Israel Matzav

Co-Founder of Egyptian Salafist party met with Tzipi Livni

The co-founder of the Egyptian Salafist party, a group of extremist Muslims, met with former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni at Harvard in April according to a report in Egyptian media (Hat Tip: MFS - The Other News).

Alwaght- Egyptians were shocked when the Arabic language newspaper, Youm7, revealed that the co-founder of Egypt’s Salafist Nour Party has met with the Israeli Regime's former foreign minister.

The influential daily revealed on the weekend that extremist Nour Party's Nader Bakkar has hold secret meeting with notorious Tzipi Livni in April at Harvard University.

The meeting that was reportedly held at Bakkar’s request has sparked a storm of controversy in Egyptian media.

...

Salafism is an ultra-conservative movement within Sunni Islam that advocats a return to the traditions of the "devout ancestors". The doctrine can be summed up as taking "a fundamentalist approach to Islam".

The Nour Party's co-founder and deputy chairman, Bakkar, Bakkar was awarded a scholarship to pursue a master’s in public administration at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Muslim Brotherhood accused the aspiring young politician of unjustly winning a fellowship to attend the prestigious Harvard University in return for his party’s betrayal of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. 

The Salafi party sided with the Armed Forces against the Brotherhood during Morsi’s ouster, and since then has continued to support President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s administration.

...

A few months before his graduation, however, Livni visited Harvard on 16 April to give a lecture on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Sources reportedly told the Egyptian newspaper that after finding out that Livni was coming to speak, Bakkar contacted the society to arrange a closed meeting with Livni.

She agreed and the meeting took place inside the university after her lecture. 

According to Youm7, Nader Bakkar’s meeting with Tzipi Livini lasted around 40 minutes, in which Bakkar talked about the strength of the Nour Party and its popularity, that he was the main reason for the (Muslim) Brotherhood’s success after the 25 January revolution…

Livni- who has reportedly conducted sexual relations with Arab officials during her years as a Mossad agent in an attempt to entrap them- did not reveal the meeting at the time, but sources close to her confirmed to the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) that the meeting took place.

And you thought Livni hated religious people... oh... wait... it's only religious Jews she hates.

But yes, I do believe Livni met with Bakkar. I doubt anything came of it. Much ado about nothing.

Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt, Egyptian regime change, Egyptian Revolution, Harvard University, Mohammed Morsy, Mossad, Salafists, Tzipi Livni

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:23 PM 1 comments

Video report on Mubarak acquittal

Here's a CBS News report on the acquittal of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Let's  go to the videotape.



More from Ed Morrissey here.

Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Cairo, Egyptian Revolution, Hosni Mubarak, Mohammed Morsy, Muslim Brotherhood, Tahrir Square

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:50 PM 0 comments

Mubarak acquitted, Tahrir erupts

Tahrir Square, Cairo, exploding once again after gov't drops all charges against former president Mubarak. #Egypt
— James Miller (@MillerMENA) November 29, 2014

Developing....

Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Cairo, Egyptian Revolution, Hosni Mubarak, Tahrir Square

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:59 PM 0 comments

Egypt's al-Sisi slams Hagel over aid suspension

Who's afraid of the Obama administration? Certainly not Egyptian army chief Abdel Fatteh al-Sisi.

Egypt does not appreciate the way in which the US hints at suspending aid from time to time, army chief Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Sisi communicated in a strongly worded message to US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel during a conversation last Thursday.

This is especially true when dealing with a country the size of Egypt, the military leader added.

Egypt rejects any external pressure that seeks to affect its domestic affairs, Sisi said, according to a military source quoted on Friday in the London- based daily Al-Hayat.

Among those standing in line to replace US aid are the Gulf countries.

After Morsi was deposed, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates promised Egypt a total of $12b. in loans, grants and fuel shipments. The aid has kept the economy afloat and may give Egypt some policy flexibility.

“Compared to Gulf aid, American aid is peanuts. It won’t financially affect Egypt and could easily be filled by Gulf countries,” said Abdullah al-Askar, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Saudi Arabia’s Shoura Council, an appointed parliament that has only advisory powers. “People in the Gulf do not see [cutting the aid] as a democratic message. Otherwise why is America allowing the Syrian regime to continue killing people every day?” Both Saudi Arabia and Egypt – America’s most important allies in the Arab world – are frustrated with US policy and see Washington as an indecisive superpower.

“The US position is not clear and not understood and comes at a time when Egypt needs help,” a government official said. “For sure the US will lose the support of the Egyptian people and it is natural that the void it leaves by its loss of the Egyptian people will benefit another power in the world.”

And you thought that Obama would improve American relations with the Arab Muslim world.... 

Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Barack Hussein Obama, Chuck Hagel, Egyptian army, Egyptian Revolution

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:47 AM 0 comments

US suspends some aid to Egypt

You would hope that at least a move like this would have some connection to the current budget crisis in the United States. But of course it doesn't. It's pure politics. President Hussein Obama so misses his friend, Muslim Brotherhood chair Mohammed Morsy, that he is partially suspending aid to Egypt.

