President Muhamed Morsy of Egypt was ousted last week due to a revolution or a military coup (depending on how you want to interpret it). He was pushed out of power due to Egypt's weak economy, corruption, and for heading an Islamist government; (Morsy is backed by the Muslim Brotherhood).
The United States is in a tough position. When Mubarek was pushed out of power last year, we were at first supportive of Morsy and the free elections. Since then we have changed our tone because of Morsy's backing by the Muslim Brotherhood. Now that Egypt is in turmoil, we are faced with a decision regarding whether or not to intervene and whether or not to continue providing aid to Egypt. If in fact a military coup was the cause of Morsy's ousting, the U.S. cannot continue providing aid. Decisions must be made and soon because the Egyptians are not happy with our neutral stance.
Regardless of whose side the Egyptians are on, pro-Morsy or anti-Morsy, all of them collectively dislike the U.S. at the moment. Non-Islamist Egyptians are angry because they believe the U.S. has "cozied up" to the Muslim Brotherhood while Islamist Egyptians are accusing the U.S. of being the cause of Morsy's ousting.
An Egyptian aircraft mechanic remarked, "Now the Brotherhood are fighting us in the streets, fighting to take back power, and America is sitting on the fence. We ask for one thing from America: support the people, not the army, not the Brotherhood."
What will the U.S. do? Is there a way to stay politically neutral while still helping the Egyptian people? Whatever the U.S. decides to do, we must keep the best interests of the people in mind.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/2013/07/10/Washington-vilified-on-both-sides-of-Egypt-s-divide.html
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/10/world/meast/egypt-whats-next/index.html?hpt=wo_c1
I would trust the people vs the MB or a untethered Military..
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteThis challenge between our foreign interests and our values is not new and it has confounded our national leadership for decades. While we have to ask what we the U.S. will do, we must lose the perspective that there are many other countries that will influence the situation in Egypt, not to mention different organizations/groups not affiliated with a country such as Al-Qaeda on one end, and global pro-democracy groups on the other, and several in between. Ultimately the U.S. must keep its interests in mind first and foremost. Right now I suspect that is pushing for some degree of stability in order to prevent a civil war that will likely spread beyond its borders. Since the U.S. has been such a major player in Egypt for many decades and seen as bias, I actually think it best if the U.S. plays a minor role and encourages a smaller nation, preferably from the Middle East, but possibly Europe (such as Norway) to facilitate a political transition. It must not be forgotten that the people elected the MB into power, and it is not in our interests for them to be in power for a lot of reasons. If it appears that they'll win again do we step aside and support the will of the people, or interfere and push to have the MG ousted from power again? Unfortunately there are no easy decisions, and not necessarily right or wrong ones, but some are probably better than others. Bill
Mary, Otto here, I tried to "join" your site but the last thing I need is another account, especially with google, so I'll list my name when I comment.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I'm glad your Dad made me aware of the site, so far, great perspective and I really like your 90 day looks at subjects and areas, first I'll give you some generic advice and then comment on this post. I formerly had a blog and I'm bringing it back shortly, a few observations:
1. Go for quality not quantity. If you only occasionally post, thst OK, make people want to read and interact with your thoughts, don't just post because you can.
2. Generally avoid politics unless you want it to be politics. This is a roughly 50/50 nation and you may immediately turn off 50% by being too blatently political. Thats not to say you can't criticize administrations or individuals, but critique their policies and avoid the politics.
3. Accept and encourage criticisms of your views until they become personal or mean and then shut down the individual.
4. Have fun and enjoy it! Even be whimsical at times, life's tough enough that this spot in your life can be thoughtful but let the dog off the chain every now and then.
My thoughts on your Egyptian post is this: America is a terrible friend and much is due to our cycle of years: we budget yearly, have Congressional elections every two years, and we elect Presidents every four. There is virtually no "long range planning" so subsequently, we tend to careen from one crisis, percieved or real, to another. We tend to be a horrible friend to "people" just as the Hmong, Kurds, and soon, the Pashtuns, again. Finally, your last sentance is slightly misstated. In reality, it should read "Whatever the US decides to do, we must keep the best interests of the American people in mind"
Looking forward to much more! Otto
Good afternoon, Mary -- If you haven't already come across it yet, I recommend that you explore what are often referred to as "schools of thought" in international relations (ie., realists, neo-cons, internationalists, and the like). Each of these "schools" will provide you a perspective from which to dissect the situation you are considering. Please don't misunderstand me, I am not saying that you should adopt one of these schools. Rather, by using a variety of schools you can clearly expose the factors involved and potential responses to a situation.
ReplyDeleteBy most indications, Morsy was freely elected by the citizens of Egypt. So why isn't the US supporting this example of democracy in action? Well, the Muslim Brotherhood appears to be very bad, so we should do what we can to get rid of them. On yet another hand, Egypt is a critical source of protection and regional support for Israel, so we should do whatever it takes to keep it stable and happy. And, so on. Each of the common schools of thought will give you a different priority for what is important. And, I offer that in the current political climate -- at home and abroad -- things are too often put into a false dichotomy meaning that there are only two options. Using the variety of schools of thought will allow one to uncover that there are more than two options.
Until your next post, Bill Glenney.