Muslim Brotherhood Islamists Flex Muscles In Egypt, Warns Military

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhhood and their salafist allies have warned the military junta against trying to stall the Islamist revolution by not removing the current interim government in favor of an Islamist one of the Brotherhood and the salafist's choosing.

The Brotherhood's official political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, has been agitating for the interim civilian government appointed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to be removed immediately since the parliamentary election, which saw the FJP and the even more radical Salafist Al-Nour party win a huge majority

In its statement, the Brotherhood accused the cureent government of being guilty of:

.. the "biggest failure", listing unrest, judicial interference, stalling reforms, fuel shortages and dwindling foreign reserves.

"When we called for the resignation of the government, its head refused, and this was unfortunately supported by the military council," the group said.

"Keeping this government as we approach presidential elections... which raises suspicions over the fairness of these elections, as well as the general decline of affairs, are things we cannot remain silent or patient over," it added.

"If anyone intends to recreate the former corrupt regime with new faces, the people are willing to move in order to revive their revolution and protect their ship from sinking at the hands of people with no sense of responsibility," it said.

What they're essentially doing is warning the generals not to get in the way of what they see as an inevitable takeover of Egypt, subtly reminding them of their strength within the Egyptian military's rank and file and telling them that now is the time to make a deal if they want to remain in the good graces of the coming Islamist regime.

Khomeini did pretty much the same thing to the generals in Iran's military in 1979.

Muslim Brotherhood Islamists Flex Muscles In Egypt, Warns Military

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhhood and their salafist allies have warned the military junta against trying to stall the Islamist revolution by not removing the current interim government in favor of an Islamist one of the Brotherhood and the salafist's choosing.

The Brotherhood's official political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, has been agitating for the interim civilian government appointed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to be removed immediately since the parliamentary election, which saw the FJP and the even more radical Salafist Al-Nour party win a huge majority

In its statement, the Brotherhood accused the cureent government of being guilty of:

.. the "biggest failure", listing unrest, judicial interference, stalling reforms, fuel shortages and dwindling foreign reserves.

"When we called for the resignation of the government, its head refused, and this was unfortunately supported by the military council," the group said.

"Keeping this government as we approach presidential elections... which raises suspicions over the fairness of these elections, as well as the general decline of affairs, are things we cannot remain silent or patient over," it added.

"If anyone intends to recreate the former corrupt regime with new faces, the people are willing to move in order to revive their revolution and protect their ship from sinking at the hands of people with no sense of responsibility," it said.

What they're essentially doing is warning the generals not to get in the way of what they see as an inevitable takeover of Egypt, subtly reminding them of their strength within the Egyptian military's rank and file and telling them that now is the time to make a deal if they want to remain in the good graces of the coming Islamist regime.

Khomeini did pretty much the same thing to the generals in Iran's military in 1979.

Tunisia - Secularists Accuse Obama Administration Of Helping Muslim Brotherhood Take Over

Tunisia was the place where the much hyped Arab Spring started, and where long time Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown by a popular revolution.

However, as long time Arab world observer and journalist at large Michael Totten observes, the democratic revolution has largely been stolen by the Ennahda Party, Tunisia's Islamist Muslim Brotherhood offshoot.

And the Liberals and secularists are angered at what they perceive as the Obama Administration's assistance in helping them do it:

Radical Islamists are making inroads in the Arab world's most advanced, liberal, and tolerant country. And the secularists think the United States is helping them do it.

Thousands took to the streets of Tunisia's capital Tunis yesterday to celebrate the end of French colonial rule in 1956. As one might expect on independence day, most were in an anti-imperialist mood. Who are the “imperialists” in the Tunisian imagination today? Not the French. Not anymore. The “imperialists” of today are the United States and, oddly enough, Qatar. Both are seen, fairly or not, as the backers of Tunisia's Islamists.

“No to America, no to Qatar, the people of Tunisia will always be free.”

I heard that chant all morning on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, Tunis' own Champs-Elysees named after the modern republic's Ataturk-like first president. Demonstrators were protesting Washington's warm relations and close cooperation with the new ruling party which already appears to be slipping in popularity.

“People here think the United States is cooperating with Ennahda,” said local journalist Ashraf Ayadi, referring to the Islamists who won 42 percent of the vote in the election last October. Even though a majority of Tunisians voted against them, they still got more votes than any of the other various parties, so they got to choose the prime minister.

“People here are against the United States helping Ennahda,” Ayadi continued. “All Americans who come here are against the Islamists, but the American government is supporting them. I wish we had a good, modern, respectful Islamic party. I'm a Muslim and I'm proud of it, but I'm not proud of this party.”

The Americans are with the Islamists. They support Ennahda in Tunisia and the Wahhabists in Saudi Arabia.

I've heard this complaint from every single secular person I've interviewed in this country without exception, from academics and democratic activists to journalists and teachers. They seem to be unanimously shocked and dismayed and appalled. The subject comes up again and again in conversation even when I ask about other things. It's impossible to spend any time here whatsoever without hearing about it.

These people are not part of a marginal fringe movement like their Egyptian counterparts. Politically secular Tunisians make up half the country or more. And they're depressed about what is happening now. Rami Sghayier, a young activist who does volunteer work with Amnesty International, seems to speak for most when he says, “We made the revolution and they got the power.”

They, of course, are the dour men and women of Ennahda, Tunisia's version of the Muslim Brotherhood.

It turns out that just like their Egyptian counterparts, the Ennahda aren't the 'moderates' President Obama told us they were. Instead, they're allied with the salafis in Tunisia, just as the Muslim Brotherhood are in Egypt and pretty much everywhere else:

“It is a fascist party,” Sghayier continued. “They tried to convince people they're just defending religion and they won the election that way, but they have a fascist program. They said if they win they will create 500,000 jobs for unemployed people, but they gave the ministry of employment to a different party. Nothing happened. They're not even trying. It's a fascist party because it's protecting the Salafists and other extremists. We don't only have the Salafists here, we also have Hizb ut-Tahrir. The interior minister did not even move his finger when the Tunisian national flag was attacked at Manouba University by Salafists. Last week, on March 7, they took down our country's flag and replaced it with their black flag.”

Most Tunisians don't seem to understand Washington. And the administration does not seem to understand Tunis. Western governments, including the Obama administration, decided Ennahda is a moderate Islamist party that they can do business with, but secular and liberal Tunisians think that analysis is a load of old bollocks.

I met with Zeyneb Farhat, director of Tunisia's national theater, El Teatro.

“Most journalists in the West,” I said, “describe Ennahda as a moderate party in almost every single article about this country.”

“These are not serious people,” she said. “They have no idea what they are talking about. Ennahda is not moderate. Let me tell you, nobody at the United States Embassy in Tunisia was informed. Nobody. That's why Hillary Clinton twice told Ennahda that their merchandise is not what was sold a few months ago in order to get support from the American administration.

“We're closely following all the declarations of the people in government. Two days ago the minister of the interior was speaking more to Hillary Clinton than to the people of Tunisia when he said, 'Nobody is above the law and the Salafists will be punished.' But they're not. Of course they're not. He was lying. Just a few days ago there was a demonstration in front of the parliament by Salafists carrying the black flag and demanding the implementation of Sharia law. Officials from Ennahda were with them. We are not children. We know how to read signs.”

It's important to remember that the majority of Tunisians voted against Ennahda. If either the Democratic or Republican party in the United States won a mere 42 percent of the vote, the election would rightly be called an epic shellacking.

One place Totten has it wrong, in my opinion, is giving the Obama Administration a pass for their overt encouragement and support of the Muslim Brotherhood and offshoots like Ennahda in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia,not to mention US financing of Hamas through funds channeled through various NGO's.

The Brotherhood and their Salafist allies are now in control of Libya, Gaza and Tunisia and have a decent chance of taking over Jordan and the Arab occupied areas of Judea and Samaria west of the Jordan River. This is only a step away from the Caliphate Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna dreamed of, and exactly why al-Qaeda's new leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is now relocating al-Qaeda's main base of operations back to the Arab world.

President Obama and the clueless elites that he surrounded himself saw the Muslim Brotherhood as allies in what they conceived as a new world order, not as dangerously radical Islamists and salafists.

Barring unseen events, we'll be living with his error for some time to come.

Tunisia - Secularists Accuse Obama Administration Of Helping Muslim Brotherhood Take Over

Tunisia was the place where the much hyped Arab Spring started, and where long time Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown by a popular revolution.

