dagblog - Comments for "Egypt’s President-elect Morsi keen to renew Iran ties "

Mursi says Iran totally made

artappraiser — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 19:46:30 +0000

In reply to Egypt’s President-elect Morsi keen to renew Iran ties

Mursi says Iran totally made this interview up and is going to sue! Un-fucking believable! I've had the habit of reading Iranian government "news" from time to time for quite a few years now, and I've seen lots of crazy stuff, but nothing this outrageous:

Mursi’s Office to Sue Fars News Agency
Uskowi on Iran, June 27, 2012

The office of Egyptian president-elect Mohammed Mursi will file a lawsuit against Iran’s Fars News Agency for making up an interview with him hours before the final results of the presidential election were announced.

“President Mursi was never interviewed by Iran's Fars news agency. The interview was fabricated and his presidential office has begun taking legal action against the news agency," Yasser Ali, a presidential spokesman said. (Reuters, 27 June).

Fars had quoted Mursi as saying that developing good relations with Iran “will create (new) strategic balance in the region” and that was “part of his renaissance program.” [....]

I used to think Iranian powers-that-be were often pretty savvy on the propaganda front, but lately it seems they are really losing it and going whole hog Kim Jong-Il. Maybe worse than Dear Leader Kim, while shutting his citizens off from the world, at least he partook of it himself from time to time. Maybe somebody should tell them that when you want to attempt to shut off the internet to citizens, you're still supposed to monitor it yourself?

Edit to add: Reuters link: Egypt's president-elect to sue Iranian news agency

Issandr el Amrani @

artappraiser — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 05:33:07 +0000

In reply to [I'm sure this will go over

Issandr el Amrani @ arabist.net confirming that the US preferred this outcome but is still worried that the generals won't play the subservient-to-civilian role:

One interesting sideshow (or perhaps it was central to defusing the crisis, who knows) to the last week's crisis has been the United States. The Obama administration has voiced concern and been critical of the delays in announcing the winner and the new constitutional declaration, which effectively made impossible SCAF's commitment to withdraw from power in favor of civilians and, moreover, made constitutional the permanent existence of a SCAF as a fourth power. For many, especially in the Shafiq camp, this has amounted to an intolerable form of meddling and the perception is out there that the US has backed the MB (in the more outlandish scenarios, it's a conspiracy that ends with Israel retaking Sinai and Jordan being turned into a Palestinian state).

The US' real favored outcome has been clear for a while: a strong, rooted civilian party restoring stability (and decent economic governance) in the Brothers and clear red lines on issues such as foreign policy (especially towards Israel) and unfettered bilateral military-to-military relations (overflight rights, fast-track Suez Canal access, etc.). In other words, some sort of understanding between the Brothers and the generals. In a sense, Egypt could use a breather away from the revolutionary fervor and responsible people getting the house in order. But alongside with this comes worrying possibilities: an uneasy military-Islamist alliance, perpetually unstable, with the generals undermining the civilians and the Islamists resorting to populist antics in their impotence. It's a different time and a different set of circumstances, but late 1980s Sudan is not exactly an inspiring example of Islamist-military coexistence.

Morsi pragmatist: For Gaza,

artappraiser — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 05:24:23 +0000

In reply to Egypt’s President-elect Morsi keen to renew Iran ties

Morsi pragmatist:

For Gaza, Egypt's Islamist Victory No Quick Fix
By IBRAHIM BARZAK and KARIN LAUB Associated Press

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip June 25, 2012 (AP) Gaza's euphoria over the election of a Muslim Brotherhood leader as Egypt's first Islamist president seemed a bit premature as reality set in the Monday [....]

The Brotherhood's priority is to be accepted as a political player in Egypt and the West, said Mideast analyst Mouin Rabbani. "They are not using their newfound status to actively support Hamas, whether in the conflict with Fatah or in the conflict with Israel," he said. [....]

Ibrahim Derawi, an Egyptian analyst close to the Brotherhood, said he expects new border arrangements between Egypt and Gaza soon. Morsi "will not accept the siege on Gaza," said Derawi.

Morsi met several times over the past year with Hamas leaders from Gaza, most recently two months ago, said a senior Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the contacts. He said Morsi promised to open Rafah 24/7, up from eight hours a day five days a week, and to be more flexible on visas.

Even so, major change is not in the cards, acknowledged the Hamas official who deals with border issues.

Egypt's security chiefs still consider Gaza a threat because of the ties between Gaza militants and al-Qaida-inspired groups in Egypt's Sinai next to Gaza. They have carried out attacks on Israeli targets and others in the desert. Travel restrictions on Gaza men under 40, considered the main potential pool of militants, would likely remain in place.