To signal its displeasure at the Egyptian military’s bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, officials said, the United States would withhold the delivery of several big-ticket items, including Apache attack helicopters, Harpoon missiles, M1-A1 tank parts and F-16 warplanes, as well as $260 million for the general Egyptian budget.

But in a sign of how the administration is balancing its interests, senior officials said the United States would continue aid for counterterrorism programs as well as for Egypt’s efforts to protect its borders and secure the Sinai, which has become a haven for extremists.

In announcing the decision, administration officials reiterated that the Egyptian military’s brutal repression of supporters of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, was not acceptable. But in explaining their specific steps, American officials sounded as if they were reaffirming a valuable relationship rather than delivering a rebuke. 

...

The announcement laid bare the underlying calculations that have shaped the United States’ effort to respond to the upheaval in Egypt ever since the crackdown began in July, leaving more than 1,000 people dead.

American officials have long doubted that cutting back military aid would have any effect on the behavior of Egypt’s military-backed government. The United States also does not want to jeopardize security interests in Egypt, notably counterterrorism efforts, the stability of the Sinai Peninsula and the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

Prior to the official announcement of the aid withdrawal on Wednesday, The New York Times quoted an Israeli official as warning that the US was "playing with fire."

The official reportedly stated that US aid to Cairo is part of Israel's 1979 peace treaty with Egypt and is also an important element of the United States' standing in the Arab world.

"If America is seen to be turning its back on Egypt, an old ally, how will it be seen? People will see it as the United States dropping a friend,” the Times quoted the official a saying.

You mean they'll see it like US treatment of Israel, but the Arab world will react differently than Israel does. Right?

Jennifer Dyer writes that the aid cutoff is the wrong move: 

Obama is already seen by too many in the Middle East as backing the Muslim Brotherhood. This latest move will only reinforce that dangerous perception. Unfortunately, it also throws into question America’s current attitude toward the investment we made in the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, in which control of the Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt and the two nations agreed to demilitarize it and observe confidence-building forms of consultation over its security.

A key element of that agreement, proposed in the consultations at Camp David in 1978, was the U.S. investment in the military posture of both nations. Washington doesn’t arm Egypt just because we like Egyptians and think they’re great, although of course we do. We arm Egypt as part of our commitment to the regional-stability vehicle that is the peace between Egypt and Israel.

The 1979 peace accord is a core element of our policy in the region: a foundation, a base, a pillar, a first principle, a sine qua non. Like our investment in the Organization of American States, like our investment in NATO, like our investment in our alliances with our Far Eastern allies, our investment in the 1979 peace accord is policy bedrock for the United States. We do things just because of it: because it’s still our policy, and it’s our policy for good reason. Because it keeps the peace.

What Obama has chosen to withhold in the partial suspension of aid to Egypt is precisely the list of major weapon systems that we supply as our investment in the Egyptian peace accord with Israel: the F-16 fighter jets, the Apache helicopters, the Harpoon missiles, the upgrade kits for M1A1 Abrams tanks. The counterterrorism aid that will not be interrupted is not significant to Egypt’s security posture vis-à-vis Israel; what matters is the major, conventional weapon systems.

...

I can never quite tell if what we’re seeing from the Obama administration is ineptitude coupled with a peculiar, triangulated ideological moralism, or if it’s something else (it’s hard to even say what). It seems unlikely to me that there was no one – no one at all – involved in the administration’s deliberations on this who understood the ramifications for the 1979 accord and Middle East stability in general. But if there was someone, how did things get done in this careless, haphazard manner?

Exit question: how much longer can any semblance of a status quo in global security hold, with the United States government exercising no care to at least observe its forms?

Exhaustion is setting in, so all I will add is that Obama felt he had to do something, so he did the wrong something again.

Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Barack Hussein Obama, Egyptian Revolution, Mohammed Morsy

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:02 AM 1 comments

Bernard Henri Levy rips Turkish PM Erdogan

Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that Israel was behind the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, using French Jewish philosopher Bernard Henri Levy. Here's a Turkish interview with Levy that's been translated into English.

Why do you think that Erdogan mentioned you by name and held you responsible for the overthrow of the government in Egypt?

He's out of his mind. He's come unhinged, flipped out. Sorry, but in France, in the United States, people can't stop laughing.

Do you have the power to do that? Is there anybody in the world powerful enough to change the government of another country?

Of course not! That's what makes this business so grotesque. It's a classic scenario. You're faced with a situation that you don't understand. You've lost your grip on the tiller. You've also lost a client, the Muslim Brotherhood, on which you had bet heavily and for which you had great ambitions. And boom, in the panic, you look for a simple explanation. A diabolical one. And in the category of "the devil's work" no one has ever found better than the indestructible "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," which, I remind you, has been a bestseller under Mr. Erdogan's regime. Pathetic.

Nevertheless, they say that Israel is backing the military ...