However, as long time Arab world observer and journalist at large Michael Totten observes, the democratic revolution has largely been stolen by the Ennahda Party, Tunisia's Islamist Muslim Brotherhood offshoot.

And the Liberals and secularists are angered at what they perceive as the Obama Administration's assistance in helping them do it:

Radical Islamists are making inroads in the Arab world's most advanced, liberal, and tolerant country. And the secularists think the United States is helping them do it.

Thousands took to the streets of Tunisia's capital Tunis yesterday to celebrate the end of French colonial rule in 1956. As one might expect on independence day, most were in an anti-imperialist mood. Who are the “imperialists” in the Tunisian imagination today? Not the French. Not anymore. The “imperialists” of today are the United States and, oddly enough, Qatar. Both are seen, fairly or not, as the backers of Tunisia's Islamists.

“No to America, no to Qatar, the people of Tunisia will always be free.”

I heard that chant all morning on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, Tunis' own Champs-Elysees named after the modern republic's Ataturk-like first president. Demonstrators were protesting Washington's warm relations and close cooperation with the new ruling party which already appears to be slipping in popularity.

“People here think the United States is cooperating with Ennahda,” said local journalist Ashraf Ayadi, referring to the Islamists who won 42 percent of the vote in the election last October. Even though a majority of Tunisians voted against them, they still got more votes than any of the other various parties, so they got to choose the prime minister.

“People here are against the United States helping Ennahda,” Ayadi continued. “All Americans who come here are against the Islamists, but the American government is supporting them. I wish we had a good, modern, respectful Islamic party. I'm a Muslim and I'm proud of it, but I'm not proud of this party.”

The Americans are with the Islamists. They support Ennahda in Tunisia and the Wahhabists in Saudi Arabia.

I've heard this complaint from every single secular person I've interviewed in this country without exception, from academics and democratic activists to journalists and teachers. They seem to be unanimously shocked and dismayed and appalled. The subject comes up again and again in conversation even when I ask about other things. It's impossible to spend any time here whatsoever without hearing about it.

These people are not part of a marginal fringe movement like their Egyptian counterparts. Politically secular Tunisians make up half the country or more. And they're depressed about what is happening now. Rami Sghayier, a young activist who does volunteer work with Amnesty International, seems to speak for most when he says, “We made the revolution and they got the power.”

They, of course, are the dour men and women of Ennahda, Tunisia's version of the Muslim Brotherhood.

It turns out that just like their Egyptian counterparts, the Ennahda aren't the 'moderates' President Obama told us they were. Instead, they're allied with the salafis in Tunisia, just as the Muslim Brotherhood are in Egypt and pretty much everywhere else:

“It is a fascist party,” Sghayier continued. “They tried to convince people they're just defending religion and they won the election that way, but they have a fascist program. They said if they win they will create 500,000 jobs for unemployed people, but they gave the ministry of employment to a different party. Nothing happened. They're not even trying. It's a fascist party because it's protecting the Salafists and other extremists. We don't only have the Salafists here, we also have Hizb ut-Tahrir. The interior minister did not even move his finger when the Tunisian national flag was attacked at Manouba University by Salafists. Last week, on March 7, they took down our country's flag and replaced it with their black flag.”

Most Tunisians don't seem to understand Washington. And the administration does not seem to understand Tunis. Western governments, including the Obama administration, decided Ennahda is a moderate Islamist party that they can do business with, but secular and liberal Tunisians think that analysis is a load of old bollocks.

I met with Zeyneb Farhat, director of Tunisia's national theater, El Teatro.

“Most journalists in the West,” I said, “describe Ennahda as a moderate party in almost every single article about this country.”

“These are not serious people,” she said. “They have no idea what they are talking about. Ennahda is not moderate. Let me tell you, nobody at the United States Embassy in Tunisia was informed. Nobody. That's why Hillary Clinton twice told Ennahda that their merchandise is not what was sold a few months ago in order to get support from the American administration.

“We're closely following all the declarations of the people in government. Two days ago the minister of the interior was speaking more to Hillary Clinton than to the people of Tunisia when he said, 'Nobody is above the law and the Salafists will be punished.' But they're not. Of course they're not. He was lying. Just a few days ago there was a demonstration in front of the parliament by Salafists carrying the black flag and demanding the implementation of Sharia law. Officials from Ennahda were with them. We are not children. We know how to read signs.”

It's important to remember that the majority of Tunisians voted against Ennahda. If either the Democratic or Republican party in the United States won a mere 42 percent of the vote, the election would rightly be called an epic shellacking.

One place Totten has it wrong, in my opinion, is giving the Obama Administration a pass for their overt encouragement and support of the Muslim Brotherhood and offshoots like Ennahda in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia,not to mention US financing of Hamas through funds channeled through various NGO's.

The Brotherhood and their Salafist allies are now in control of Libya, Gaza and Tunisia and have a decent chance of taking over Jordan and the Arab occupied areas of Judea and Samaria west of the Jordan River. This is only a step away from the Caliphate Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna dreamed of, and exactly why al-Qaeda's new leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is now relocating al-Qaeda's main base of operations back to the Arab world.

President Obama and the clueless elites that he surrounded himself saw the Muslim Brotherhood as allies in what they conceived as a new world order, not as dangerously radical Islamists and salafists.

Barring unseen events, we'll be living with his error for some time to come.

In Spite Of Islamist Parliament, US To Resume Funding Egypt's Military

Just this week, the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist dominated Egyptian Parliament voted unanimously to declare Israel Egypt's 'number one enemy', expel Israel's ambassador, and endorse terrorism against Israeli civilians:

The vote took the form of an overwhelming endorsement of a report by the Egyptian Parliament's Arab affairs committee that declared “Revolutionary Egypt will never be a friend, partner or ally of the Zionist entity (Israel), which we consider to be the number one enemy of Egypt and the Arab nation. It will deal with that entity as an enemy, and the Egyptian government is hereby called upon to review all its relations and accords with that enemy.” The report also endorsed what it called Palestinian resistance “in all its kinds and forms”.....in other words, terrorism against Israeli civilians.

The Obama Administration's response? They're going to unblock the $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt's military, in spite of laws passed by Congress to the contrary:

The Obama administration intends to resume funding for Egypt’s military, despite congressional restrictions and objections from human rights and democracy advocates.

For months, the money for Egypt — more than $1.5 billion, with the bulk earmarked for the military — has been withheld amid that country’s crackdown on pro-democracy groups, including several U.S.-based organizations with close ties in Washington.

A law passed by Congress in December forbids funding unless the State Department certifies that Egypt is making progress in basic freedoms and human rights.

But Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is close to announcing plans to bypass those restrictions on national security grounds for fear of worsening already fraying ties with Egyptian leaders...

So...the Obama Administration is bypassing laws passed by Congress because it feels like it? Again?

This is the same Egyptian government that just held U.S. citizens for ransom and collected a cool $5 million to release them, including the son of Obama's Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood. Was unblocking the aid money part of the deal?

Even more ironic, the WAPO article linked above refers to the Egyptian military junta as 'one of our major allies in the region'. You see, to that mindset, that's what major allies do. They take American hostages and ransom them for a nice chunk of baksheesh.

The whole rationale for this is interesting. We're throwing money at a non-democratic military junta in order to keep them from being undermined by, wait for it..the same 'Arab Spring' democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood Salafists mix that President Obama was so high on and so supportive of, because the junta is perceived by the White House as more friendly to our interests.

Is that any different from the deal we had with Mubarak? Our idea was that he was a dictator, but he'd keep the peace and keep the Islamist maniacs from taking over.

So now, after the Obama Administration made a huge deal out of deposing him and supporting 'democracy', the Muslim Brotherhood and the Arab Spring, we're doing exactly the same thing, only with different and unknown actors and in defiance of sensible measures passed by Congress.

This is typical what passes for strategic thinking for this president and the ideologues he has surrounding him.

We have no idea at this point which way the military junta is going to bend, although all indications are that they will more than likely make a devil's bargain with the Islamists, just as the military did in Iran. In that case, we have spent quite a lot of money we don't have arming our enemies, and those arms could very well end up being used against our ally Israel.

In the unlikely event the junta does manage to hang on for a while, then they are going to remember what we did to Mubarak and be 'allies' in a very selective sense of the word, and we will again be committed to supporting a repressive military dictatorship..which will still likely have to consider Israel and the West an enemy and abrogate the Camp David Accords to maintain any kind of popular support.And of course, if the Islamists eventually manage to take over anyway they will have a ready made excuse to whip up hatred against America for supporting a dictator, just like Iran's Khomeini did.

