Analysis: President Obama on Fox News

“But here’s the thing that we have to understand, there are a whole bunch of secular folks in Egypt, there are a whole bunch of educators and civil society in Egypt that wants to come to the fore as well. And it’s important for us not to say that our only two options are either the Muslim Brotherhood or a suppressed Egyptian people… What I want is a representative government in Egypt.”

http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/ docs/perspectives128.pdf

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That sound you hear is yours truly, banging her head against the wall.

Do I believe that Obama is that naive? Not any more.

There’s a limit to how much I can attribute the president’s positions to foolishness or genuine innocence. This is a faux-naive political stance, in my book. “A whole bunch of secular folks in Egypt”? Give me a break.

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Yes, there are secular people in Egypt who have been pushing, with merit, for political reform. But they are powerless — without political organization or funding (as versus the Brotherhood which has both). What is more — and this should be noted carefully — many of those who are “secular” (read, not Islamist) are left wing radicals and not moderates at all.

I’ve previously shared statistics regarding the attitudes of Egyptians, including, we must assume, a good many of those whom Obama refers to as a “whole bunch of folks.” But let’s take a look again at information from Caroline Glick, provided just a few days ago:

Representative government in Egypt? If Muslim Brotherhood, which has been held at bay because it has been illegal, is legitimized as one part of a “representative government,” exactly whom do you imagine is going to gain control?

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A piece by Dr. Jonathan Rynhold — “US Policy Regarding the Upheaval in Egypt: Endangering the Strategic Foundations of Regional Stability” — which just went up on the BESA website today sounds similar themes. Rynhold writes that:

“…although many of the demonstrators are driven by the demand for reform, the only real alternative to the current regime is Islamist. The Islamists are more popular and inestimably better organized than the reformers. (Emphasis added)

“…US policy can certainly influence the outcome. It is with this in mind that the Obama administration’s call for the immediate’ replacement of Mubarak and the inclusion of ‘non-secular’ groups in the new government is cause for grave concern. The administration, sensitive to its standing in Arab public opinion, wants to be seen to be supporting a popular movement. It wants to banish its unpopular image in the region as an ‘imperialist’ power that props up repressive governments…the administration seems to believe that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is ‘okay’ because they believe that the Brotherhood has generally operated without violence in the domestic Egyptian arena… (Emphasis added)

“This emerging US policy is potentially very dangerous. The ‘peaceful’ Islamists would most likely hollow out any reformist government that they are part of. Their anti-Western stance is deeply ideological; it is not related to the specifics of American policy. Once released from the constraints imposed by the current regime, they are likely to become a lot less peaceful. In the meantime, the behavior of the US is straining America’s relations with other key regional allies such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Indeed, America’s apparent willingness to abandon its allies and embrace the Islamists will damage American credibility, harm the standing of its Arab allies and strengthen anti-Western Islamists across the region. It is no good winning a popularity contest today, if you lose the region to Islamists tomorrow.” (Emphasis added)

http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/ docs/perspectives127.pdf

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And please, take a look at “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood: In Their Own Words,” by Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi, a senior researcher on the Middle East and radical Islam at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Halevi, who is fluent in Arabic, wrote:

“The Muslim Brotherhood…has taken a greater role in organizing the protest against the Egyptian regime as it unfolds its independent political agenda…Rashad al-Bayumi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s second-in-command, announced in an interview with Japanese TV (and cited by al-Hayat) that the group would join a transitional government in order to cancel the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, as it ‘offends the Arabs’ dignity and destroys the interests of Egypt and other Arab states.’ (Emphasis added)

“…The Muslim Brotherhood does indeed participate in political activity and defend the democratic process. That is not, however, because it has accepted the principles of Western democracy, but rather because the democratic process can be exploited to establish an Islamic regime…

“The Muslim Brotherhood platform also noted [in 2007] that ‘the rule in [Egypt] must be republican, parliamentary, constitutional and democratic in accordance with the Islamic Sharia,’ and that ‘the Sharia ensures liberty for all.'”

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Words can be distorted to mean whatever its user wants them to mean. The problem occurs when the listener, willfully or not, accepts another meaning without paying close attention to what was intended: There is, in fact, no such thing as Sharia rule that would be democratic and provide liberty for all.