Maybe, I don't really know. But Israel is Israel, and I'm me. And Erdogan's stupid attack came on the same day that a column of mine appeared in various papers in Europe and elsewhere in which I said how horrified I was at the bloodbath that Cairo had become. 

...

So we're in agreement: You said that democracy was not only a question of ballot boxes?

It was an open, live discussion of the sort I engage in everywhere, all the time, and would one day like to have in Istanbul, fielding questions from the audience. So obviously I don't recall my exact words. But, yes, I believe that democracy is more than elections alone; it is also a set of values, foremost among which are the freedom of thought, the plurality of opinion, secularity, and respect for the rule of law.

Are elections indispensable to democracy? What is indispensable to democracy?

There is no democracy without elections, of course. But I repeat: Democracy is also an open and pluralistic society, respect for individual freedom, freedom of thought, freedom of religion, and freedom of lifestyle. It is also the resolution of conflicts, class conflicts in particular, through law. It is a nonpartisan and secular civil service. Last but not least, democracy requires respect by the ruling party for the opposition and minorities. Is there anything on the list I've just given you that you recognize as dear to the Muslim Brotherhood? 

...

Is there a relation between your Judaism and your antipathy for the Muslim Brotherhood?

I am indeed Jewish, profoundly so. But at the risk of disappointing you, I do not believe that this is the source of my antipathy. Are you aware of the history of the Muslim Brotherhood? Its origins? The organization was founded in 1928 as a sort of Arab version of Nazism. It is widely assumed that Nazism was an exclusively European phenomenon. Not true. There was also an Arab Nazism, embodied at the time by the first Muslim Brothers, those of Hassan al-Banaa. Much water has spilled over the dam since then, of course. And today's Muslim Brothers are not the same as those of the 1930s. But for me, their origin is a sufficient reason to mistrust them.

What is your assessment of the turmoil in the Muslim world? And do you think the Muslim countries are as united as they should be?

Why should they be "united"? Is it that one must be for "unity" at any price? The Muslim world consists of at least three civilizations: Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. And it harbors at least two great political aspirations, the aspiration, first, toward peace, democracy, and human rights; the second the temptation of obscurantism. Is it really desirable, under the pretext of "unity," to mix all that together? Do the Turks want to let the AKP tie them up in petty rules in order to present a united front against a world that a paranoid leader sees as uniformly hostile? In Turkey, as in Iran and Egypt, I believe in the salutary power of division--that is, of political difference--and I believe in the long-term victory of secular forces and of the spirit of enlightenment and progress.

After this affair and these allegations will it be possible for Israel and Turkey to work together again?

Yes, of course. Relations between two great countries don't hinge on fits of temper or minor quarrels.

There were negotiations after the Mavi Marmara incident, but nothing was resolved.

Yes. Because of Erdogan. And despite the fact that Shimon Peres apologized the day after. No, believe me, and excuse me for putting this so bluntly: You Turks have a real Erdogan problem. If Turkey is going to resume normal relations with its natural partners--which is to say, with the democracies and with Israel in particular--it's going to have to turn the page on Erdogan.

Do you have ties with the Israeli intelligence service?

Is that a joke? Or are you serious?

Some here wonder.

The same people who prosecuted individuals like Orhan Pamuk and Elif Safak, who assassinated the great Hrant Dink on the pretext that he was a traitor to his country. In Turkey, as elsewhere, there are idiots who can't quite understand the idea that there may be such a thing as free and independent thinkers. I'm one of them. And, in that capacity, I defend Israel's right to exist, but also the right of the Palestinians to a state of their own. I fight against anti-Semitism in my own country, but I also founded SOS Racisme. I struggle against Le Pen in France, but it was in Libya, alongside the Libyan revolutionaries, that I put my life on the line. 

Not to mention my time in Bangladesh in 1971 or my love for Afghanistan. Nor the years I spent in defense of Bosnia, which have just earned me--and I'm very proud of this--the title of honorary citizen of the city of Sarajevo. Nor the most recent position I have taken (which Mr. Erdogan ignores but which I invite him to consider), where, despite my distaste for the Muslim Brotherhood, I have stood up against the carnage being wrought as we speak by the Egyptian military government.

Read the whole thing.

Labels: Egyptian Revolution, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish obsession with Israel

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:31 PM 0 comments

2011 Egyptian revolution orchestrated by Hamas, Hezbullah... and Obama?

Writing in The National, a daily newspaper published in the United Arab Emirates, Bradley Hope attaches much importance to the role of the heretofore largely ignored prison escape of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsy in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Hope reports that escape was orchestrated by Hamas and Hezbullah, and that the revolution started from pro-democracy NGO's financed by the United States, and was then hijacked by the Islamists.

According to the testimony by Omar Suleiman, the powerful former director of Egypt's national intelligence directorate, the Wadi Natroun prison break may have been part of a well-planned operation to liberate jails across the country, carried out by Egyptian Bedouins with the help of Islamists in Egypt and abroad.