Not only that, but the Israelis aren't stupid, and know exactly who the arms we're supplying the Egyptians with will end up aimed at. Look for a news story in the near future about a major theft or hijacking of American supplied Egyptian arms that ends up going to Hamas.

Well done, Mr. President. Once again, you've pulled off the trick of angering the parties involved on all sides.

In Spite Of Islamist Parliament, US To Resume Funding Egypt's Military

Just this week, the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist dominated Egyptian Parliament voted unanimously to declare Israel Egypt's 'number one enemy', expel Israel's ambassador, and endorse terrorism against Israeli civilians:

The vote took the form of an overwhelming endorsement of a report by the Egyptian Parliament's Arab affairs committee that declared “Revolutionary Egypt will never be a friend, partner or ally of the Zionist entity (Israel), which we consider to be the number one enemy of Egypt and the Arab nation. It will deal with that entity as an enemy, and the Egyptian government is hereby called upon to review all its relations and accords with that enemy.” The report also endorsed what it called Palestinian resistance “in all its kinds and forms”.....in other words, terrorism against Israeli civilians.

The Obama Administration's response? They're going to unblock the $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt's military, in spite of laws passed by Congress to the contrary:

The Obama administration intends to resume funding for Egypt’s military, despite congressional restrictions and objections from human rights and democracy advocates.

For months, the money for Egypt — more than $1.5 billion, with the bulk earmarked for the military — has been withheld amid that country’s crackdown on pro-democracy groups, including several U.S.-based organizations with close ties in Washington.

A law passed by Congress in December forbids funding unless the State Department certifies that Egypt is making progress in basic freedoms and human rights.

But Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is close to announcing plans to bypass those restrictions on national security grounds for fear of worsening already fraying ties with Egyptian leaders...

So...the Obama Administration is bypassing laws passed by Congress because it feels like it? Again?

This is the same Egyptian government that just held U.S. citizens for ransom and collected a cool $5 million to release them, including the son of Obama's Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood. Was unblocking the aid money part of the deal?

Even more ironic, the WAPO article linked above refers to the Egyptian military junta as 'one of our major allies in the region'. You see, to that mindset, that's what major allies do. They take American hostages and ransom them for a nice chunk of baksheesh.

The whole rationale for this is interesting. We're throwing money at a non-democratic military junta in order to keep them from being undermined by, wait for it..the same 'Arab Spring' democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood Salafists mix that President Obama was so high on and so supportive of, because the junta is perceived by the White House as more friendly to our interests.

Is that any different from the deal we had with Mubarak? Our idea was that he was a dictator, but he'd keep the peace and keep the Islamist maniacs from taking over.

So now, after the Obama Administration made a huge deal out of deposing him and supporting 'democracy', the Muslim Brotherhood and the Arab Spring, we're doing exactly the same thing, only with different and unknown actors and in defiance of sensible measures passed by Congress.

This is typical what passes for strategic thinking for this president and the ideologues he has surrounding him.

We have no idea at this point which way the military junta is going to bend, although all indications are that they will more than likely make a devil's bargain with the Islamists, just as the military did in Iran. In that case, we have spent quite a lot of money we don't have arming our enemies, and those arms could very well end up being used against our ally Israel.

In the unlikely event the junta does manage to hang on for a while, then they are going to remember what we did to Mubarak and be 'allies' in a very selective sense of the word, and we will again be committed to supporting a repressive military dictatorship..which will still likely have to consider Israel and the West an enemy and abrogate the Camp David Accords to maintain any kind of popular support.And of course, if the Islamists eventually manage to take over anyway they will have a ready made excuse to whip up hatred against America for supporting a dictator, just like Iran's Khomeini did.

Not only that, but the Israelis aren't stupid, and know exactly who the arms we're supplying the Egyptians with will end up aimed at. Look for a news story in the near future about a major theft or hijacking of American supplied Egyptian arms that ends up going to Hamas.

Well done, Mr. President. Once again, you've pulled off the trick of angering the parties involved on all sides.

Egyptian Parliament Votes To Expel Israeli Ambassador, Declares Israel 'Number One Enemy'

The Islamist dominated Egyptian parliament voted unanimously on March 12 to expel Israel's ambassador, recall Egypt's ambassador to Israel and to halt gas exports to Israel.

To vote took the form of an overwhelming endorsement of a report by the Egyptian Parliament's Arab affairs committee that declared “Revolutionary Egypt will never be a friend, partner or ally of the Zionist entity (Israel), which we consider to be the number one enemy of Egypt and the Arab nation. It will deal with that entity as an enemy, and the Egyptian government is hereby called upon to review all its relations and accords with that enemy.” The report also endorsed what it called Palestinian resistance “in all its kinds and forms”....in other words, terrorism against Israeli civilians.

Yes, President Obama's friends The Muslim Brotherhood are certainly non-violent, practical types, aren't they? Of course, some of us saw this coming a long time ago, back when this president and his lackeys in the dinosaur media were all extolling the virtues of the Arab Spring.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry lauded the Egyptian vote, with spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast telling reporters said, “When people in independent countries take over the helm of affairs, they do not tolerate the crimes of the Zionist regime, and the move by the Egyptian parliament was a natural response.”

“The move by the Egyptian parliament is considered logical… and we hope that all regional countries will achieve a good degree of independence to end invasions of the occupying Zionist regime.”

Essentially, the Egyptian Parliament and the Iranian regime are on the same page now when it comes to the 'Zionist Entity.'

This vote, by Egypt's new parliament is not decisive now, because the country is still controlled by the military junta, led by Mubarak’s defense minister for 20 years, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. But that situation isn't going to endure as it is much longer.

Eventually, the Egyptian military will be faced with the same choice Iran's was. Either to make war on their own people, or make a devil's bargain with the new Islamist regime in order to hang on to some vestige of their perks and privileges.

In Iran, the military were thought of in Washington DC just as Egypt's is today, as rational actors. But when it came down to it, the Iranian military stepped aside to enabled Khomeini to take power. Afterwards, some Iranian military officers were murdered, some fled into exile, and others became willing parts of the new regime.

Egypt is headed right on course to become the next Iran. And while Egypt doesn't have any oil wealth,Libya, now ruled by exactly the same mixture of Salafists and Muslim Brotherhood does...and just remember, these people believe in a unified Muslim caliphate.

Egyptian Parliament Votes To Expel Israeli Ambassador, Declares Israel 'Number One Enemy'

The Islamist dominated Egyptian parliament voted unanimously on March 12 to expel Israel's ambassador, recall Egypt's ambassador to Israel and to halt gas exports to Israel.

To vote took the form of an overwhelming endorsement of a report by the Egyptian Parliament's Arab affairs committee that declared “Revolutionary Egypt will never be a friend, partner or ally of the Zionist entity (Israel), which we consider to be the number one enemy of Egypt and the Arab nation. It will deal with that entity as an enemy, and the Egyptian government is hereby called upon to review all its relations and accords with that enemy.” The report also endorsed what it called Palestinian resistance “in all its kinds and forms”....in other words, terrorism against Israeli civilians.

Yes, President Obama's friends The Muslim Brotherhood are certainly non-violent, practical types, aren't they? Of course, some of us saw this coming a long time ago, back when this president and his lackeys in the dinosaur media were all extolling the virtues of the Arab Spring.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry lauded the Egyptian vote, with spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast telling reporters said, “When people in independent countries take over the helm of affairs, they do not tolerate the crimes of the Zionist regime, and the move by the Egyptian parliament was a natural response.”

“The move by the Egyptian parliament is considered logical… and we hope that all regional countries will achieve a good degree of independence to end invasions of the occupying Zionist regime.”

Essentially, the Egyptian Parliament and the Iranian regime are on the same page now when it comes to the 'Zionist Entity.'

This vote, by Egypt's new parliament is not decisive now, because the country is still controlled by the military junta, led by Mubarak’s defense minister for 20 years, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. But that situation isn't going to endure as it is much longer.

Eventually, the Egyptian military will be faced with the same choice Iran's was. Either to make war on their own people, or make a devil's bargain with the new Islamist regime in order to hang on to some vestige of their perks and privileges.

