Washington’s wishy-washy utterances on the political crisis have already soured ties and any attempt to support sanctions will spell doom for a critical alliance
America’s sway on the Egyptian army and interim government is heading towards a zero end game. President Barack Obama has alienated America’s biggest Arab ally and is hacking away at a 30-year-long relationship.
Egypt’s army chief, General Abdul Fattah Al Sissi, said it all when he attacked the US in the Washington Post, saying: “You left the Egyptians. You turned your back on the Egyptians, and they won’t forget.”
A visit by two swaggering senators, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who turned up in Cairo not to mediate, but rather to vent against “the coup,” was the straw that broke the camel’s back. They were politely told to take a hike. Hours later, the government pulled up the drawbridge on foreign mediation/meddling, saying that it served only to embolden the Muslim Brotherhood leadership to hold the country hostage with increased protest sit-ins.
With a heavy heart, the decision was taken to forcibly break up the sit-ins in Rabaa and Nahda squares. No nation would permit thousands of protesters to camp out in their capital cities, guarded by gunmen. The death toll was tragic. However, the Brotherhood’s leadership must be blamed for refusing to compromise and presenting themselves as victims to garner sympathy from the outside world.
Obama’s wishy-washy utterances are not what the world expects from the so-called leader of the free world. If he has a policy going forward, rather than serial knee-jerk reactions, it’s not clear. “We’ve been blamed by supporters of [Mohammad] Mursi. We’ve been blamed by the other side, as if we are supporters of Mursi,” he admitted. Sir Winston Churchill famously said: “We can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all the other possibilities.”
One would be hard pressed to find a single Egyptian that has a good thing to say about his administration. Obama has refrained from using the ‘coup’ word that would cease America’s annual aid to the Egyptian military, yet he has warned that it’s under review, He has suspended delivery of four F-16s and cancelled joint US-Egyptian military exercises, moves which Egyptians interpret as a slap.
The US mainstream media, including the New York Times editorial board, is pushing for the aid to be cut as are many in Congress. In the meantime, America’s sycophants in the EU, Britain, France and Germany, are cooking up ways of punishing the Egyptian government following their failed attempt to achieve weighty condemnation against Egypt in the UN Security Council.
It’s likely that Egyptian authorities will spare Obama the hard decisions. Egyptian networks have reported that Al Sissi refused to take Obama’s call last week, saying that the time for talking is over. The well-supported Tamarod (Rebel) movement has called upon the government to refuse American aid and cancel the Camp David accord.
Today, the Egyptian people are more united than ever with the obvious exception of the Brotherhood that has now officially been branded ‘terrorist’ by Egyptian TV networks, including the state-owned ‘Nile’ TV that has a permanent banner saying, ‘Egypt fighting terrorism.’ This is in response to its burning and vandalising of 36 churches, as well as museums, town halls, the Arab Contractors’ building—and its killing of police officers, whose bodies were mutilated.
The brother of Al Qaida chief Ayman Al Zawahiri has been arrested. Black Al Qaida flags were fluttering in Cairo on Friday. Dubai’s Police Chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim was quoted on CNN’s Arabic website as saying that Obama has forgotten that Al Qaida was born from the Brotherhood.
On Friday, Egyptians watched with disbelief as Brotherhood supporters on Cairo’s May 15th Bridge, armed with AK-47s, began firing at civilians below. Those killers were among the 700 or so who occupied a mosque in Ramses Square, a stand-off that ended when security forces came under fire.
On Saturday, the interim Egyptian president’s spokesman blasted the foreign media for selective reporting; that’s an understatement. Al Jazeera International aired a video of ‘a dead man’ with blood on his T-shirt. But when someone lifted the T-shirt to inspect the wound, ‘the corpse’ raised his leg high.
If Obama thinks he can force Egypt to bend to his will, he’s mistaken. King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia made an unprecedented announcement assuring the Egyptian government that the kingdom backs Egypt’s fight “against terrorism” and warning that Egypt’s stability is being threatened by “haters.” His message was promptly backed by the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. Gulf states, apart from Qatar, are resolved to give both moral and material support to facilitate the transition.
Further, any attempts by the US and the EU to place sanctions on the Egyptian economy or break ties, which Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is mulling, will be a shot in the West’s foot. The $1.3 billion aid enlarges the coffers of America’s military-industrial complex and provides jobs to thousands of Americans.
Should ties be halted, US regional influence will wane. Its fast-tracking arrangement for US warships clearing the Suez canal would be in jeopardy. The Camp David peace treaty would be endangered. Egypt’s military has been a boon to Israel’s security, dealing with terrorists in the northern Sinai and sealing tunnels to Gaza to prevent missiles from reaching Hamas.
For now, Moscow is quiet, but President Vladimir Putin must be rubbing his hands in anticipation of the day Egypt and the US call it quits.
Linda S. Heard is a British specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at heardonthegrapevines@yahoo.co.uk.
