What Could Possibly Go Wrong

Signs of a Shift Among Egyptian Protesters to Antigovernment, From Pro-Morsi

"As tens of thousands gathered in the streets of Cairo for the ninth Friday of protests against the takeover, few carried the posters of Mr. Morsi’s face that were once the banner of the Brotherhood’s 'anti-coup' coalition. Instead, almost everyone held a sign with a logo memorializing the mass killing by security forces of hundreds of Morsi supporters on Aug. 14. In at least one march by thousands of demonstrators in the neighborhood of Mohandiseen, many carried signs opposing both the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement behind Mr. Morsi, and the new government installed by General Sisi." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSigns of a Shift Among Egyptian Protesters to Antigovernment, From Pro-Morsi

The Muslim Holy War Against The ‘Great Satan’

"Western imperialism and its terrorist puppet regimes in this vast region over two centuries have produced an immense, exploding cauldron of rage against the puppets and the imperialists. The people have returned to their Muslim roots to give them hope and strength to endure the terrible wars they must fight for decades to rid their ancient homelands of these imperialists. The U.S. is sinking into an immense cauldron of Holy War against a billion Muslims and is fighting them with mercenary troops who for the most part believe in nothing but their pay-checks and retirement perks. It may even take a century of terrible war, but the outcome seems obvious." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Muslim Holy War Against The ‘Great Satan’

The army pulled the trigger, but the West loaded the gun

"To focus on the actions of the security forces alone, on what they did with their trigger fingers yesterday, is to miss the bigger picture; it is to overlook the question of where the military regime got the moral authority to clamp down on its critics so violently in the name of preserving its undemocratic grip on power. It got it from the West, including from so-called Western liberals and human-rights activists. The moral ammunition for yesterday’s massacres was provided by the very politicians and campaigners now crying crocodile tears over the sight of hundreds of dead Egyptians." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe army pulled the trigger, but the West loaded the gun

CFR’s Leslie Gelb on Egypt: Hold Your Nose and Back the Junta!

"Long-time foreign policy insider Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, believes democracy is when the guys he likes win. Free elections that produce 'enemies' of the US or Israel are by definition not democratic and the winners should be overthrown by the US and its allies. Gelb is back this weekend, penning a piece as Egypt drowns in blood in the aftermath of the military massacre of supporters of the deposed president Morsi. He warns us against getting bogged down in 'moral posturing about democracy in Egypt' and urges that we 'hold our nose and back Egypt’s military.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCFR’s Leslie Gelb on Egypt: Hold Your Nose and Back the Junta!

Washington frets over Saudi ties

"Saudi Arabia did not just pledge a combined US$12 billion in financial assistance, but it has also promised to make up for any Western aid that may be withheld as a result of the coup and the ongoing crackdown in which about 1,000 protesters are believed to have been killed to date. Perhaps even more worrisome to some experts in Washington has been the exceptionally tough language directed against Washington's own condemnation of the coup by top Saudi officials, including King Abdullah, who declared last week that '[t]he kingdom stands ... against all those who try to interfere with its domestic affairs' and charged that criticism of the army crackdown amounted to helping the 'terrorists'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWashington frets over Saudi ties

The Fascinating Interventionist Mindset

"It never considers the possibility of simply ending foreign aid entirely to Egypt and, for that matter, every other country. It’s as if the interventionist mindset is compelled to think only in terms of intervention on one side or the other. The thought of not intervening in any way doesn’t even enter the mental processes of the interventionists. Why not just leave Chile alone? Why not just leave Egypt alone? Why not just cancel foreign aid entirely, not only to brutal dictatorships but also to every other regime, especially during a time that federal expenditures continue to far exceed federal income? That’s a fascinating question. Unfortunately, it’s one that never enters the interventionist mindset." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Fascinating Interventionist Mindset

Saudi Arabia Pushes US Toward Military Strike in Syria

"Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal urged the Arab League to back a military strike against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime after the chemical attack on Ghouta in which hundreds of Syrians were killed. Away from humanitarian concerns over the Syrian victims of chemical attacks, the Saudi antagonism to Assad’s regime started in 2006, when it appeared that together with Iraq, Syria was beginning to drift even more toward the Iranian sphere of influence and away from the Saudi-led Arab position, causing discomfort in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia aims to return Syria to its fold after years of estrangement and even hostility." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSaudi Arabia Pushes US Toward Military Strike in Syria

Military Members Speak Out Against Syrian War Through Anonymous Meme

"Are we witnessing the beginnings of a new military member internet meme? Military members are donning their uniforms and posting pictures of themselves with signs covering their faces that read, 'I didn’t join the [military service branch name] to fight for Al-Quaeda in a Syrian civil war.' The first image surfaced on the internet a few days ago and now another military member has made their own version. Have military members finally found a way to speak out against U.S. Imperial foreign policies?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMilitary Members Speak Out Against Syrian War Through Anonymous Meme

Amash: Military Members Keep Telling Me To Vote No On Syria

"After President Obama delivered a speech in the Rose Garden where he said the United States 'should' strike Syria following a deadly chemical weapons attack, Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) took to Twitter to dispute that claim with comments from those who would likely carry out that order. Since Amash's initial tweet, he's been retweeting comments that have been sent in from military members and veterans. Many of my own military sources have expressed reservations with action in Syria, especially following service in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmash: Military Members Keep Telling Me To Vote No On Syria

Gorbachev warns of Syrian intervention risks

"Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said in Geneva on Monday that US President Barack Obama was right to seek backing from Congress for military action in Syria, but he warned that intervening raised dire risks. 'If he's not decisive enough in shooting and bombing, I think it's a good kind of indecisiveness,' Gorbachev told a conference of Green Cross International, a peace and environmental organisation he founded in 1993, two years after his Kremlin ouster. 'If, however, they decide to shoot without regard for the opinion of the people everywhere, including the United States, then I think the consequences could be very bad,' he warned." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGorbachev warns of Syrian intervention risks