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Halevi explains:

“Interviewed on September 17, 2007, by the Egyptian daily newspaper Al-Karama, Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Muhammad Mahdi ‘Akef said that the organization’s campaign slogan would be: ‘Sharia is the Solution’…He devoted his May 12, 2007, weekly missive to an exposition of democracy as seen through Muslim Brotherhood eyes. He said that only Islam, which was given to men by Allah, was the expression of true democracy… (Emphasis added)

“Akef has never equivocated regarding his views on Western democracy. On April 30, 2005, he told the Egyptian daily newspaperAl-Ahram that the Muslim Brotherhood opposed American democracy because it was ‘corrupt and serves the American agenda….’

One of ‘Akef’s examples of America’s ‘corrupt values’ is the attempt to stop female circumcision… ‘which has been prevalent since the time of the Pharaohs.’

“... jihad, that is, holy war against the infidels, is one of the fundamental elements spread by the Muslim Brotherhood. The organization’s ideology, as it appears on its official website, regards ‘the Prophet Muhammad as its leader and ruler, and jihad as its path.’ Jihad has a global strategy beyond self-defense; it is the unceasing attack on every infidel rule, intended to widen the borders of the Islamic state until all mankind lives under the Islamic flag. (Emphasis added)

You can read the entire briefing here.

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You are getting a clear picture, my friends? There are reasons why I have not been sleeping well.

It behooves every American to internalize this danger and to do everything within reason to stop the man in the White House from making things worse than they already are.

As JPost editor David Horovitz wrote in an analysis yesterday:

“Washington’s apparent disinclination, as it now tries to influence the process of Mubarak’s replacement, to internalize the dangers highlighted by the Iran, Lebanon and Turkey disasters, and thus do everything in its power to prevent the Muslim Brotherhood [from] presiding over a similar process in Egypt is incomprehensible.”

(If you are inclined to write to tell me that Obama’s actions are quite comprehensible if you understand his larger agenda, please refrain. These are Horovitz’s words.)

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The protesters had sworn last week that they would see Mubarak gone by Friday. But that’s three days ago, and Mubarak still holds his office.

In an attempt to mollify protesters, key figures of the ruling party, the National Democratic Party, resigned their party positions on Saturday; this included Mubarak’s son Gamal. A response to this by protesters that I caught Saturday night led me to think that Mubarak was correct in saying that if he stepped down chaos would follow. One protester’s comment was that these resignations are a sign of weakness in the regime, and so they have to push even harder.

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On Saturday and Sunday, Vice President Omar Suleiman began negotiating with a number of the protesting groups — Muslim Brotherhood, two other smaller liberal-left parties (the Wafd and Tagammu),and selected representatives of the students in the street — in an attempt to show that there was governmental sensitivity to their demands. Note that the Brotherhood had originally said it would not join talks unless Mubarak was gone. But on the other hand, note that El-Baradei was not invited to participate.

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Among the issues that are being discussed are a release of all dissidents arrested during protests, repeal of certain national emergency laws, and reformulation of elections laws.

Today there was an offer made to investigate corruption and election fraud.

Brotherhood representatives, however, declare themselves not content, as the regime still holds power and they want an entire revamping of the system.

Some protesters have said they will remain in the streets until Mubarak is gone, and have begun setting up tents. A couple of media sources have described the atmosphere on the streets now as “carnival like,” which is a striking contrast from the violence of only days ago. Some normalcy is returning to the country as banks have begun opening for limited hours. But tanks are on the scene.

AP

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Dr. Aaron Lerner, of IMRA, who has an eye for such matters, picked up a significant quote from Secretary of State Clinton yesterday. She said:

“Do we do business with, do we have relations with, do we support governments over the past 50 years that we do not always see eye-to-eye with? Of course. That’s the world in which we live.

“But our messages are consistent about what we think is in the best interest of the United States, which is to have more democracy, more openness, more participation. And that is a consistent principle. We then have to deal with what comes of that.”

What is implicit in her words, spoken undoubtedly out of an eagerness (yea, her too) to show the Muslim street that the US is with them, is that the US will support “participation” in an Egyptian government even if it means Brotherhood influence that is dangerous for Israel.