Testifying on September 14, 2011, in the trial of Mubarak on charges of complicity in the deaths of protesters during the 2011 uprising, Suleiman said Egypt's spy agencies started monitoring communications between members of Hamas and Bedouins in Sinai on January 26, 2011 - one day after mass protests broke out.

"Hamas communicated with the Bedouins and agreed that they would provide them with ordnance in exchange for assistance in freeing their comrades from Egyptian prisons," said Suleiman, according to a transcript of his court testimony.

The Al Qassam Brigades, the militant wing of Hamas, "created a diversion so that the border guards would not pursue the smuggled ordnance. Thus the weapons, ammunition and explosives were successfully smuggled and given to the Bedouins," he said.

With up to 90 Gaza-based members of Hizbollah, Hamas militants then entered Egypt illegally and led the assaults on prisons across the country, said Suleiman, who died in July last year.

...

In his court testimony, Suleiman, acknowledged that unequal income distribution, unemployment and other legitimate grievances of Egyptians brought about Mubarak's downfall. He insisted, however, that external actors exploited these wrongs to help bring his former boss down.

This view is now being taken further by some Egyptians as they seek to explain their country's zigzag course back to a state of emergency, one of the most reviled pillars of Mubarak's rule. The role of foreign influences, including United States funding for civil society groups in Egypt, looms ever larger in their attempts to explain and justify it.

To many former members of Mubarak's National Democratic Party such as Ali El Dean Hilal Dessouki, it seems increasingly plausible to suggest that foreign Islamists, with the aid of the Brotherhood, infiltrated the protests and hijacked the revolution, setting Egypt on a path that culminated with the military's intervention on July 3.

This "second revolution", as the coup against Mr Morsi is sometimes referred to, is more meaningful and legitimate than the first, he said.

It is, Mr Dessouki said, the first "exclusively internal Egyptian uprising."

Asked why the Mubarak regime collapsed so quickly, he said it was too soon to know for certain. But he pointed to many signs of foreign intervention, including the prison break and foreign funding of non-government organisations.

Read the whole thing.

Undermining Mubarak's rule in the hope of turning Egypt into a democracy was the sort of naive action that we have come to expect from the Obama administration. It's why they've gotten the Middle East all wrong from the beginning (recall their insistence on the Muslim Brotherhood attending Obama's Cairo speech in 2009). And given the opportunity, he will compound his mishandling of the Middle East by creating a state of 'Palestine.'

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Egyptian democracy, Egyptian Revolution, Hosni Mubarak, Mohammed Morsy

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:36 AM 1 comments

Sharp decline in turnout for Muslim Brotherhood protests in Egypt

Asharq al-Awsat reports a sharp decline in turnout for Muslim Brotherhood protests in Egypt (Hat Tip: IMRA).

The Muslim Brotherhood’s attempts to organize protests to demand the reinstatement of ousted president Mohamed Mursi on Friday ended quietly as the total number of protesters declined markedly from previous weeks.

The small turnout prompted speculations over a drop in the group’s popularity among Egyptians.

Pro-Mursi protests were met with public condemnation across Egypt, and anti-Brotherhood protesters reportedly attacked Islamists and tore down their placards.

Those overseeing the situation in Egypt attributed the small turnout to the absence of communication among Brotherhood members and protest organizers, as well as the heightened security measures.

...

Marches did go through the streets of Cairo, with protesters denouncing defense minister Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi as a ”traitor.” They also chanted: “It is not about the Brotherhood. . . . It’s a war against Islam.”

But despite fewer protesters taking to the streets, Egypt witnessed several acts of violence on Friday. At least one Mursi supporter was reported killed and 25 injured in scuffles between pro- and anti-Mursi demonstrators.

In Al-Sharqia Governorate, violence broke out as Mursi supporters were pelted with stones and empty glass bottles for shouting slogans against Sisi.

In the Suez Governorate, explosives experts detonated a hand grenade, a security source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Law and order can be restored when the authorities want badly enough that it be restored. It's kind of like 'yes, there is a military solution' in a different context. 

Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egyptian army, Egyptian Revolution, Mohammed Morsy, Muslim Brotherhood

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:40 AM 0 comments

Erdogan looks for hug from Obama

Turkish Prime Minister whined on Saturday over American comments about his blaming Israel for the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt. This is from the first link.

On Saturday, Erdogan said the US should not have responded to his comments, adding Washington’s reactions had “saddened” him, as the remarks were aimed at Israel and not at the US.

“When I said that, an answer came from the White House. I was saddened. Because the interlocutor [of the comments] was not the White House. I did not mean the United States, but Israel,” Erdogan told the crowd during a ceremony in his hometown Rize.

“What is it to the White House that it should respond? It should not have mentioned it, it should not had reacted like this. As two members of NATO, that one ally shows this kind of approach to the other is not appropriate,” Erdogan said.

Asked to comment about Erdogan’s statement, an Israeli government official responded with one word: “Nonsense.”

