is led by foreign policy-weak Democratic Presidents and Secretaries of State? Jimmy Carter never saw the Ayatollah Khoemeni and his radical Islamic followers for what they were, and as a result, Iran never attained freedom and democracy that seemed possible when the initial protests against the Shah began. The product of Carter's waffling was a radical Islamist state bent on Israel's destruction and supplying anti-American terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East to the present day.
Today we see the same thing happening in Egypt. What may have begun as an uprising against Mubarak and for freedoms and democracy is rapidly being hijacked by Islamic radicals, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood. Intel experts worldwide have long identified the Brotherhood as a spawner of terrorist organizations, with ties to everyone from Hizbollah to al Qaeda. Yesterday, President Obama described the Muslim Brotherhood as a political entity in Egypt that should have a say in the future governance of that nation. President Obama is on the same floundering path that Jimmy Carter trod on the way to losing Iran, perhaps forever, to radical, Israel-threatening Islamists.
This column in the Washington Post warns that George W. Bush was right about supporting true democracy in the Middle East and that its peoples have an inborn desire for freedom http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/28/AR2011012803144.html. What freedoms will the Muslim Brotherhood establish or protect?
It is most unfortunate that the revolutionary spirit and uprisings for freedom in Iran and Egypt did not occur when Presidents were in office who could see groups like the Muslim Brotherhood for what they are, terrorist sponsors and suppliers. The Democrats thought George W. was a pie in the sky dreamer, or worse, for his fundamental belief that freedom and democracy in the Middle East is the long-term solution to global terrorism. Now, when given an opportunity to further democracy in Egypt, President Obama ignores the lessons of the past and embraces a radical Islamist group hijacking a revolution and steering it toward Iran part II.
Similar revolutionary uprisings are sprouting in Jordan. Lebanon appears to have already been lost to Hizbollah rule, controlled by Iran and Syria. If President Obama fails to stand with true revolutionaries for democracy in Egypt, and perhaps eventually in Jordan, against radical Islamist takeover, the ability to act will be taken from him just as it was from Jimmy Carter as he meekly allowed Iran to be taken hostage by Islamic militants, along with the ill-fated U.S. Embassy staff.
Today we see the same thing happening in Egypt. What may have begun as an uprising against Mubarak and for freedoms and democracy is rapidly being hijacked by Islamic radicals, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood. Intel experts worldwide have long identified the Brotherhood as a spawner of terrorist organizations, with ties to everyone from Hizbollah to al Qaeda. Yesterday, President Obama described the Muslim Brotherhood as a political entity in Egypt that should have a say in the future governance of that nation. President Obama is on the same floundering path that Jimmy Carter trod on the way to losing Iran, perhaps forever, to radical, Israel-threatening Islamists.
This column in the Washington Post warns that George W. Bush was right about supporting true democracy in the Middle East and that its peoples have an inborn desire for freedom http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/28/AR2011012803144.html. What freedoms will the Muslim Brotherhood establish or protect?
It is most unfortunate that the revolutionary spirit and uprisings for freedom in Iran and Egypt did not occur when Presidents were in office who could see groups like the Muslim Brotherhood for what they are, terrorist sponsors and suppliers. The Democrats thought George W. was a pie in the sky dreamer, or worse, for his fundamental belief that freedom and democracy in the Middle East is the long-term solution to global terrorism. Now, when given an opportunity to further democracy in Egypt, President Obama ignores the lessons of the past and embraces a radical Islamist group hijacking a revolution and steering it toward Iran part II.
Similar revolutionary uprisings are sprouting in Jordan. Lebanon appears to have already been lost to Hizbollah rule, controlled by Iran and Syria. If President Obama fails to stand with true revolutionaries for democracy in Egypt, and perhaps eventually in Jordan, against radical Islamist takeover, the ability to act will be taken from him just as it was from Jimmy Carter as he meekly allowed Iran to be taken hostage by Islamic militants, along with the ill-fated U.S. Embassy staff.
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