In Iran, the military were thought of in Washington DC just as Egypt's is today, as rational actors. But when it came down to it, the Iranian military stepped aside to enabled Khomeini to take power. Afterwards, some Iranian military officers were murdered, some fled into exile, and others became willing parts of the new regime.

Egypt is headed right on course to become the next Iran. And while Egypt doesn't have any oil wealth,Libya, now ruled by exactly the same mixture of Salafists and Muslim Brotherhood does...and just remember, these people believe in a unified Muslim caliphate.

WTC Bombing Mastermind To Be Freed In Exchange For Americans Jailed In Egypt?

That's what Robert Spencer over at Jihadwatch is saying after reading a report in al-Arabiya.


The Egyptian government has started real action to respond to a U.S. offer offering to release 50 Egyptians in American prisons, including Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, in return for the release of 19 Americans accused of foreign funding of nongovernmental organizations, as confirmed by Major General Mohamed Hani Zaher, an expert on military research and the fight against international terrorism.

Zaher told the newspaper that the Egyptians need to exploit the weak U.S. position, especially after the conviction of their nationals on charges affecting Egypt's sovereignty over its territory, and not to allow this deal to take place without the agreement of the U.S. administration to release more than 500 Egyptian prisoners in U.S. custody; the Egyptian Foreign Ministry does not know anything about them.

He added that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry asked the Egyptian Embassy in Washington for a list of Egyptian prisoners in the United States of America, and the Egyptian consulate there had already started procedures to account for the number of Egyptian prisoners and detainees in custody on a number of charges in the United States, he said, adding that among the prisoners in the Consulate files was Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the Mufti of Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya (the Islamic Group) and currently imprisoned in America....

Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, AKA The Blind Sheik was one of the planners behind the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and is serving a life sentence. He was also the man American traitor Lynne Stewart aided and abetted by carrying messages to his followers in the Middle East and giving confidential intel info to our enemies she obtained in discovery while acting as his lawyer.Evidence turned over to Rahman's attorneys by the government ended up being found in documents seized at an al-Qaeda headquarters in the Sudan.

She ended up getting a mere 28 months instead of being hung, as she deserved.

Another Egyptian said to be on the Egyptian's list is El Sayid Nosair, one of Rahman's followers. He was the man who murdered Rabbi Meir Kahane, and was later acquitted on a technicality (he admitted to the murder after his acquittal). Nosair was also convicted on charges related to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

I won't be at all surprised if this deal goes through.President Obama's Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood's son is one of the American hostages, and aside from that leverage, President Obama and the other geniuses in his administration are absolutely in sick, gooey, physical love at the idea of the fascist Muslim Brotherhood taking over Egypt, so the president would certainly not balk at returning one of Egypt's favorite clerics to them, along with a raft of other assorted terrorist murderers.

The Obama Administration made a few noises about this affecting the 1.2 billion in aid we give Egypt,but the Egyptians knew we were bluffing and of course the president and his minions backed down quickly.

Robert Spencer says that this swap would be 'the apotheosis of Obama's policy of appeasement toward the Islamic world.'

I disagree with him there. This president still has 10 months in office, assuming he's not re-elected. I guarantee you he'll top this.

WTC Bombing Mastermind To Be Freed In Exchange For Americans Jailed In Egypt?

That's what Robert Spencer over at Jihadwatch is saying after reading a report in al-Arabiya.


The Egyptian government has started real action to respond to a U.S. offer offering to release 50 Egyptians in American prisons, including Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, in return for the release of 19 Americans accused of foreign funding of nongovernmental organizations, as confirmed by Major General Mohamed Hani Zaher, an expert on military research and the fight against international terrorism.

Zaher told the newspaper that the Egyptians need to exploit the weak U.S. position, especially after the conviction of their nationals on charges affecting Egypt's sovereignty over its territory, and not to allow this deal to take place without the agreement of the U.S. administration to release more than 500 Egyptian prisoners in U.S. custody; the Egyptian Foreign Ministry does not know anything about them.

He added that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry asked the Egyptian Embassy in Washington for a list of Egyptian prisoners in the United States of America, and the Egyptian consulate there had already started procedures to account for the number of Egyptian prisoners and detainees in custody on a number of charges in the United States, he said, adding that among the prisoners in the Consulate files was Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the Mufti of Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya (the Islamic Group) and currently imprisoned in America....

Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, AKA The Blind Sheik was one of the planners behind the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and is serving a life sentence. He was also the man American traitor Lynne Stewart aided and abetted by carrying messages to his followers in the Middle East and giving confidential intel info to our enemies she obtained in discovery while acting as his lawyer.Evidence turned over to Rahman's attorneys by the government ended up being found in documents seized at an al-Qaeda headquarters in the Sudan.

She ended up getting a mere 28 months instead of being hung, as she deserved.

Another Egyptian said to be on the Egyptian's list is El Sayid Nosair, one of Rahman's followers. He was the man who murdered Rabbi Meir Kahane, and was later acquitted on a technicality (he admitted to the murder after his acquittal). Nosair was also convicted on charges related to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

I won't be at all surprised if this deal goes through.President Obama's Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood's son is one of the American hostages, and aside from that leverage, President Obama and the other geniuses in his administration are absolutely in sick, gooey, physical love at the idea of the fascist Muslim Brotherhood taking over Egypt, so the president would certainly not balk at returning one of Egypt's favorite clerics to them, along with a raft of other assorted terrorist murderers.

The Obama Administration made a few noises about this affecting the 1.2 billion in aid we give Egypt,but the Egyptians knew we were bluffing and of course the president and his minions backed down quickly.

Robert Spencer says that this swap would be 'the apotheosis of Obama's policy of appeasement toward the Islamic world.'

I disagree with him there. This president still has 10 months in office, assuming he's not re-elected. I guarantee you he'll top this.

How The Muslim Brotherhood Infiltrates The Obama Administration

A video that would be funny if it wasn't so tragic. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano gets caught with her pants down by Representative Louie Gohmert (R-Tx) for hiring and giving a top security clearance to a Muslim Brotherhood terrorist.

Unbelievable.

(h/t Carl)

How The Muslim Brotherhood Infiltrates The Obama Administration

A video that would be funny if it wasn't so tragic. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano gets caught with her pants down by Representative Louie Gohmert (R-Tx) for hiring and giving a top security clearance to a Muslim Brotherhood terrorist.

Unbelievable.

(h/t Carl)

The Real Story On Syria, And Why It Matters

By now, most of you are familiar with the revolt currently going on against the Assad regime in Syria, which is being suppressed with great brutality. Literally thousands have been killed by Assad's forces, beefed up with Hezbollah fighters from next door Lebanon.

Recently, a UN Security Council resolution backed by the Arab League that condemned the violence and called for Syrian leader Basher Assad to step down was vetoed by Russia and China after U.S. and European officials rejected a series of Russian amendments to the draft resolution that US UN Ambassador Susan Rice said were "unacceptable."

The Russians and Chinese vetoed a similar resolution back in October that left open the option of UN sanctions against Syria.

Today, Muslim Brotherhood leader Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi issued a fatwa against Russia and China on his al-Jazeera show after the veto, calling them 'enemies of the Arab people'.

That alone will probably give regular members of Joshua's Army a clue as to the real story, but let's break down what this all means.

Syria has always had a thuggish, violent regime even before Basher's father Hafez al-Assad took over. Throughout all the occupation of Lebanon by the Syrian Army and the brutal murders of Lebanese politicians, journalists and public figures, the Arab League never uttered a peep and the UN was its usual ineffectual self. The same thing occurred when Syria openly violated UN Resolution 1701 and rearmed Hezbollah. So why all the angst now?

The Middle East is basically in the process of dividing into some distinct spheres of influence. Thanks to our intervention in Iraq, a Shi'ite bloc consisting of Iran, Iraq and Lebanon is forming up and a Sunni bloc is coalescing consisting of Libya, Egypt, Gaza and whatever areas in Judea and Samaria the 'Palestinians' end up occupying which will likely end up being ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood, with the possible addition of Jordan. The Saudis, Qatar,Bahrain, Oman and the Emirates will likely retain their close ties to each other as Sunni oligarchies situated between the two.

Syria is where the spheres of influence meet.

Basher Assad and many of the regime loyalists are members of the minority Alawite sect, a Shi'ite offshoot. The rebel groups like the Syrian Free Army are almost exclusively Sunni and mostly affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

That's the real back story in Syria you're not hearing, and depending on whom prevails, Syria will either remain part of the Shi'ite bloc dominated by Iran or become part of the Muslim Brotherhood Sunni bloc.

