Israel Matzav

Egypt refuses to let Dempsey take detained Americans with him

During a visit earlier this month, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey attempted to obtain the release of 19 Americans being held in Egypt on charges of promoting democracy. Dempsey even attempted to take them with him on his private plane but to no avail.

"It appears that General Dempsey urged Egyptian officials he met to release the accused Americans and allow them to leave the country, so they may be tried in absentia," the Al-Ahram report said.

"The next day, the American request was even more persistent, with Dempsey saying he wanted to accompany the Americans on his private plane," said the report by a senior editor of the government's flagship newspaper.

Al-Ahram reported that the officials who met Dempsey told him the case was a judicial matter and only a court could lift the travel ban on the suspects.

After the meetings, Dempsey's spokesperson had said the general brought up the charges against the 19 Americans, workers with NGOs accused of receiving illicit foreign funding, but refused to elaborate on the discussions.

The prime suspect in the case is Sam LaHood, the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He heads the Egyptian chapter of the International Republican Institute, one of the American NGOs implicated in the case.

Ray LaHood told US broadcaster CBS on Friday that "there are a lot of people in our government, really top officials in our government, working night and day to resolve this issue," according to CBS's website.

Interesting. This is the first time I have seen Sam Lahood called the 'prime suspect.'

On Friday, Jonathan Tobin urged the Obama administration to stand up to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Of course, neither Egypt’s military or even the Brotherhood is actually interested in reliving their country’s disastrous wars with Israel. But they do believe President Obama hasn’t the guts to stand up to them on any issue, including the role of Americans in promoting democracy. Just like the ayatollahs in Iran, they see this administration as being too weak to stand up to them. Though they neither wish to lose their annual billion-dollar bribe nor to have to revert to a state of war with Israel, they think Obama hasn’t the nerve to force them to back down.

Though it is a bit late in the day for him to be able to change his reputation, it is incumbent on Obama to prove the Brotherhood wrong. While neither the United States nor Israel wants an already shaky treaty to collapse altogether, it is the Egyptians who have the most to lose in this equation. The American demand must be backed up. If the Egyptians want any more U.S. taxpayer money, they must back off on their crackdown on those trying to promote democracy in that country.

Don't hold your breath. Obama is still the 98-pound weakling. He won't change.

Labels: Egyptian army, Egyptian democracy, Martin Dempsey, Muslim Brotherhood

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:56 PM