Not a word about moderation, or honoring previous agreements, or peaceful intentions, or the accoutrements of democracy such as respect for minorities.

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Still wondering why there was an uprising now in Egypt? PA Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, speaking in France last week, has the explanation: It’s a combination of domestic unrest and feelings of “frustration and desperation” because efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict have failed.

How he could even say this with a straight face is beyond me, but it’s clear that he’s laboring mightily to keep his cause on the front burner with everything else going on.

The PA leaders still imagine that somehow they can maintain the upper hand in spite of everything. We are certainly seeing no sign of moderation or conciliation from them, nor should we expect to.

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The Quartet met in Germany on Saturday, and refused to honor a PA call for recognition of a Palestinian state. Instead, the US, the UN, the EU and Russia maintained their support for a negotiated settlement, which they hoped to see finalized by September of this year. (Sigh…)

Palestinian Arab leaders were most decidedly not happy, especially as they are still saying that they will not return to the table until we freeze construction and recognize a Palestinian state in the ’67 “borders.”

What clowns these guys are. I find it difficult to take them seriously, after what we’ve been dealing with in the past days.

Said Saeb Erekat: the PA had expected “historic decisions in light of the danger facing the region because of Israeli occupation and policies.”

Could it be that I’ve gotten it wrong? I’ve been writing that the Muslim Brotherhood was the major danger in the region right now.

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On Friday, Netanyahu, working with Quartet envoy Tony Blair, announced a series of economic measures intended to increase prosperity and stability in Palestinian Arab areas. Included in the announced proposal was a set of steps to make Gaza independent of Israeli infrastructure by helping to develop their electricity plants; water, sewage treatment. (This would serve Israel well.) Also included was an offer to help the PA develop a gas field it has adjacent to an Israeli gas field; plans to assist with a desalination plant in Gaza; and approval for some 20 private construction projects.

By Saturday, the PA had rejected them, calling the projects “totally unacceptable.”

There’s likely more here than meets the eye, for my assumption is that this touches upon Hamas-Fatah tensions as well as everything else.

But Blair seemed very pleased with what had been announced and the PA might want to take care, lest the Quartet grow weary of its constant lack of cooperation and nay-saying.

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I will add here that the PA position vis-a-vis the Egyptian uprising is complex. Hamas is an off-shoot of the Brotherhood, and there is reason to fear that the greater visibility and power of radicals in Egypt will work to also strengthen Hamas (the sometimes partner, sometimes rival, sometimes enemy of the PA). But what is also worrisome for PA leaders is that the Palestinian Arab residents of areas under PA control will take a lesson from the Egyptians and rebel against the corrupt Authority that does nil for the people.

At first the PA forbid demonstrations in support of those protesting in Cairo, and then reversed its position and permitted them. A sure sign of ambivalence.

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With all the above, there a couple of nice things to report:

The Jerusalem Municipality has approved plans for 13 homes in the Shimon HaTzaddik neighborhood. Final approval must yet come from the Interior Ministry.

This is an area that has known much controversy, with Arabs and their supporters claiming that Jews are encroaching on a neighborhood that should remain fully Arab. But the fact is that the land of Shimon HaTzaddik has been legally Jewish for a long time.

Arieh King, the chairman of the Israel Land Fund, speaking to Ynet, explained:

“These are lands that belonged to Jews before the establishment of the state, and after 63 years they have been returned to the heirs. The Arabs that lived here illegally throughout these years should thank the Jews who let them stay for free, and now it’s time for the Jews to actualize their rights to this place.”

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At 2 AM this morning, a Palestinian Arab woman went into labor at a checkpoint in the Jordan Valley. Persons at the checkpoint put in a call to the IDF, which sent a medical task force that consisted of a paramedic and three army medics. The woman, who was hard to locate in the dark, was found in a tent in a high area not accessible by car. The soldiers gave the Arabs who were with her a stretcher, and they brought her to a waiting ambulance, where the paramedic delivered the baby.

It quickly became apparent that the baby was in distress and not breathing properly. CPR was begun and a military helicopter was called in. Medical personal on board helped to keep the baby stabilized until it arrived at the hospital.

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