That's why the Arab League is so exercised and why Muslim Brotherhood leader Sheikh Qaradawi issued a fatwa, in the hopes of fomenting unrest among the largely Sunni Muslims in Russia and Western China and more to the point, encouraging Sunni fighters from other countries to launch a jihad and provide a veneer of religious justification for any brutalities meted out to Assad's forces or even Alawite civilians.

This is standard Muslim practice. Before the Pakistani Army went into what's now Bangladesh back in the 1970's and committed what amounted to genocide and mass rape of the civilian Bengali Muslim population, they had their mullahs pronounce fatwas naming the Bengalis as 'kuffars' (non-believers)to legitimize the Pakistani atrocities against them.

Based on what I've seen of Assad's forces in action versus the rebels, if there is no outside help from the West - and there likely won't be, seeing as Syria has no oil - I'd cautiously put my money on Assad if I were betting. Syria is a key link between Iran and its colony in Hezbollah-ruled Lebanon and the Iranians are going to do whatever it takes to try to keep it in friendly hands.

So will the Russians, for that matter.Russian Foreign Minister Serge Lavrov made a quick trip to Syria to meet with representatives with the Assad regime,an important export market and buyer of Russian weaponry as well as the source of an important Mediterranean port for the Russian Navy at Tartus. The message he likely gave to Assad was to wrap this up as quickly as possible so as to avoid the embarrassment to the Russians of another UN veto, along with tying up a few loose ends on the latest Syrian arms shipments from Russia.

The Real Story On Syria, And Why It Matters

By now, most of you are familiar with the revolt currently going on against the Assad regime in Syria, which is being suppressed with great brutality. Literally thousands have been killed by Assad's forces, beefed up with Hezbollah fighters from next door Lebanon.

Recently, a UN Security Council resolution backed by the Arab League that condemned the violence and called for Syrian leader Basher Assad to step down was vetoed by Russia and China after U.S. and European officials rejected a series of Russian amendments to the draft resolution that US UN Ambassador Susan Rice said were "unacceptable."

The Russians and Chinese vetoed a similar resolution back in October that left open the option of UN sanctions against Syria.

Today, Muslim Brotherhood leader Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi issued a fatwa against Russia and China on his al-Jazeera show after the veto, calling them 'enemies of the Arab people'.

That alone will probably give regular members of Joshua's Army a clue as to the real story, but let's break down what this all means.

Syria has always had a thuggish, violent regime even before Basher's father Hafez al-Assad took over. Throughout all the occupation of Lebanon by the Syrian Army and the brutal murders of Lebanese politicians, journalists and public figures, the Arab League never uttered a peep and the UN was its usual ineffectual self. The same thing occurred when Syria openly violated UN Resolution 1701 and rearmed Hezbollah. So why all the angst now?

The Middle East is basically in the process of dividing into some distinct spheres of influence. Thanks to our intervention in Iraq, a Shi'ite bloc consisting of Iran, Iraq and Lebanon is forming up and a Sunni bloc is coalescing consisting of Libya, Egypt, Gaza and whatever areas in Judea and Samaria the 'Palestinians' end up occupying which will likely end up being ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood, with the possible addition of Jordan. The Saudis, Qatar,Bahrain, Oman and the Emirates will likely retain their close ties to each other as Sunni oligarchies situated between the two.

Syria is where the spheres of influence meet.

Basher Assad and many of the regime loyalists are members of the minority Alawite sect, a Shi'ite offshoot. The rebel groups like the Syrian Free Army are almost exclusively Sunni and mostly affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

That's the real back story in Syria you're not hearing, and depending on whom prevails, Syria will either remain part of the Shi'ite bloc dominated by Iran or become part of the Muslim Brotherhood Sunni bloc.

That's why the Arab League is so exercised and why Muslim Brotherhood leader Sheikh Qaradawi issued a fatwa, in the hopes of fomenting unrest among the largely Sunni Muslims in Russia and Western China and more to the point, encouraging Sunni fighters from other countries to launch a jihad and provide a veneer of religious justification for any brutalities meted out to Assad's forces or even Alawite civilians.

This is standard Muslim practice. Before the Pakistani Army went into what's now Bangladesh back in the 1970's and committed what amounted to genocide and mass rape of the civilian Bengali Muslim population, they had their mullahs pronounce fatwas naming the Bengalis as 'kuffars' (non-believers)to legitimize the Pakistani atrocities against them.

Based on what I've seen of Assad's forces in action versus the rebels, if there is no outside help from the West - and there likely won't be, seeing as Syria has no oil - I'd cautiously put my money on Assad if I were betting. Syria is a key link between Iran and its colony in Hezbollah-ruled Lebanon and the Iranians are going to do whatever it takes to try to keep it in friendly hands.

So will the Russians, for that matter.Russian Foreign Minister Serge Lavrov made a quick trip to Syria to meet with representatives with the Assad regime,an important export market and buyer of Russian weaponry as well as the source of an important Mediterranean port for the Russian Navy at Tartus. The message he likely gave to Assad was to wrap this up as quickly as possible so as to avoid the embarrassment to the Russians of another UN veto, along with tying up a few loose ends on the latest Syrian arms shipments from Russia.

CAIR Wins One At West Point

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has released an announcement bragging that they have successfully prevented retired Lieutenant General William G. “Jerry” Boykin from speaking at an upcoming prayer breakfast at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

“We welcome Mr. Boykin’s withdrawal from this event and hope that the speaker who replaces him will offer cadets a spiritual message that promotes tolerance and mutual understanding,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad in a statement.

I love hearing about 'tolerance and mutual understanding' from a man who is on record saying he supports Hamas and was on the verge on being indicted and tried in the second phase of the Holy Land Foundation Trial..until the Obama Department of Justice filed declinations to prosecute on Awad and a slew of others and allowed them to avoid prosecution. Yes, they're getting bold indeed.

So who is General Boykin, and why was CAIR so anxious to stop him from speaking at West Point?

Lt. General William 'Jerry' Boykin has a long and distinguished career specializing in intelligence and Special forces Warfare. Among his decorations are the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters), Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Bronze Star, Air Medal and the Purple Heart (with Oak Leaf Cluster. He also attended the Armed Forces Staff College, Army War College, and received a masters from Shippensburg University.

Boykin started out in armor with the Army's 2nd Armored division and later moved over to the Screaming Eagles, where he got his jump badge as a paratrooper. He later volunteered for the Army's elite Delta Force,and participated in a number of Army operations, serving in Grenada, Somalia, Panama and Iraq.

Boykin then served with the CIA Agency as Deputy Director of Special Activities, and ended up promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.

After that,he served as the Commanding General for the U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and went from there to being the the Commanding General in charge of the US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center. He finished his career as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence during the Bush Administration and retired in 2007.

So why would there be a problem with an experienced, intelligent soldier like this with a lifetime of service to his country addressing the West Point cadets at a prayer breakfast?

Oh, wait, I forgot one thing. He's a committed and devout Christian with a rather jaundiced view of Islam, sharia and jihad.

For instance, back 2003 when he was hunting down terrorist Osman Atto in Mogadishu he remarked: "He went on CNN and he laughed at us, and he said, 'They'll never get me because Allah will protect me. Allah will protect me.' Well, you know what? I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."

Those remarks were taped clandestinely and whipped into a firestorm by William Arkin, an anti-military far Leftwing writer then working for NBC, who reported them in the worst possible light. Boykin attempted to clarify his remarks, saying that he was implying that Atto's true "god" was money, but that was enough to set CAIR, the dinosaur media, and all of the politically correct politicians in DC at Boykin's heels.The only one who seriously defended him was SecDef Don Rumsfeld ( likely after giving him a decent chewing out for not being more careful). Rummy referred to Boykin as "an officer that has an outstanding record in the United States armed forces" an dmentioned a few things about freedom of speech.

Since he's been retired,Boykin has been a lot more outspoken, warning that there is a stealth jihad occurring here in America and that a large percentage of the mosques have already been radicalized.He also has made remarks to the effect that as a Christian, he feels there is n ongoing spiritual war that is continuous as articulated in the Bible...and that it's not confined to the war of terrorism.In other words, he takes literally what G-d told the Jews about Amalek.

I especially liked these remarks of General Boykins, spoken in 2008 at a conference in Israel and received with a standing ovation:

We as believers have been promised that we will spend an eternity with God. Last Saturday I was doing a men's conference in Fredricksburg, Virginia and I was praying during the worship service and something dawned on me and it was the Holy Spirit speaking to me.

