President El-Sisi of Egypt to Shore Up Independence: US and Muslim Brotherhood
Boutros Hussein and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The inauguration of the newly elected President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, on June 8 bodes well for the emergence of an independent state. Egypt must no longer be beholden to America’s foreign policy objectives, nor to implementing Camp David to the maximum. Instead, the newly elected El-Sisi must focus on new opportunities with other major powers while keeping all doors open based on sincerity. However, El-Sisi and the people of Egypt must never forget how the administration of President Obama tilted towards the Muslim Brotherhood.
Indeed, when the Islamist tyranny of the Muslim Brotherhood was targeting the state apparatus, thereby threatening to reduce Christians to dhimmi status, it was more than noticeable that America kept the dollars coming. At no point were political elites in Washington concerned by the changing sands and that sinister religious authoritarians were intent on turning the clock back. On the contrary, it appeared that America, Qatar, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, were all embroiled in a Muslim Brotherhood conspiracy from Tunisia to Egypt and to the direct meddling of these nations in Syria.
However, tens of millions of Egyptians refused to follow the combined script of several Gulf and Western powers alongside the intrigues of Turkey. El-Sisi was also fully aware about the dangers taking place therefore he took immediate action when the time was required. Moving on from these momentous events it is now time for a new Egypt to emerge under El-Sisi but of course many dangers await this nation. This applies equally to internal and external forces that seek either chaos and the destabilization of Egypt based on the future potential of this nation (the Islamist agenda) – while other forces focus on preserving Camp David and the inferiority status of Egypt in relation to Israel. El-Sisi therefore must reach out in all directions in the field of international relations providing the various parties are focused on genuine relations and not ulterior motives.
Internally, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist militant groups desire sectarianism, terrorism, to weaken the economy and to attack various central state institutions. At the same time, America under Obama appears to be focused on extending a helping hand to the Muslim Brotherhood in various nations. Of course, when this intrigue failed in Egypt then the next scenario is to tie El-Sisi into the Camp David knot. Therefore, with Libya and the Gaza Strip being utilized by terrorists, the Muslim Brotherhood and the intrigues of America, Qatar, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, then it is essential for El-Sisi to tackle this double-pronged attack against Egypt.
El-Sisi also must bide his time in relation to America because it is hoped that the next administration in this nation will not be fixated on playing a double-game that threatens the foundations of Egyptian society. Soon the Obama administration will be replaced and the one positive for Egypt is that the new political leaders of this nation fully understand that Washington discarded Egypt at the drop of a hat. Not only this, the Obama administration that remained visibly quiet when opposition forces rose up in Iran; was the same administration that stabbed Egypt in the back. Indeed, the media card is still being utilized against El-Sisi and the flow of connections between America and the Muslim Brotherhood continues “in the land of the free.” At the same time, while feudal Gulf nations, Israel and Turkey (occupation of Northern Cyprus and so forth) are hardly held accountable, it is clear that Egypt is being treated differently. Therefore, it appears that Washington fears an independent Egypt at all costs under the current Obama administration.
Raymond Stock, a Shillman-Ginsburg Writing Fellow at the Middle East Forum comments: “From the moment he ousted Morsi–who had turned a narrow electoral mandate in June 2012 into a brutal Islamist dictatorship almost overnight, alienating the vast majority of the country–the hugely popular El-Sisi has been ceaselessly attacked by a wide array of forces both at home and abroad.”
He continues by stating: “These attacks have come not only from the Al Qaeda-allied MB and its Salafi allies in an increasingly violent insurgency that has so far claimed nearly 2,000 lives, but also from many Western journalists, Middle East experts, government officials and even key members of Congress, who have accused him of being just another military strong man who has usurped an elected leader.”
Attacks against El-Sisi by militants in the Muslim Brotherhood and other “year zero Islamist groups” aren’t surprising. However, individuals in Congress and many journalists must have mega blinkers on. In Iraq, Libya and Syria all these three nations are struggling to survive based on being centralized states. This reality is based on Gulf and Western destabilization policies that have caused mayhem, death and destruction and one endless cycle of violence. Likewise, other nations like Sudan (South Sudan obtained independence), Mali, Somalia and Yemen face similar centralization issues even if each nation is blighted by various different factors. It would appear that Gulf petrodollars, Islamist terrorist groups and Western intrigues are all in bed to various degrees because all these three forces pop-up after outside meddling. Of course, sometimes disagreements occur, for example Saudi Arabia is opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood agenda in Egypt while Qatar and Turkey continue to push this agenda. Yet on the whole it is the same nations that keep on entering and creating vacuums whereby the end result is destabilization.
After all, the so-called “Arab Spring” conveniently bypassed Israel, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Also, if a feudal Gulf kingdom is threatened by internal forces, like Bahrain, then no problem because Saudi Arabia is allowed to meddle while Western powers remain quiet apart from ushering words for public consumption.
Irrespective of the media spin against El-Sisi it is apparent that he obtained ten million more votes than the last leader of this nation. Equally important, threats against the life of El-Sisi are genuine therefore he couldn’t campaign openly throughout the nation because of Islamist terrorist groups (and a possible third force). Also, unlike the Muslim Brotherhood that seeks a tyrannical state based on a one-party-religious-theocracy that just happens to fall into line with their version of Islam; it is clear that El-Sisi seeks to correct the democratic path by firstly protecting the nation state and then by re-building central institutions. At the same time, unlike the Muslim Brotherhood, El-Sisi appeals to the broad spectrum of Egyptian society irrespective of faith and so forth. Yes, radical Islamists (the first force) and certain militant secular groups (the second force) have a more radical agenda. However, while the first force seeks to enslave all and sundry, the second force focuses on mass openness whereby the first force will utilize this by mass demonstrations and threatening the economy. These two contradictory forces are a threat to Egypt under the prevailing conditions therefore El-Sisi is fully aware about the need to strengthen the state apparatus in order for “democracy to breathe.”
If members of Congress in America and the mass media want to envisage modern day Egypt under the Muslim Brotherhood, then look no further than how vast numbers of Christian churches and schools were attacked by these religious fanatics. Following on from this, many police officers were slain in terrible circumstances and wanton destruction of the economy took place because “year zero Islamists” thrive on chaos. However, El-Sisi didn’t baulk or shirk his responsibilities – on the contrary, he stood firm and provided comfort to the masses who feared another Libya, Iraq or Syria.
Stock comments about the role of the Obama administration and how vast numbers in Egypt now view the current leader of America. He states: “…instead of cutting aid to the Muslim Brotherhood government, Obama increased it, while his then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, overrode human rights objections from Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, who tried to put it on hold pending review.”
Stock continues: “As a result, most Egyptians now disdain our president, who reached out to the MB in his June 4, 2009 speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, as a hypocrite, and have applauded El-Sissi’s recent agreement to buy an unprecedented $2 billion in military equipment from Russia, signaling that our more than three-decades old alliance is now in serious danger.”
Egypt still faces many internal and external dangers therefore it is incumbent on major Western powers to “turn the democratic and independent clock on.” In this sense, it is essential to reach out to El-Sisi and to shore up a nation that needs genuine friends given the delicate situation throughout much of the region.