The Egyptian interim government rejected Erdogan’s statement as “baseless,” irrational and “very bewildering,” saying its patience was running thin with Turkey, one of the biggest critics of the July 3 military coup. “Its purpose is to strike at the unity of Egyptians,” the government said in a statement.

The end of Erdogan as a world power? Heh. 

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Egyptian Revolution, Mohammed Morsy, Muslim Brotherhood, Recep Tayyip Erdogan

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:26 AM 1 comments

Mubarak ordered freed, coud be released as early as Thursday

An Egyptian court has ordered former President Hosni Mubarak freed, saying that there is no further ground to hold him. He could leave his prison cell as early as Thursday.

Convening on Wednesday at the Cairo jail where Mubarak is held, the court upheld a petition from his lawyer demanding the release of the man who ruled Egypt for 30 years until he was overthrown during the uprisings that swept the Arab world in early 2011.

Judicial and security sources said the court had ordered Mubarak's release. His lawyer, Fareed al-Deeb, confirmed this as he left Tora prison after the session. Asked when Mubarak would go free, he told Reuters: "Maybe tomorrow".

Mubarak, 85, was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to prevent the killing of demonstrators. But a court accepted his appeal earlier this year and ordered a retrial.

The ailing former president probably has no political future. But many Egyptians would see his release as the rehabilitation of an old order that endured through six decades of military-backed rule - and even a reversal of the pro-democracy revolt that toppled him.

...

Mubarak is still being retried on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during the revolt against him, but he has already served the maximum pre-trial detention in that case.

The court ruling removed the last legal ground for his imprisonment in connection with a corruption case, following a similar decision in another corruption case on Monday.

If I were him, I'd seek asylum in another country as soon as possible. 

Labels: Egyptian regime change, Egyptian Revolution, Hosni Mubarak, Muslim Brotherhood

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:54 PM 1 comments

The Costanza doctrine

I left the US 22 years ago, and I really no longer watch television at all, so this was enlightening to me. How many of you are familiar with the Costanza doctrine from the popular television hit Seinfeld?

Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Shy Guy).



So what does the Costanza doctrine have to do with Israel and the Middle East? Adam Turner suggests that the Obama administration should adopt the Costanza doctrine as its Middle East policy.

The Middle East is aflame. In Egypt, the undemocratic, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic Muslim Brotherhood regime was ousted, and this has resulted in hundreds of deaths and mobs of Egyptians protesting and rioting in the streets. In Syria, a brutal civil war continues, with Sunni Islamists (including al-Qaeda groups) fighting Shiite Islamists (including terror giant Hezbollah) with over a 100,000 civilian casualties so far, and the documented use of chemical weapons. In Libya, the nation where a U.S. ambassador was killed just one year ago, there has been a wave of slayings of politicians and government officials, and a pro-America regime is barely able to control the country. In Tunisia, non-Islamist secular politicians are being assassinated, while the ruling Ennhada party continues to try to implement its Islamist agenda. In Turkey, protests by non-Islamists are brutally being crushed by the Erdogan's Islamist regime, while members of the Turkish press continue to be imprisoned at record rates for criticizing the government.

Yet, the Obama Administration, led by Secretary of State John Kerry, has decided to focus its attention on the Palestinian Arab -- Israeli "Crisis." The U.S. apparently pressured the Israeli government to release 104 Palestinian terrorists -- some of whom have American blood on their hands -- for the mere privilege of speaking to the Palestinian Authority about a future "peace." This despite the fact that the PA controls only part of "Palestine," has broken its prior agreements time and time again, and has shown no real interest in curbing PA-sponsored incitement against Israel, Jews, Christians, and the West. The administration clearly still believes that the Palestinian Arab-Israeli "Crisis" is at the center of all problems in the Middle East, even though post-"Arab Spring" few other knowledgeable observers subscribe to this largely discredited theory.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new. We have now had five years of an administration whose defective instincts have resulted in consistently flawed U.S. foreign policy behavior.

I do not believe we can afford another three more years of this. President Obama and his team need to develop a new approach for dealing with foreign policy matters.

My humble suggestion is as follows -- it is time for President Obama, and his administration, to adopt the Costanza Doctrine. It comes from the television comedy show Seinfeld. The salient principle of the Costanza Doctrine is the statement -- "(i)f every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right."

Read the whole thing. Turner is on to something.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Egyptian Revolution, John Kerry, Libyan regime change, Middle East peace process, Muslim Brotherhood, Palestinian terrorists, Shiites v. Sunnis, Syrian uprising, Tunisia, Turkey

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:24 AM 0 comments

US slams Erdogan's remarks

In an earlier post, I reported that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had claimed that Israel is behind the coup in Egypt. The United States has now condemned those remarks.

"We strongly condemn the statements that were made by Prime Minister Erdogan today. Suggesting that Israel is somehow responsible for recent events in Egypt is offensive, unsubstantiated, and wrong," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in a briefing.

Earlier on Tuesday, Erdogan told provincial leaders of his AK Party: "What do they say in Egypt? Democracy is not the ballot box. What is behind it? Israel. We have in our hands documentation."