And the Holy Spirit said, "this is what I want you to share with My men today", and I'm going to share it with you and this is what it is: One day, we're going to stand before the gates of Heaven. Some of us want to be able to walk up there in a white robe and we want to sing Abba Father and Amazing Grace and we want to say to the Lord, "I worshiped You."

But I want you to think about this: Here's the way I want to enter the gates of Heaven. I want to come skidding in there on all fours. I want to be slipping and sliding and I want to hit the gates of heaven with a bang. And when I stand up and I stand before Christ, I want there to be blood on my knees and my elbows. I want to be covered with mud. And I want to be standing there with a ragged breast plate of righteousness. And a spear in my hand. And I want to say, "Look at me, Jesus. I've been in the battle. I've been fighting for you." Ladies and gentlemen, put your armor on and get into battle.

God bless you.

No wonder CAIR didn't want this man anywhere near the cadets.

Originally, West Point stood by its commitment to have General Boykin speak at the breakfast, saying he was aware that it was an interfaith event and wasn't going to say anything untoward. But the pressure was intense,including,if my sources are correct, directly from Washington. And in the end, General Boykin, depending on whom you believe was either disinvited or chose not to subject the Academy to any more controversy and opted out.

So CAIR and their allies won this particular battle. But General Boykin continues to write and speak and is finding a great many listeners in other quarters, so a temporary setback of this kind
is likely to just get him to intensify his efforts. I'm sure this particular warrior is going going to keep right on going until he wins.

CAIR Wins One At West Point

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has released an announcement bragging that they have successfully prevented retired Lieutenant General William G. “Jerry” Boykin from speaking at an upcoming prayer breakfast at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

“We welcome Mr. Boykin’s withdrawal from this event and hope that the speaker who replaces him will offer cadets a spiritual message that promotes tolerance and mutual understanding,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad in a statement.

I love hearing about 'tolerance and mutual understanding' from a man who is on record saying he supports Hamas and was on the verge on being indicted and tried in the second phase of the Holy Land Foundation Trial..until the Obama Department of Justice filed declinations to prosecute on Awad and a slew of others and allowed them to avoid prosecution. Yes, they're getting bold indeed.

So who is General Boykin, and why was CAIR so anxious to stop him from speaking at West Point?

Lt. General William 'Jerry' Boykin has a long and distinguished career specializing in intelligence and Special forces Warfare. Among his decorations are the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters), Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Bronze Star, Air Medal and the Purple Heart (with Oak Leaf Cluster. He also attended the Armed Forces Staff College, Army War College, and received a masters from Shippensburg University.

Boykin started out in armor with the Army's 2nd Armored division and later moved over to the Screaming Eagles, where he got his jump badge as a paratrooper. He later volunteered for the Army's elite Delta Force,and participated in a number of Army operations, serving in Grenada, Somalia, Panama and Iraq.

Boykin then served with the CIA Agency as Deputy Director of Special Activities, and ended up promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.

After that,he served as the Commanding General for the U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and went from there to being the the Commanding General in charge of the US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center. He finished his career as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence during the Bush Administration and retired in 2007.

So why would there be a problem with an experienced, intelligent soldier like this with a lifetime of service to his country addressing the West Point cadets at a prayer breakfast?

Oh, wait, I forgot one thing. He's a committed and devout Christian with a rather jaundiced view of Islam, sharia and jihad.

For instance, back 2003 when he was hunting down terrorist Osman Atto in Mogadishu he remarked: "He went on CNN and he laughed at us, and he said, 'They'll never get me because Allah will protect me. Allah will protect me.' Well, you know what? I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."

Those remarks were taped clandestinely and whipped into a firestorm by William Arkin, an anti-military far Leftwing writer then working for NBC, who reported them in the worst possible light. Boykin attempted to clarify his remarks, saying that he was implying that Atto's true "god" was money, but that was enough to set CAIR, the dinosaur media, and all of the politically correct politicians in DC at Boykin's heels.The only one who seriously defended him was SecDef Don Rumsfeld ( likely after giving him a decent chewing out for not being more careful). Rummy referred to Boykin as "an officer that has an outstanding record in the United States armed forces" an dmentioned a few things about freedom of speech.

Since he's been retired,Boykin has been a lot more outspoken, warning that there is a stealth jihad occurring here in America and that a large percentage of the mosques have already been radicalized.He also has made remarks to the effect that as a Christian, he feels there is n ongoing spiritual war that is continuous as articulated in the Bible...and that it's not confined to the war of terrorism.In other words, he takes literally what G-d told the Jews about Amalek.

I especially liked these remarks of General Boykins, spoken in 2008 at a conference in Israel and received with a standing ovation:

We as believers have been promised that we will spend an eternity with God. Last Saturday I was doing a men's conference in Fredricksburg, Virginia and I was praying during the worship service and something dawned on me and it was the Holy Spirit speaking to me.

And the Holy Spirit said, "this is what I want you to share with My men today", and I'm going to share it with you and this is what it is: One day, we're going to stand before the gates of Heaven. Some of us want to be able to walk up there in a white robe and we want to sing Abba Father and Amazing Grace and we want to say to the Lord, "I worshiped You."

But I want you to think about this: Here's the way I want to enter the gates of Heaven. I want to come skidding in there on all fours. I want to be slipping and sliding and I want to hit the gates of heaven with a bang. And when I stand up and I stand before Christ, I want there to be blood on my knees and my elbows. I want to be covered with mud. And I want to be standing there with a ragged breast plate of righteousness. And a spear in my hand. And I want to say, "Look at me, Jesus. I've been in the battle. I've been fighting for you." Ladies and gentlemen, put your armor on and get into battle.

God bless you.

No wonder CAIR didn't want this man anywhere near the cadets.

Originally, West Point stood by its commitment to have General Boykin speak at the breakfast, saying he was aware that it was an interfaith event and wasn't going to say anything untoward. But the pressure was intense,including,if my sources are correct, directly from Washington. And in the end, General Boykin, depending on whom you believe was either disinvited or chose not to subject the Academy to any more controversy and opted out.

So CAIR and their allies won this particular battle. But General Boykin continues to write and speak and is finding a great many listeners in other quarters, so a temporary setback of this kind
is likely to just get him to intensify his efforts. I'm sure this particular warrior is going going to keep right on going until he wins.

The New Egypt - Bankrupt And Sinking Fast

All hail the wondrous Arab Spring!

It is one year ago today that the protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square began that ended in the fall of the Mubarak regime. It was fitting that President Obama mentioned it last night in his State of the Union Address, since he had a major role in that 'wave of change', calling for Mubarak's ouster and signalling to the Egyptian military whom now control the country which way to turn.It's well worth examining how things are going.

The parliamentary elections have been held, and the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and the hard core Salafist al-Nour Party won - surprise!- over 75% of the seats.The FaceBook and Twitter liberals in places like Cairo and Alexandria everyone in the West was so in love with proved to be a negligible political force, and Egypt is likely headed towards an Islamist Republic as soon as the proper arrangements are made with the Army.

The Army originally had ideas of a government that had little civilian control over the military or is it's budget, ala' the old Turkish model. In response, Islamists played their cards quite cleverly, gradually fomenting discontent against military rule and instigating violent riots after Friday prayers over the military's refusal to turn over power to a civilian government. The riots resulted in a harsh series of crack downs that effectively turned the military from the people's heroes during the Revolution into oppressors and the chief villains opposing 'democracy'. Between September and the end of December, something like 100 demonstrators were killed by the Army and police, while hundreds were injured and arrested.

The military junta's tactics also turned the Brotherhood and the Salafis into heroes, and the election results show how effective their tactics were. The Egyptian military will almost certainly have to make the same devil's bargain with the Islamists that the Iranian military did.

So Egypt is likely headed towards Islamist rule, but the country's future is looking increasingly grim. Egypt's economy is essentially collapsing from within.

After the Lara Logan gang rape and the widespread scenes of unrest, most of Egypt's tourism industry is dead, and the rest will likely collapse as soon as the Islamists take power and put sharia law in place to outlaw alcohol, bikinis and mixed bathing on beaches.

Increased sectarian violence against Egypt's Coptic Christians, who largely supported the Revolution, is ensuring that a large group of Egypt's more prosperous and educated citizens are emigrating in droves.