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Forcing Egypt to bend to US will be a mistake
Washington’s wishy-washy utterances on the political crisis have already soured ties and any attempt to support sanctions will spell doom for a critical alliance
Posted on August 20, 2013 by Linda S. Heard
America’s sway on the Egyptian army and interim government is heading towards a zero end game. President Barack Obama has alienated America’s biggest Arab ally and is hacking away at a 30-year-long relationship.
Egypt’s army chief, General Abdul Fattah Al Sissi, said it all when he attacked the US in the Washington Post, saying: “You left the Egyptians. You turned your back on the Egyptians, and they won’t forget.”
A visit by two swaggering senators, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who turned up in Cairo not to mediate, but rather to vent against “the coup,” was the straw that broke the camel’s back. They were politely told to take a hike. Hours later, the government pulled up the drawbridge on foreign mediation/meddling, saying that it served only to embolden the Muslim Brotherhood leadership to hold the country hostage with increased protest sit-ins.
With a heavy heart, the decision was taken to forcibly break up the sit-ins in Rabaa and Nahda squares. No nation would permit thousands of protesters to camp out in their capital cities, guarded by gunmen. The death toll was tragic. However, the Brotherhood’s leadership must be blamed for refusing to compromise and presenting themselves as victims to garner sympathy from the outside world.
Obama’s wishy-washy utterances are not what the world expects from the so-called leader of the free world. If he has a policy going forward, rather than serial knee-jerk reactions, it’s not clear. “We’ve been blamed by supporters of [Mohammad] Mursi. We’ve been blamed by the other side, as if we are supporters of Mursi,” he admitted. Sir Winston Churchill famously said: “We can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all the other possibilities.”
One would be hard pressed to find a single Egyptian that has a good thing to say about his administration. Obama has refrained from using the ‘coup’ word that would cease America’s annual aid to the Egyptian military, yet he has warned that it’s under review, He has suspended delivery of four F-16s and cancelled joint US-Egyptian military exercises, moves which Egyptians interpret as a slap.
The US mainstream media, including the New York Times editorial board, is pushing for the aid to be cut as are many in Congress. In the meantime, America’s sycophants in the EU, Britain, France and Germany, are cooking up ways of punishing the Egyptian government following their failed attempt to achieve weighty condemnation against Egypt in the UN Security Council.
It’s likely that Egyptian authorities will spare Obama the hard decisions. Egyptian networks have reported that Al Sissi refused to take Obama’s call last week, saying that the time for talking is over. The well-supported Tamarod (Rebel) movement has called upon the government to refuse American aid and cancel the Camp David accord.
Today, the Egyptian people are more united than ever with the obvious exception of the Brotherhood that has now officially been branded ‘terrorist’ by Egyptian TV networks, including the state-owned ‘Nile’ TV that has a permanent banner saying, ‘Egypt fighting terrorism.’ This is in response to its burning and vandalising of 36 churches, as well as museums, town halls, the Arab Contractors’ building—and its killing of police officers, whose bodies were mutilated.
The brother of Al Qaida chief Ayman Al Zawahiri has been arrested. Black Al Qaida flags were fluttering in Cairo on Friday. Dubai’s Police Chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim was quoted on CNN’s Arabic website as saying that Obama has forgotten that Al Qaida was born from the Brotherhood.
On Friday, Egyptians watched with disbelief as Brotherhood supporters on Cairo’s May 15th Bridge, armed with AK-47s, began firing at civilians below. Those killers were among the 700 or so who occupied a mosque in Ramses Square, a stand-off that ended when security forces came under fire.
On Saturday, the interim Egyptian president’s spokesman blasted the foreign media for selective reporting; that’s an understatement. Al Jazeera International aired a video of ‘a dead man’ with blood on his T-shirt. But when someone lifted the T-shirt to inspect the wound, ‘the corpse’ raised his leg high.
If Obama thinks he can force Egypt to bend to his will, he’s mistaken. King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia made an unprecedented announcement assuring the Egyptian government that the kingdom backs Egypt’s fight “against terrorism” and warning that Egypt’s stability is being threatened by “haters.” His message was promptly backed by the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. Gulf states, apart from Qatar, are resolved to give both moral and material support to facilitate the transition.
Further, any attempts by the US and the EU to place sanctions on the Egyptian economy or break ties, which Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is mulling, will be a shot in the West’s foot. The $1.3 billion aid enlarges the coffers of America’s military-industrial complex and provides jobs to thousands of Americans.
Should ties be halted, US regional influence will wane. Its fast-tracking arrangement for US warships clearing the Suez canal would be in jeopardy. The Camp David peace treaty would be endangered. Egypt’s military has been a boon to Israel’s security, dealing with terrorists in the northern Sinai and sealing tunnels to Gaza to prevent missiles from reaching Hamas.
For now, Moscow is quiet, but President Vladimir Putin must be rubbing his hands in anticipation of the day Egypt and the US call it quits.
Linda S. Heard is a British specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at heardonthegrapevines@yahoo.co.uk.