With all that is happening in Egypt lately, it would be easy for president Obama to stick to his current decision to not make any clear decisions about that country. Obama cancelled military exercises that were sure to be cancelled anyway since the Egyptian army is otherwise engaged. He did/did not cancel aid to Egypt. He postponed delivery of four aircraft (which will have no impact on any internal fighting along the Nile.) Obama also supported/deplored that Morsi was overthrown. The truth is that neither side in Egypt can see the USA as an ally.
This is a truly idiotic policy. I realize that Obama won re-election with a policy of kicking the can down the road. Such a policy does not work when folks are literally killing each other. There will be no negotiated settlement here. Either the Egyptian military will crush the Moslem Brotherhood, or Egypt will fall into chaos as an Islamic state under the domination of Islamists. Without a doubt, American interests are best served if the military wins. Okay, that will not be the triumph of democracy which put Morsi into office in the first place. Never forget, however, that Hitler was voted into office democratically, and we all know how that turned out. Similarly, Hamas won the Palestinian elections so that if we support democracy blindly, we must also support terrorism. The Egyptian military has shown great restraint for years since Mubarak was ousted. It participated whole-heartedly in the elections. It allowed Morsi to oust military leaders after he took office. It stood by as Morsi tried to subvert democratic rule and to replace it with his dictatorship. Only when literally millions of Egyptians rose to protest these moves did the army act. It took out Morsi in response to the public will. If the bloodshed ends, it is likely that the army will relinquish power back to civilian rule (although one cannot be sure.)
On the other side, we have the Moslem Brotherhood. They have marked Christians for death and destruction in the last month. They have attacked army and police forces with all sorts of weapons. They may have been the ones to open fire in the mass battles that killed so many just the other day (we may never know the truth about that.) From an American perspective, however, the important point is that the Moslem Brotherhood hates America, it hates our way of life, it hates our freedom, and it loves our enemies.
This is not a hard choice to make. Instead of moralizing about the misdeeds of the military, we ought to be realistic for once and choose the side that makes the most sense for America. We ought to embrace the military and make our position clear to the world. Egypt is too important to lose to the Islamic crazies of the Brotherhood.
Obama has to side with the military.
This is a truly idiotic policy. I realize that Obama won re-election with a policy of kicking the can down the road. Such a policy does not work when folks are literally killing each other. There will be no negotiated settlement here. Either the Egyptian military will crush the Moslem Brotherhood, or Egypt will fall into chaos as an Islamic state under the domination of Islamists. Without a doubt, American interests are best served if the military wins. Okay, that will not be the triumph of democracy which put Morsi into office in the first place. Never forget, however, that Hitler was voted into office democratically, and we all know how that turned out. Similarly, Hamas won the Palestinian elections so that if we support democracy blindly, we must also support terrorism. The Egyptian military has shown great restraint for years since Mubarak was ousted. It participated whole-heartedly in the elections. It allowed Morsi to oust military leaders after he took office. It stood by as Morsi tried to subvert democratic rule and to replace it with his dictatorship. Only when literally millions of Egyptians rose to protest these moves did the army act. It took out Morsi in response to the public will. If the bloodshed ends, it is likely that the army will relinquish power back to civilian rule (although one cannot be sure.)
On the other side, we have the Moslem Brotherhood. They have marked Christians for death and destruction in the last month. They have attacked army and police forces with all sorts of weapons. They may have been the ones to open fire in the mass battles that killed so many just the other day (we may never know the truth about that.) From an American perspective, however, the important point is that the Moslem Brotherhood hates America, it hates our way of life, it hates our freedom, and it loves our enemies.
This is not a hard choice to make. Instead of moralizing about the misdeeds of the military, we ought to be realistic for once and choose the side that makes the most sense for America. We ought to embrace the military and make our position clear to the world. Egypt is too important to lose to the Islamic crazies of the Brotherhood.
Obama has to side with the military.
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