Investors are unwilling to buy Egyptian bonds even at double digit interest rates, which means that Egypt's ability to borrow is being cut to the bone. No one wants the Egyptian pound. The only Egyptian bonds anyone wants to buy are dollar-denominated treasury bills. After the results of the last election, currency flight has become a major problem, as anyone with money is stashing it overseas as fast as they can in euros or dollars, preparing for a relocation out of the country.

Foreign aid is also problematical.Egypt's government has begun negotiations for a $3.2 billion IMF loan and still receives about $1.3 billion annually in military aid from the US but that's not enough for Egypt's needs and won't even begin to replace the amount of money leaving the country. And it's also likely that as things unravel, any of that military aid that's in cash and isn't directly spent on armaments will likely follow the rest of Egypt's treasury overseas, while foreign nations are unlikely or unwilling to be able to commit large amounts of aid right now. Unlike Libya, there's no significant oil wealth in Egypt to tap.

Any warehoused resources or stocks that can be sold for cash are being liquidated, resulting in shortages of fuel, foodstuffs and even medicines in a number of localities according to numerous reports. Since Egypt has a population of over eighty million it can't support or feed on it's own, food imports are a necessity and there is increasingly less money to do so, or for consumers to buy it even if it were available.

Egypt is heading for some very uneasy times.

Aside from major economic woes, Egypt's political situation looks increasingly bleak from an American standpoint. The best case scenario is an agreement between the military and the Islamists for governing which would at least ensure a certain amount of domestic peace, but would almost certainly be a setback for American strategic objectives in the region - helping to guard the Eastern Mediterranean, cooperating with the US on anti-terrorism efforts, keeping the Suez Canal and its access to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf functioning and continuing to observe the Camp David Accords. Mubarak was at least a nominal, anti-Islamist ally in these matters, but those days are gone.

The Obama Administration will likely try to appease Egypt's new Islamist rulers, and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns met with Brotherhood leaders earlier this month to begin that process. Given the Brotherhood's hostility toward almost every American policy aim in the Middle East, that will probably end up working as well as President Carter's early attempts to appease the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran did.

In later years, historians will be looking at President Obama's encouragement of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamists in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere the same way way they now see Jimmy Carter's encouragement of the same thing in Iran...as a major foreign policy blunder.

The New Egypt - Bankrupt And Sinking Fast

All hail the wondrous Arab Spring!

It is one year ago today that the protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square began that ended in the fall of the Mubarak regime. It was fitting that President Obama mentioned it last night in his State of the Union Address, since he had a major role in that 'wave of change', calling for Mubarak's ouster and signalling to the Egyptian military whom now control the country which way to turn.It's well worth examining how things are going.

The parliamentary elections have been held, and the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and the hard core Salafist al-Nour Party won - surprise!- over 75% of the seats.The FaceBook and Twitter liberals in places like Cairo and Alexandria everyone in the West was so in love with proved to be a negligible political force, and Egypt is likely headed towards an Islamist Republic as soon as the proper arrangements are made with the Army.

The Army originally had ideas of a government that had little civilian control over the military or is it's budget, ala' the old Turkish model. In response, Islamists played their cards quite cleverly, gradually fomenting discontent against military rule and instigating violent riots after Friday prayers over the military's refusal to turn over power to a civilian government. The riots resulted in a harsh series of crack downs that effectively turned the military from the people's heroes during the Revolution into oppressors and the chief villains opposing 'democracy'. Between September and the end of December, something like 100 demonstrators were killed by the Army and police, while hundreds were injured and arrested.

The military junta's tactics also turned the Brotherhood and the Salafis into heroes, and the election results show how effective their tactics were. The Egyptian military will almost certainly have to make the same devil's bargain with the Islamists that the Iranian military did.

So Egypt is likely headed towards Islamist rule, but the country's future is looking increasingly grim. Egypt's economy is essentially collapsing from within.

After the Lara Logan gang rape and the widespread scenes of unrest, most of Egypt's tourism industry is dead, and the rest will likely collapse as soon as the Islamists take power and put sharia law in place to outlaw alcohol, bikinis and mixed bathing on beaches.

Increased sectarian violence against Egypt's Coptic Christians, who largely supported the Revolution, is ensuring that a large group of Egypt's more prosperous and educated citizens are emigrating in droves.

Investors are unwilling to buy Egyptian bonds even at double digit interest rates, which means that Egypt's ability to borrow is being cut to the bone. No one wants the Egyptian pound. The only Egyptian bonds anyone wants to buy are dollar-denominated treasury bills. After the results of the last election, currency flight has become a major problem, as anyone with money is stashing it overseas as fast as they can in euros or dollars, preparing for a relocation out of the country.

Foreign aid is also problematical.Egypt's government has begun negotiations for a $3.2 billion IMF loan and still receives about $1.3 billion annually in military aid from the US but that's not enough for Egypt's needs and won't even begin to replace the amount of money leaving the country. And it's also likely that as things unravel, any of that military aid that's in cash and isn't directly spent on armaments will likely follow the rest of Egypt's treasury overseas, while foreign nations are unlikely or unwilling to be able to commit large amounts of aid right now. Unlike Libya, there's no significant oil wealth in Egypt to tap.

Any warehoused resources or stocks that can be sold for cash are being liquidated, resulting in shortages of fuel, foodstuffs and even medicines in a number of localities according to numerous reports. Since Egypt has a population of over eighty million it can't support or feed on it's own, food imports are a necessity and there is increasingly less money to do so, or for consumers to buy it even if it were available.

Egypt is heading for some very uneasy times.

Aside from major economic woes, Egypt's political situation looks increasingly bleak from an American standpoint. The best case scenario is an agreement between the military and the Islamists for governing which would at least ensure a certain amount of domestic peace, but would almost certainly be a setback for American strategic objectives in the region - helping to guard the Eastern Mediterranean, cooperating with the US on anti-terrorism efforts, keeping the Suez Canal and its access to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf functioning and continuing to observe the Camp David Accords. Mubarak was at least a nominal, anti-Islamist ally in these matters, but those days are gone.

The Obama Administration will likely try to appease Egypt's new Islamist rulers, and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns met with Brotherhood leaders earlier this month to begin that process. Given the Brotherhood's hostility toward almost every American policy aim in the Middle East, that will probably end up working as well as President Carter's early attempts to appease the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran did.

In later years, historians will be looking at President Obama's encouragement of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamists in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere the same way way they now see Jimmy Carter's encouragement of the same thing in Iran...as a major foreign policy blunder.

"I Got Bin Laden" - And Why Obama's Big Boast Might Have Been A Huge Mistake

"..Osama bin Laden will never again walk the face of this Earth. That’s what change is."

So said President Obama at a recent fundraiser, the same one where he also claimed that Republicans threaten the "very core of what this country stands for."

Let's ignore his attacking the GOP's patriotism and focus on that first statement, because President Obama keeps coming back to it as a great foreign policy achievement of his. Was it?

Osama bin Laden certainly deserved death if any one did. But foreign policy is based on strategic goals, not on simply meting out justice to those who've murdered Americans. If President Obama's chief concern was punishing people who've murdered Americans, we wouldn't be aiding the Palestinian Authority, Hamas or the Hezbollah-controlled government of Lebanon and Iran would be a smoking crater right now, with the mullahs, President Ahmadinejad and a lot of other members of that government turned into halal crisps.

Since President Obama is touting this as a great foreign policy accomplishment of his and is using it to raise money, let's simply take a cold hard look at it in the light of what it actually accomplished from that perspective.

At the time he was assassinated, Osama bin Laden was essentially living quietly as a guest of the Pakistani government in Abbottobad. His health was not the best, so a great deal of the actual operational command was in the hands of his subordinate, Egyptian-born former Muslim Brotherhood leader Ayman Zawahiri.

As President Obama has pointed out, al-Qaeda has been weakened severely and marginalized, thanks to bin Laden's miscalculation in making Iraq a central front of jihad and suffering massive losses of men and material. That happened, ironically, because of military strategies like the surge Senator Obama did his very best to criticize and sabotage before he entered the White House.

At the time of bin Laden's death, Al-Qaeda had become more of a brand name, a proselytizing force over the internet and an inspiration to young jihadis rather than an actual source of many attacks.

We used a painstakingly created network of Pakistani informers and intel sources to nail down bin-Laden's whereabouts and plan the operation that assassinated him. We then sent the valiant men of Navy Seal Team Six into Pakistan via helicopter, broke into bin-Laden's compound, shot him down, removed his body, gave him a proper Islamic funeral ( which involves cursing Christians and Jews, if the usual text was used) and threw his body into the sea.

