McCain in Egypt: "It’s a Coup"

6 Comments

1. 

   Oui on August 7, 2013 at 5:04 am

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   [Re-posted comment from July 12, 2012 – Oui]

   The U.S. is in an awkward position which has become clear during Clinton’s 2-day visit and questions asked in the press conferences. Some links added below are mine.

   Clinton’s calls fall flat in Egypt political fight

   CAIRO, Egypt (AP) July 15, 2012 — The head of Egypt’s military Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi took a tough line on the Muslim Brotherhood, warning that he won’t let the fundamentalist group dominate the country, only hours after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged him to work with Egypt’s elected Islamist leaders.

   Clinton’s visit to Egypt underscored the difficulty Washington faces in trying to wield its influence amid the country’s stormy post-Hosni Mubarak power struggles.

   The United States is in a difficult spot when it comes to dealing with post-Mubarak Egypt — eager to be seen as a champion of democracy and human rights after three decades of close ties with the ousted leader despite his abysmal record in advancing either.

   On Sunday, protesters threw tomatoes, water bottles and shoes at her motorcade as she left a ceremony marking the opening of a new U.S. consulate in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

   The U.S is looking to safeguard its interests in the region — from counterterrorism cooperation to Arab-Israeli peace efforts. But the deepening paralysis and lack of clarity over the leadership in Egypt has put much of its agenda on hold. Clinton headed Sunday evening to Jerusalem, where she is tackling another realm where Washington’s influence has failed to bring a breakthrough, reviving Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

   ‘Monica, Monica’ chants taunt Clinton in Egypt

   • State Department website with Clinton’s comments on Egypt
   • JPost: Oxymorons like Alan Dershowitz clinging to false hope of a 2-state solution

   Cross-posted from my diary – 20 Years of Failed Middle-East Peace Policy – by Oui on Thu Jul 12th, 2012 at 01:08:20 PM PDT

   At the time, Hillary Clinton was accused by Republicans for being too close to the Muslim Brotherhood. In hindsight, I believe they were right and both McCain and Graham are ridiculous telling the present Egyptian leadership how to treat opposition leaders of the Muslim Brothers, a longtime global terrorist group.

2. 

   Oui on August 7, 2013 at 5:19 am

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   Even before a formal nomination by John Kerry, the Egyptian people will have none of it – #NotoRobertford.

   Robert S. Ford, former US Ambassador to Syria and previous tenure as assistent to Negroponte
   In Baghdad in 2005 … death squads and the Salvador Option.

   Robert S. Ford Political Counselor to the U.S. Embassy Baghdad (2004-2006)

3. 

   Oui on August 7, 2013 at 5:30 am

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   This also reflects on the US administration and President Obama, what was he thinking?

   Top Reasons John McCain and Lindsey Graham have no Credibility for Egypt Talks

   (Informed Commemt) – Sen. John McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham were apparently asked by President Obama to go to Egypt and try to mediate the conflict between the Egyptian military and the Muslim Brotherhood. They are saying some of the right things while in Cairo. The problem is that they have no credibility on the issues involved.

   McCain and Graham are urging the interim Egyptian government to engage in dialogue with the Muslim Brotherhood. But in winter of 2011 just after the fall of Mubarak, this is what McCain said:

   “SPIEGEL: What is your assessment of the Muslim Brotherhood?

   McCain: I think they are a radical group that first of all supports Sharia law; that in itself is anti-democratic — at least as far as women are concerned. They have been involved with other terrorist organizations and I believe that they should be specifically excluded from any transition government.”

   The phrase “they have been involved with other terrorist organizations” suggests that McCain considered the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, just as Gen. Sisi does.

   John McCain on the Dangers of the Muslim Brotherhood: ‘They Should Be Excluded from any Transition Government’

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     Marie2 on August 7, 2013 at 11:58 am

     McCain never knows what he’s talking about.  He just talks and talks and the media laps it up.

4. 

   Oui on August 7, 2013 at 5:09 pm

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   Statement Egypt’s presidency: Diplomacy failed to end crisis

   CAIRO (Egypt Independent) – The statement follows 10 days of visits by U.S., EU, African and Arab officials in attempts to hash out a deal between the interim government and supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsy.