What could go wrong?

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Egypt, Egyptian Revolution, Israel, Recep Tayyip Erdogan

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:12 AM 1 comments

Of course: Erdogan claims Israel behind 'coup' in Egypt

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims that Israel is behind the 'coup' that deposed Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsy from the Presidency of Egypt.

“Israel is behind the coup in Egypt, we have evidence,” Erdoğan told members of his party at a meeting in Ankara on Tuesday. He cited a French intellectual, without mentioning his name, who, according to Erdoğan, said in 2011 that the Muslim Brotherhood won’t be in power even if they are elected because “democracy is not the ballot box.” Erdoğan stressed the Jewish identity of the French intellectual.

Of course. If you're paranoid enough, that proves it. Anti-Semitic moron. 

Labels: Egypt, Egyptian democracy, Egyptian Revolution, Mohammed Morsy, Muslim Brotherhood, Recep Tayyip Erdogan

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:44 PM 0 comments

Change: Mubarak to be freed in next 48 hours - UPDATED

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is to be released within the next 48 hours according to a report from Reuters in Israel Hayom.

Labels: Egyptian Revolution, Hosni Mubarak, Mohammed Morsy, Muslim Brotherhood

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:06 PM 0 comments

Where is Israel's Tamarod?

Interesting comment from Dan Friedman in New York City.

There is something to be said for the anger and courage of the Egyptian people. Even though their motivations, and their goals, may not be our own, still, they are willing to give it their all. So where is Israel's Tamarod ("Rebel") movement? Where is Israel’s appreciation that it has everything to lose if they stay on the current path? Where are the masses of Israelis who are organizing to oppose Obama's obvious meddling in Israel’s political affairs? Where are those who are willing to rise up against Netanyahu’s scheme to betray his own people living in our biblical heartland, Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria? The quick answer: nowhere to be found.

Hmmm.

Labels: Egypt, Egyptian army, Egyptian Revolution, Judea and Samaria, Muslim Brotherhood, revenants

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:30 PM 1 comments

Steyn: The only thing Egyptians agree on is loathing of Obama, his Secretaries of State and his Ambassador

Mark Steyn at his best on the events in Egypt.

For the same reason, the Gulf monarchies, having weathered the immediate storms of the Arab spring and understanding the longer-term threat the Brotherhood represents, have supplanted Washington as Cairo’s principal paymasters: The $1.5 billion subvention to Egypt was always a drop in the great sucking maw of the US Treasury; compared to what the Saudis and the Emirs are ponying up, it’s looking less and less consequential from the Nile end, too.

Out in the wider world, Putin figures there’s a regional power play to be made, and that Moscow can be back in Cairo in a big way for the first time in four decades.

All these parties are pursuing their strategic interest. Does the United States have such a thing anymore? Not so’s you’d notice. As a result, the factions in Egypt are united only in their contempt for Washington. Obama is despised by Sisi and the generals for being fundamentally unserious; by the Brotherhood for stringing along with the coup; by the Copts for standing by as the Brothers take it out on them; and by the small number of genuine democrats in Egypt for his witless promotion of Morsi’s thugs as the dawning of democracy. Any “national-unity government” of the kind the usual deluded twits are urging on Egypt would be united only in its unanimous loathing of Obama, his secretaries of state, and his inept ambassador.

Meanwhile, out on the streets, Washington is reviled both for standing by Mubarak too long and for pushing him out too soon (eighty per cent of Egyptians say things are worse than under the old man). And, with the 2011 “Facebook Revolution” all out of “Likes”, the King of Jordan and the Gulf emirs understand the meaning of the ailing, abandoned strongman in his military prison cell in purely geopolitical terms – that (as Bernard Lewis used to warn) America is harmless as an enemy but treacherous as a friend.

Read it all.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Egyptian democracy, Egyptian Revolution, Hillary Clinton, Hosni Mubarak, John Kerry, Mohammed Morsy, Muslim Brotherhood

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:20 PM 0 comments

Four common misconceptions about Egypt

The Sandmonkey has an interesting post that is addressed to Egyptians, but can help all of us to understand what is going on in that country.

1. The US is not against June 30 

There is a strong held belief in Egypt that the US is against the June 30^th alliance and government, and is waging war against it for the sake of MB. Egyptians perceive US discussion about cutting military aid as an aggressive gesture and are meeting it with extreme hostility usually reserved to slave owners by their freed slaves (It’s that level of intensity). They are complaining daily that the US is against them and supports the terrorism of the MB, and Egyptian social media has made mocking & insulting President Obama a national past time. Despite me being for any mockery of Obama, the reality is that the US is not against June 30^th at all.

Here is what the US cares about: for Egypt to be run by a ruler that can stabilize it, and will form a government that makes their relationship look good. The very contradictory reactions the US regarding Egypt comes from two reasons 1.) The lack of any real foreign policy regarding Egypt and the Arab spring for that matter, and 2.) The legal conundrum they are facing now because of us. US law dictates when a military removes a democratically elected leader that is considered a coup, and any aid going its way must be stopped. In reflection of the facts, yes, the military did technically remove Morsi and is now holding him in a location even we, the people who revolted against him, do not know (you do not have him held captive in your basement, do you?), so the situation is meeting the legal definition.