A complete opening of the Gaza-Egypt border, including trade, would also have the unintended consequence of deepening the separation between the West Bank and Gaza, which flank Israel but are supposed to be part of a single Palestinian state in the future, along with east Jerusalem [....]

Morsi's victory is expected to strengthen the hand of Hamas pragmatists, including the movement's supreme leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal who is seeking re-election and in recent months faced off against hard-line Hamas leaders in Gaza. Mashaal wants Hamas to return to its ideological roots as a branch of the Brotherhood, which is open to alliances with non-Islamists and espouses non-violence [....]

Who knows the answer? Could

Resistance — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 02:33:04 +0000

In reply to [I'm sure this will go over

Who knows the answer?

Could this be another Iran moment?

We ~~dumped~~ abandoned the Shah of Iran, hoping the mullahs would be better.

Hows that been working out?

With Syria to the North, Egypt to the South, Iran to the East;

I hope they are not thinking of amassing an army near Meggido.

[I'm sure this will go over

artappraiser — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 01:01:34 +0000

In reply to Egypt’s President-elect Morsi keen to renew Iran ties

[I'm sure this will go over real big with The State Department and Congress]

The White House and State are happy he was allowed to win in a fair election, especially considering the alternative,and look at him as something of a moderate, but are still worried the Generals will not relinquish proper power to him and civilian rule:

Egypt Results Leave White House Relieved but Watchful,

New York Times, June 24/25

It is not like it was with past presidents, the game has changed with Egypt. The Egyptian generals are no longer trusted by our own military, as well as the administration, that long love affair is over and will not be coming back, we have to deal with the people. So the administration is happy a moderate people's choice is in there and most of all before anything else they hope he can hold power. Because rioting and bombings in the streets of Egypt is not what they want to see. Most of all what the administration wants is stability in the region.

I think many get the administration's approach to the whole Iran thing wrong. First, you have to remember that the Obama administration started out with an olive branch approach to Iran, looking to talk and start a new relationship, and were pretty rudely rebuffed, and shortly thereafter that, the Green Revolution happened which changed the game somewhat.

I repeat: what they are interested in for the most part is stability in the region. And Iran trying to get nukes destabilizes it, (not to mention Mr Obama has a bee in his bonnet about anybody making more nukes, instead of getting rid of them, but that's secondary here.) As does sectarian fighting without nukes like in Syria. If Saudi Arabia and Israel and Iraqi Sunnis and Bahraini ruling Sunnis are happy neighbors with Iran, I am pretty sure the administration would also be happy with Iran.

If the new president of Egypt plans to step in there and act like a mediator, making a new alternative relationship for some area Sunnis with Iran, I think they would like nothing more, instead of more Sunni fear of Shiite power in the Mideast. If that made the appeal of groups like Hezbollah much less likely, even better. Let's put it this way: if Saudi Arabia is OK with what Morsi said about Iran, then they will be OK with it (BTW, I believe Saudi royals have blathered similar platitudes in speeches about hoping for making a better relationship with Iran in the past, but I ain't gonna go searching for them.)

The Republican side of Congress and the rabid Israel supporters on both sides of the aisle would be another case. I don't know what they will think. But yeah chances are they are going to rant because to begin with, they still have a simplistic troglodyte confused view of the Muslim Brotherhood, where a member can't be a moderate. First, they don't get that conservative Sunni Islamists usually hate and/or mistrust Iran. Then they also don't get that all Muslim Brotherhood members are not conservative Sunni Islamists.

As for the less nutwing members of Congress, there is this in the Times' article:

Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said on Sunday that during his most recent visits to Egypt, Mr. Morsi had committed to protecting fundamental freedoms, including women’s rights, minority rights and the right to free expression and assembly. Mr. Morsi also said he understood the importance of post-revolutionary relationships with America and Israel, Mr. Kerry added in a statement.

“Ultimately, just as it is anywhere in the world,” Mr. Kerry said, “actions will matter more than words.”

Over all, I think it's also wise to remember the reason some lefties hate Obama applies across the board: he's a moderate, he's moderate and pragmatist about most things (and not just the stuff lefties are against.) Also: he dislikes radicals. Need I mention that the current rulers of Iran (as well as the current prime minister of Israel) are radicals? I can't imagine he doesn't know most Egyptians don't like Israel, and I can't imagine he thinks he is going to change their mind. He doesn't even think he can change most American minds much less Egyptian minds, he usually goes with the flow of where people are.

Now that the carrot is no

Resistance — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 23:42:32 +0000

In reply to Egypt’s President-elect Morsi keen to renew Iran ties

Now that the carrot is no longer sufficient, what is the stick?

Have the brother Palestinians, found a new home?

And in other news....for

cmaukonen — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 23:33:26 +0000

In reply to Egypt’s President-elect Morsi keen to renew Iran ties

And in other news....for Israel...