Since Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi increased his power and drafted a Shariah Islamist Constitution, the response of the White House has been silence and inaction. This followed leading the lavish praise for a Gaza cease-fire, which Morsi used as cover for his move. Obama finally, at long last, for the first time since the power-grab called Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. Did he criticize the Muslim Brotherhood's declaration of sweeping powers? Did he tell Morsi that the Egyptian radical Islamic Con
stitution just drafted raises serious concerns with the United States? Did he mention any aid potentially at stake? Did he reprimand Morsi for using the international praise, led by the U.S., as a cover to announce his consolidation of power? Of course not. "The president emphasized that all political leaders in Egypt should make clear to their supporters that violence is unacceptable," the White House said in a statement. Because the U.S. should be just as worried about Mohammed El-Baradei as Mohammed Morsi? There was no unique emphasis on the misconduct, the marauding gangs raping women, the lack of trustworthiness, the radicalism, of the Muslim Brotherhood and its leader in particular. Not even mild criticism. I am certain Morsi is laughing in his palace, which he was forced to flee by protesters, but has since returned to once now guarded by tanks provided by the United States of America.
Mubarak
was right. Obama clearly does not understand that part of the world. Mubarak was warning Obama that dangerous forces would replace him. Yet Obama called for Mubarak to step down, against the advice of the "elders"
at the State Department and Pentagon. For what? To make way for the
Muslim Brotherhood. What is unfolding in very clear terms before our
eyes now is absolutely disgusting, and it's not terribly difficult to
notice either.
In fact, the Washington Times reports that "for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government, more battle tanks and jet fighters are on their way from the United States." Frank Gaffney, a senior defense policymaker in the Reagan administration, has been warning about the rise of the Brotherhood as it relates to the U.S. He said: "My principal concern with the Obama administration’s approach to Egypt is they seem oblivious to the fact it is now in the hands of a regime that is deeply hostile to the United States and certainly poses an immediate threat, I believe, to our friends in Israel. Under those circumstances, it is alarming that they are continuing to arm Egypt in a way that can only exacerbate the threat.”
The
fact remains that the rockets stopped temporarily from Gaza, but a
Muslim-Brotherhood brokered and enforced cease fire is a joke. There is no reason to think Hamas is not being rearmed as we speak, there is
absolutely no reason to think that Morsi does not stand solidly behind Hamas. There is certainly no excuse for our having lavished him with
high praise, any non-deluded person would realize we needed to be more
circumspect and skeptical of this Muslim Brotherhood leader even in the
wake of the cease-fire. Was that Obama's mindset? No. I sensed a delusional fool in the White House immediately upon seeing
that. And who was right? I was, of course. It is a fact that the U.S.
led the international praise of Morsi. It is a fact that the ink had
barely dried on the international paeans when Morsi declared that any
domestic challenge s to his decrees, laws and decisions were
"temporarily" banned. Coincidence? Of course not. He used the foolish
international songs of high praise, with the U.S. leading the choir, as a
cover for this Muslim Brotherhood President immediately announcing new
sweeping powers. What a fine demonstration of the Obama administration's
"smart power" diplomacy. Did Obama then try to not be taken for a
fool? Did he do anything to show his displeasure for how quickly after
that cease-fire, after U.S. and international praise, things began
deteriorating in Egypt itself? No he did not. He let the praise stand
alone, and let the deafening inexcusable silence and inaction follow. Practically everything Obama is doing and has done has been perfectly wrong.
When
Tahrir square is filled to protest pro-Western Mubarak, we have no
choice but to call for him to step down. But apparently when Tahrir square is filled to protest
Islamist Morsi, we have no choice but to be silent. Obama must immensely
pressure Bibi, "harshly criticize" and "slam" him just this week, but the United States must respond with shameful silence and no consequences to Morsi. This
is exactly the kind of foreign policy Obama opponents were worried
about. We just did not know we would, unfortunately, see ourselves
proven correct so soon after the election. Morsi has even called for the Egyptian military to secure Cairo, and America remains silent.
Obama's feckless and inept approach to the Islamist rise in Egypt is not going unnoticed. As David Ignatius wrote in the Washington Post:
"And
let’s be honest: The Obama administration has been Morsi’s main
enabler... Probably thinking he had America’s backing, Morsi overreached
on Nov. 22 by declaring that his presidential decrees were not subject
to judicial review. His followers claim
that he was trying to protect Egypt’s revolution from judges appointed
by Hosni Mubarak. But that rationale has worn thin as members of Morsi’s
government resigned in protest, thousands of demonstrators took the
streets and, ominously, Muslim Brotherhood supporters began
counterattacking with rocks, clubs and metal pipes. Through this
upheaval, the Obama administration has been oddly restrained... [I]t’s
crazy for Washington to appear to take sides against those who want a
liberal, tolerant Egypt and for those who favor sharia. Somehow, that’s
where the administration has ended up."
RSS Feed (xml)