   Egypt had allowed envoys from the United States, the European Union, United Arab Emirates and Qatar to enter the country, hold discussions and urge the Muslim Brotherhood to “respect popular will embodied in the 30 June and 26 July protests,” the statement said, referring to major protests that led to Morsy’s ouster and an army mandate to confront “violence and terrorism.”

   The statement said the presidency had allowed diplomatic efforts “out of a belief in the necessity to provide a space to exert efforts that could urge the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies to renounce violence and save bloodshed.”

   It argued that diplomacy did not achieve that aim, despite the full support of the Egyptian government. The presidency meanwhile described pro-Morsy protests at Rabea al-Adaweya and al-Nahda Square as “unpeaceful.”

   Egypt says no concessions to Morsi supporters

   (Al Jazeera) – Egypt’s interim president, Adly Mansour, has blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for the “failure” of international talks aimed at resolving Egypt’s political crisis, and warned supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi that the government will not make any concessions to them.

   “The train of the future has left the station,” he said in a televised address on Wednesday night, marking the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the Eid al-Fitr holiday. “It’s moving forward, and all of us have to catch it.”

   US envoy Burns leaves Cairo after talks declared over

   Special report: How the Muslim Brotherhood lost Egypt

   CAIRO (Reuters) July 25, 2013 – When Egyptians poured onto the streets in their millions to demand the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, few thought they would return two years later demonstrating for the overthrow of the man they elected to replace him.

   The stunning fall from power of President Mohamed Morsy, and the Muslim Brotherhood which backed him, has upended politics in the volatile Middle East for a second time after the Arab Spring uprisings toppled veteran autocrats.

   Some of the principal causes were highlighted a month before the army intervened to remove Morsy, when two of Egypt’s most senior power brokers met for a private dinner at the home of liberal politician Ayman Nour on the island of Zamalek, a lush bourgeois oasis in the midst of Cairo’s seething megalopolis. It was seen by some as a last attempt to avert a showdown.

   The two power brokers were Amr Moussa, 76, a long-time foreign minister under Mubarak and now a secular nationalist politician, and Khairat El-Shater, 63, the Brotherhood’s deputy leader and most influential strategist and financier. Moussa suggested that to avoid confrontation, Morsy should heed opposition demands, including a change of government.

   …
   Morsy’s failure sends a powerful message: winning an election is not sufficient to govern Egypt. Post-Mubarak rulers need the acquiescence of the security establishment and of the population at large. Upset either and your position is not secure.

   Egypt’s Islamists may draw the bitter lesson that the “deep state” will not let them wield real power, even with a democratic mandate. This report, compiled from interviews with senior Muslim Brotherhood and secular politicians, youth activists, military officers and diplomats, examines four turning points on Egypt’s revolutionary road: the Brotherhood’s decision to seek the presidency; the way Mursi pushed through the constitution; the failures of the secular opposition; and the military’s decision to step in.

5. 

   Oui on August 8, 2013 at 12:51 am

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   Publication State Department as the US Embassy walls in Cairo were scaled and the US flag replaced by the black flag of Al Qaeda. Insufficient protection and security by President Morsi’s government who didn’t want to hurt the feeling of his Egyptians running the government [read Salafists and Muslim Brotherhood].

   Cairo protesters scale U.S. Embassy wall, remove flag

   (USA Today) – Egyptian demonstrators climbed the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo today and pulled down the American flag to protest a film they say is insulting to the prophet Mohammad.

   Update at 2:07 p.m. ET: CNN reports that U.S. security guards fired a volley of warning shots as the crowd gathered outside the embassy walls. CNN video.

   CNN adds that the embassy had been expecting a demonstration and cleared all diplomatic personnel earlier from the facility.

   “Egyptian police and army personnel have since formed defensive lines around the facility in an effort to prevent the demonstrators from advancing farther, but not before the protesters affixed their standard atop the embassy.

   The black flag, which hangs atop a ladder inside the compound, is adorned with white characters that read, “There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is his messenger,” an emblem often used in al Qaeda propaganda.”

   U.S. Embassy Condemns Religious Incitement

   September 11, 2012

   The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.

   Cached version Wayback Machine 09-12-2012 [14:47:52]