AMERICA’S DANGEROUS BROMANCE
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/562346/201102071906/Americas-Dangerous-Bromance.htm
Is this just Carteresque naivete, leading to a great tragedy like the deposing of the shah of Iran? Or is it something worse — a dangerous world view that says even terrorists who seek to kill us deserve America’s respect and solicitude?
Egypt: As the U.S. pushes for the inclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood in a new Egyptian government, a frightening revelation emerges: The fundamentalist group would be part of a regime that has an active WMD program.
The U.S. wants to include the Muslim Brotherhood in talks on a future government, with the possibility it might even be part of a coalition. All very innocent sounding, except inclusion of hard-liners in such coalitions can lead to an eventual takeover of the government. Expect no different in Egypt.
As retired Army Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis wrote in Human Events this week, “An Egyptian government dominated by the Brotherhood would quickly cast aside its democratic and nonviolent facade to establish Egypt as an Islamic state.”
Not scary enough for you? Senior investigative producer Robert Windrem of MSNBC reports that “Egypt has quietly carried out research and development on weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, chemical, biological and missile technology.”
This R&D, he adds, has “continued virtually without pause over the past three decades,” based on interviews with U.S. officials and reviews of intelligence.
Which raises a key question: Why is the U.S. pushing to include the Muslim Brotherhood — one of whose founders actively helped Adolf Hitler implement the final solution against Europe’s Jews and made a similar exterminationist idea the backbone of his own movement — as part of a transitional government in our Mideast ally, Egypt?
This strikes us as just short of insane.
In recent days, U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey has met with Mohamed ElBaradei, the former U.N. official and longtime Swiss resident, to discuss his heading of a transitional government.
Make no mistake, however. As we’ve written before, ElBaradei will be used to give the Muslim Brotherhood the credibility it desperately needs to rule, then will be cast aside. This is a pattern in the Muslim Mideast, in Iran, in Lebanon, on the West Bank.
Despite its overtures to the Brotherhood, the U.S. military shows growing concern about Egypt’s stability. The Pentagon just last Friday announced that “U.S. warships and other military assets (will be moved) to make sure it is prepared in case evacuation of U.S. citizens from Egypt becomes necessary.”
And businessinsider.com reports that “a senior member of the U.S. Marine Corps is telling people ‘multiple platoons’ are deploying to Egypt.”
To many Mideast experts, fear of the Muslim Brotherhood is “overblown,” as a recent headline put it. Maybe so. But the Brotherhood did win 20% of the seats — 88 total — in Egypt’s parliament in elections held in 2005. The bet among many Egypt watchers is if a vote were held today, the Brotherhood would get at least 50% more than that and might garner an outright majority.
Don’t worry, we’re told — Mohammed Badie, the recently elected head of the Brotherhood, is really a “moderate.” For the record, here’s what Badie had to say in one sermon last year:
“Arab and Muslim regimes are betraying their people by failing to confront the Muslim’s real enemies — not only Israel, but also the United States. Waging jihad against both of these infidels is a commandment of Allah that cannot be disregarded. Governments have no right to stop their people from fighting the U.S.”
Despite this, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed the Muslim Brotherhood’s participation, telling NPR that “they at least are now involved in the dialogue that we have encouraged.”
“Dialogue” with terrorist supporters? Sorry, but we shouldn’t place the imprimatur of our government on any movement that tolerates or advocates terrorism, oppression and the extirpation of an entire people — the Jews. Yet President Obama seems ready to clasp the Brotherhood’s hand in admiring friendship — a weird bromance if ever there was one.
Is this just Carteresque naivete, leading to a great tragedy like the deposing of the shah of Iran? Or is it something worse — a dangerous world view that says even terrorists who seek to kill us deserve America’s respect and solicitude?
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