The US administration, which is required to uphold its laws, has no actual choice but to cut the aid, and in order to avoid doing so, it has done impressive political gymnastics in order not to call it that.

...

2. There is no Giant global conspiracy against us

There really isn’t a global conspiracy against us; Europe is concerned because of the death and the overthrow and jailing of a “democratically elected” President, but they will not move beyond being concerned. Even in the UN Security Council’s special session on Egypt, the statement admitted that both sides of the conflict (i.e. government and MB) are using violence and called for mutual de-escalation. This means the UN is not buying the “peaceful warriors for democracy” narrative that the MB is producing, but also cannot condone the almost 700 dead in one day of conflict either, because it is a horrifying and indefensible number, so they went the route of balance. They are not happy with the high death toll and they will not condone it forever, which is important if you would like their tourists back, and you should: your economy needs it.

That being said, Turkey and Qatar are truly against us, so is any and every branch of the MB the world over, so you are not being completely paranoid here. I also hear that Iran and the Taliban are not pleased with us either. It is ok though, I think we can afford that.


3. The International media isn’t in the MB’s pockets

Egyptian social media is filled with posts, pictures and videos that either a) hate the biased international coverage, or b) is comprised of videos or images with a message that we share this in order to “show the international media” the truth. The reason? The perception that international opinion provides excessive support for the MB, which develops at times to the belief that the international media is in the MB’s pockets. Their proof? The lack of coverage of the MB’s violent acts and that they are portrayed as peaceful protesters getting killed by the state. “Why is no one supporting us?” They protest, in complete denial that this is primarily their own fault. Oh yes. It’s true.

You see, in order for the international media to showcase your side of the story, you actually have to have a side of the story. Your new state needs to have a solid case why it overthrew the old one, which , fyi, is not being made in anywhere. For example local media, instead of doing pieces that document and explain why the population revolted against Morsi and his rule, is instead going with a simplistic narrative of nationalism vs. terrorism, and doing a remarkable job sensationalizing it. If they have zero intentions of being unbiased, which seems to be the case, they should try to explain and set in stone why the MB rule was undemocratic and criminal. It is not hard: An investigative piece on all the people arrested/killed/maimed by the police or MB during the Morsi reign, a 5 minutes video showcasing the attacks on Christians or the disdain for religion cases, a report on every single journalist or media personality that got persecuted by the Morsi presidency or their supporters, a short documentary stating all of the violations and crimes that the Morsi regimes committed, or maybe explaining the perils of theocracy and why we should never ever toy with its idea again. Hell, a simple you tube video explaining how we got here and what are the lessons learned will do at this point, and no one is doing it locally. Imagine what effects it could have on the international level. 

...

4. The War on Terror will not end this way

There is a reason why everyone is wary of the “war on terror” narrative, for a very simple reason: Wars on concepts cannot be called wars, because wars end and wars on terror don’t. You see, wars on concepts or ideas definitely do not end with bullets, they end with a counter idea that exposes or defeats the idea. What is your counter idea to Islamism/MB ideology? Whoever does not agree with you is a traitor and should be killed? Yeah, not a very good one, especially against Islamists, who are generally ok with dying for their beliefs.

So you can go ahead and think you can kill your way out of this conflict, and you may succeed to end all major confrontations with a high body count within the month (and become known as butchers for it).However, sooner rather than later you will start facing incidents that pop up everywhere, with a few dying here in an explosion, and a few dying there in a drive-by shooting, and it will not stop and you will never be safe. It will not always be the MB behind the killings, but rather the family members/friends of the non-MB Morsi supporter who got killed in one of the clashes / jailed for wanting to defend his vote and sees you stealing it and persecuting him for it.

 Read the whole thing.

Labels: Egypt, Egyptian democracy, Egyptian Revolution, Muslim Brotherhood

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:14 PM 0 comments

Europe tries to outdo Obama, 'urgently reviewing' relationship with Egypt

The Europeans are determined to outdo US President Hussein Obama. Europe, which sent foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to visit Mohammed Morsy in his jail cell, announced on Sunday that they will be 'urgently reviewing' their relationship with Egypt over the coming days.

In a statement, the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso called on all sides in Egypt to show restraint and prevent further escalation of the violence.

To this effect, together with its member states, the EU will urgently review in the coming days its relations with Egypt and adopt measures aimed at pursuing these goals," the statement said.

The crackdown has, however, drawn messages of support from wealthy Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia, which have long feared the spread of Brotherhood ideology to the Gulf monarchies.

Israel Hayom has more of the European Union's statement.

"Together with its member states, the EU will urgently review in the coming days its relations with Egypt and adopt measures aimed at pursuing" the goals of promoting an "end to violence, resumption of political dialogue and return to a democratic process," they said.