So we accomplished an act of retribution. Let's examine the results and see if they were worth it.

The Pakistanis were predictably livid at being exposed, again, as a major aider and abetter of Islamic fascism and terrorism. Their honor/shame mentality kicked in and rather than express regret that they had been caught sheltering a mass murderer, they went into hysterics about the violation of their sovereignty. They arrested every member of the Pakistani network they could get their hands on that helped the US find and assassinate bin-Laden and charged them with treason, which will likely end in a number of executions. Aside from our network in Pakistan being burnt, this assured that we're going to have great difficulty with intel from that country in the future.

The Pakistanis also closed the land route they control into Afghanistan through the Torkum Pass for several days. This route transports 75% of the supplies going into Afghanistan for our troops, who now simply had to make do without needed supplies for a few days. Also, because the stopped supply trucks were sitting ducks, the Taliban manged to destroy several of them.

Even more costly, we lost one of our helicopters in the bin-Laden operation, a Blackhawk. Now, these normally cost about $20 million or so, but this one cost a great deal more, because it had been highly modified with top secret stealth technology that brought its cost up to more like $60 million. Even worse, the SEAL's were unable to completely destroy it, and the angry Pakistanis gleefully gave it to the Chinese to examine at their leisure. The potential loss of technology is in the millions, not to mention our relationship with Pakistan, which has worsened considerably and is unlikely to recover for some time if at all.

But the worse is yet to come.

When we take a look at exactly why Osama bin-Laden was ratted out after all this time, some interesting intel surfaces. As I've mentioned on these pages before, we know that there was a substantial disagreement between Osama and his chief lieutenant Ayman Zawahiri, prior to Osama's death. Bin laden was relatively comfortable in Abbotobad and wanted to keep al-Qaeda anchored in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Zawahiri, looking at developments in his native Egypt and elsewhere like the 'Arab Spring' , the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and President Obama's already announced retreat from the region was pushing to relocate al-Qaeda back to the Middle East and the roiling Arab world.

So now that Osama's dead (and according to my sources, there are pretty solid indications he was deliberately fingered) Zawahiri, a former Muslim Brotherhood member has taken over and we see increased al-Qaeda presence in both the Egyptian Sinai and Libya, as well as in Iraq where the Maliki government's marginalization of the Sunnis has given al-Qaeda new life.

Moreover, should Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist governments take over in Egypt and Libya as seems likely, Ayman Zawahiri, al-Qaeda and its affiliates like Takfir-wal Higra can count on a haven to train and recruit, with Libya's oil wealth and Egypt's population and rabid Islamism to draw on.

So let's reiterate, shall we? The chief foreign policy triumph President Obama continually boasts about consists of taking out a largely defanged terrorist. It cost us millions of dollars, inflamed an already unfriendly but unfortunately necessary relationship between the US and Pakistan, burnt our intel network in that country, gave the Chinese and probably the Russians and Iranians a good look at American state of the art stealth technology that cost additional millions to develop, and helped relocate al-Qaeda to the heart of the Middle East after we had largely driven them out.

'Foreign policy achievement' or a fiasco being used for political effect? You be the judge.

"I Got Bin Laden" - And Why Obama's Big Boast Might Have Been A Huge Mistake

"..Osama bin Laden will never again walk the face of this Earth. That’s what change is."

So said President Obama at a recent fundraiser, the same one where he also claimed that Republicans threaten the "very core of what this country stands for."

Let's ignore his attacking the GOP's patriotism and focus on that first statement, because President Obama keeps coming back to it as a great foreign policy achievement of his. Was it?

Osama bin Laden certainly deserved death if any one did. But foreign policy is based on strategic goals, not on simply meting out justice to those who've murdered Americans. If President Obama's chief concern was punishing people who've murdered Americans, we wouldn't be aiding the Palestinian Authority, Hamas or the Hezbollah-controlled government of Lebanon and Iran would be a smoking crater right now, with the mullahs, President Ahmadinejad and a lot of other members of that government turned into halal crisps.

Since President Obama is touting this as a great foreign policy accomplishment of his and is using it to raise money, let's simply take a cold hard look at it in the light of what it actually accomplished from that perspective.

At the time he was assassinated, Osama bin Laden was essentially living quietly as a guest of the Pakistani government in Abbottobad. His health was not the best, so a great deal of the actual operational command was in the hands of his subordinate, Egyptian-born former Muslim Brotherhood leader Ayman Zawahiri.

As President Obama has pointed out, al-Qaeda has been weakened severely and marginalized, thanks to bin Laden's miscalculation in making Iraq a central front of jihad and suffering massive losses of men and material. That happened, ironically, because of military strategies like the surge Senator Obama did his very best to criticize and sabotage before he entered the White House.

At the time of bin Laden's death, Al-Qaeda had become more of a brand name, a proselytizing force over the internet and an inspiration to young jihadis rather than an actual source of many attacks.

We used a painstakingly created network of Pakistani informers and intel sources to nail down bin-Laden's whereabouts and plan the operation that assassinated him. We then sent the valiant men of Navy Seal Team Six into Pakistan via helicopter, broke into bin-Laden's compound, shot him down, removed his body, gave him a proper Islamic funeral ( which involves cursing Christians and Jews, if the usual text was used) and threw his body into the sea.

So we accomplished an act of retribution. Let's examine the results and see if they were worth it.

The Pakistanis were predictably livid at being exposed, again, as a major aider and abetter of Islamic fascism and terrorism. Their honor/shame mentality kicked in and rather than express regret that they had been caught sheltering a mass murderer, they went into hysterics about the violation of their sovereignty. They arrested every member of the Pakistani network they could get their hands on that helped the US find and assassinate bin-Laden and charged them with treason, which will likely end in a number of executions. Aside from our network in Pakistan being burnt, this assured that we're going to have great difficulty with intel from that country in the future.

The Pakistanis also closed the land route they control into Afghanistan through the Torkum Pass for several days. This route transports 75% of the supplies going into Afghanistan for our troops, who now simply had to make do without needed supplies for a few days. Also, because the stopped supply trucks were sitting ducks, the Taliban manged to destroy several of them.

Even more costly, we lost one of our helicopters in the bin-Laden operation, a Blackhawk. Now, these normally cost about $20 million or so, but this one cost a great deal more, because it had been highly modified with top secret stealth technology that brought its cost up to more like $60 million. Even worse, the SEAL's were unable to completely destroy it, and the angry Pakistanis gleefully gave it to the Chinese to examine at their leisure. The potential loss of technology is in the millions, not to mention our relationship with Pakistan, which has worsened considerably and is unlikely to recover for some time if at all.

But the worse is yet to come.

When we take a look at exactly why Osama bin-Laden was ratted out after all this time, some interesting intel surfaces. As I've mentioned on these pages before, we know that there was a substantial disagreement between Osama and his chief lieutenant Ayman Zawahiri, prior to Osama's death. Bin laden was relatively comfortable in Abbotobad and wanted to keep al-Qaeda anchored in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Zawahiri, looking at developments in his native Egypt and elsewhere like the 'Arab Spring' , the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and President Obama's already announced retreat from the region was pushing to relocate al-Qaeda back to the Middle East and the roiling Arab world.

So now that Osama's dead (and according to my sources, there are pretty solid indications he was deliberately fingered) Zawahiri, a former Muslim Brotherhood member has taken over and we see increased al-Qaeda presence in both the Egyptian Sinai and Libya, as well as in Iraq where the Maliki government's marginalization of the Sunnis has given al-Qaeda new life.

Moreover, should Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist governments take over in Egypt and Libya as seems likely, Ayman Zawahiri, al-Qaeda and its affiliates like Takfir-wal Higra can count on a haven to train and recruit, with Libya's oil wealth and Egypt's population and rabid Islamism to draw on.

So let's reiterate, shall we? The chief foreign policy triumph President Obama continually boasts about consists of taking out a largely defanged terrorist. It cost us millions of dollars, inflamed an already unfriendly but unfortunately necessary relationship between the US and Pakistan, burnt our intel network in that country, gave the Chinese and probably the Russians and Iranians a good look at American state of the art stealth technology that cost additional millions to develop, and helped relocate al-Qaeda to the heart of the Middle East after we had largely driven them out.

'Foreign policy achievement' or a fiasco being used for political effect? You be the judge.