If Egypt revolts against its new pharaoh
Il Giornale, November 24th, 2012
“No one can stop our march forward... I am performing my duty to please God and the nation." The voice of new Egypt’s pharaoh echoes across the country’s sands. Egypt’s new leader is a Mubarak to the nth degree. Having won the elections in the name of the Muslim Brothers, he is invested with the religious power too. As soon as Hilary Clinton turned her back to get back to Washington, Mohammed Morsi granted himself sweeping new powers, the precedent dictator alike, and the people took to the streets to revolt against him. For the time being their protest are not extremely powerful, though you can see demonstrations in Cairo, Alexandria, and Port Said; but they are a faded copy of the roaring Arab Revolution. People are tired, El Baradei’s reaction accusing Morsi of being the new Mubarak sounds tired and toothless right now; even the remarks voiced by Amr Moussa, a tough personality, are not scathing; if anything, Morsi’s Coptic Christian advisor Samir Morcos’ as well as Al Tahrir Chief Editor Ibrahim Issa’s resignations are more resounding. Morsi stretched to the point of even banning the dissolution of both the Islamist-loaded constituent assembly and the Parliament, regardless whatever sexist, homophobic, or anti-Christian legislation it may pass; he also decreed that all of his decisions cannot be appealed in court or by any other authority, which places him upon an unreachable peak, sacredly untouchable, alone like a pharaoh.
But is Morsi really alone? Not really, considered he basks in lavish International praise since he was appointed to be the Great Moderate Mediator between the Islamist and the Western world. He won this award by convincing his Gazan Muslim Brotherhood (Hamas, a terror organization, is also affiliated with his own organization) to desist from firing rockets, which originated the eight day war between Palestinians and Israel. The agreement brokered by Morsi mainly focusses on a cease-fire: all the rest is negligible small print, because Iranian weapons will continue to flow from Sinai into the hands of the Gaza masters. And the rocket fire will resume. The cease-fire Obama firmly pursued designs a strategy that doesn’t focus on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He needs Morsi for other purposes.
Such strategic decision however bears with it the irony that the US has now to relate to a new dictator, possibly worse than Mubarak, as its partner.The current issue vexing the US, which according to the Pentagon analyses could blow up the entire world, is Syria; that’s why the US State Department by leveraging with Egypt’s on its urgent need for economic aid, attempts to create a Sunni alliance anti-Assad, who is an Alawite with unavoidable Shiite ties, bounded by a double thread to Iran, like the hazardous Hezbollah who keep Lebanon as hostage. Within this front the US also include Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Emirates, and Jordan … But then again, Obama underestimates the endogenous pressures in the Arab world, its dictatorial and religious drives, and its inability to keep a balanced stance in international affairs in a time of transition like the current one. During the war between Israel and Hamas, Egypt, as well as the other states of the alliance, welcomed Hamas terrorists with great affection, addressing Israel with racist hatred comments (also Morsi did so) and proclaiming, like Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badei did, that his organization does not recognize Israel and jihad is a duty for all Muslims. He added they are only waiting for the right time to take up arms united against the West. In this background all smiles dedicated to Morsi fail to recognize both his authoritarian slant, now unveiled, as well as his cunning ploy, which will eventually blow up in the hands of the West unless we are able to address it in due time.