They added that calls for democracy and fundamental rights "cannot be disregarded, much less washed away in blood," saying further that "the violence and the killings of these last days cannot be justified nor condoned."

I wonder whether they've seen the videos with the Muslim Brotherhood gunmen standing among the 'protesters.'

Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Catherine Ashton, Egyptian army, Egyptian democracy, Egyptian Revolution, European Union, Mohammed Morsy, Muslim Brotherhood

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:12 PM 1 comments

Report: Morsy didn't really win the elections

How reliable is Yossi Beilin as a source? Beilin, a far-Left Israeli former politician claims that deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsy and his Muslim Brotherhood party didn't really win the June 2012 elections, but that the army feared the consequences of announcing what truly happened.

According to my source, who asked to remain anonymous, Ahmed Shafik, the former air force commander and former president Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, actually won the race by a narrow margin. But the army generals -- wanting to ensure that law and order would be upheld following the elections -- feared that if Morsi was defeated, the Muslim Brotherhood would refuse to recognize the results and would end up conducting themselves just as they are now.

The official results, 51.73 percent for Morsi and 48.27% for Shafik, were almost the exact reversal of what actually happened at the polls. After the results were published, we barely heard any calls for protest or opposition among the secular-liberals, while on the religious side -- loyal either to the Muslim Brotherhood or the Salafi parties -- voters were happy with their achievement.

Officials thought that the inexperienced Morsi would accept help from the army and would avoid crossing any red lines -- regarding Israel, for example. In reality, what happened was a combination of a pathetic lack of management skills and a string of efforts to rule by the same ideological orientation espoused by a quarter of Egypt's population. Morsi tried running the operation with the help of several associates who were completely incapable of managing anything.

Many of Col. Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's fellow generals tried to convince him to spring to action several months ago already, but Sissi wanted to give Morsi, who favored Sissi over other generals as defense minister and commander in chief of the armed forces, the opportunity to prove that what had happened stemmed from the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood president was an amateur.

Hmmm. Read it all. 

This actually sounds plausible. The problems are that it's too convenient a narrative in light of what has happened, and I don't consider Beilin a particularly reliable source.

Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egyptian army, Egyptian democracy, Egyptian elections, Egyptian Revolution, Mohammed Morsy, Muslim Brotherhood, Yossi Beilin

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:32 PM 1 comments

Why the Muslim Brotherhood has been attacking the Copts

The Muslim Brotherhood might have a better chance of winning what's quickly becoming a civil war in Egypt were it not for the fact that they are expending so much energy attacking the country's Coptic Christians.

Since the violent crackdown in Egypt began on Monday, August 12th, nearly 20 Coptic Christian churches and several Coptic owned properties in Egypt were torched to the ground by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood. Leaked reports over the past weeks have stated that the Muslim Brotherhood tried to assassinate the Coptic Patriarch, Pope Tawadros II on several occasions. Since the overthrow of the democratically elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, his supporters, who are described as “anti-coup” and “pro-democracy,” have stated clearly that Coptic Christians are no longer safe in Egypt.

Actually, they weren't safe in Egypt long before that.

Let's go to the videotape.



In the last week, it's gotten much worse.

Since the fall of Morsi, Copts have suffered from attacks on an almost daily basis. Most of the Copts subjected to violence are also suffering from deep poverty, living in government-abandoned villages in Upper Egypt. While the Muslim mobs used to create false accusations as a means to justify their attacks, today they attack Copts indiscriminately, for no reason at all. In Rafah, one Coptic priest was shot dead in broad day-light in a busy market street, another Copt was found beheaded in the same area, and a Christian man in Al Minya was attacked simply because we was listening to military music.

Earlier this week, when the army and police started their crackdown against Morsi’s supporters, the Islamists reacted by striking back against the army and by attacking Copts, as promised. In less than 24 hours an estimated 20 Coptic churches, houses and community buildings were torched all over Egypt. The Egyptian military is cleaning house and the Copts are paying a heavy price.

Please do not forget for a minute that the ruthless pro-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood Islamists are the ones described in western media as “pro-democracy” and “anti-coup”, as if they are a liberal, modern, and highly educated group of people engaged in a peaceful process of civil disagreement and advancement. The Middle East has a much different cultural framework than the West and it is idiotic to apply Western notions of modern politics and democracy to the Middle East. As I write this, the Muslim Brotherhood’s “pro-democracy” protestors are promising martyrdom for those who die for Morsi and scapegoating Coptic Christians through destruction and murder. What part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s undemocratic, delusional ideology is hard for the West to understand? How can Western governments and the media  be sympathetic and supportive of them?

The Copts appear to be a candidate for a massacre. They have no place else to go. But the writer goes on to describe the world as being 'preoccupied with Egypt.' Actually, the United States is preoccupied with the 'Palestinians.' One cannot help but wonder why. 

Labels: Christian Copts, Egyptian Revolution, Muslim Brotherhood

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:21 AM 0 comments