Tag Archives: Egypt

Stealth Jihad vs. Kinetic Jihad

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There are two basic types of jihad–stealth (can also be called cultural) and kinetic. Kinetic is the one that involves acts of terrorism. Stealth jihad is done through lawfare, propaganda, and cultural changes. Generally stealth jihad continues until the jihadists have enough of a majority to overthrow a society or government; at that point, you generally see kinetic jihad–acts of terrorism.

On September 12th, The Times of Israel posted an article about the recent elections in Jordan.

The article reports:

Jordan’s leading Islamist opposition party has won 31 out of 138 seats in the kingdom’s parliament, tripling its representation in legislative elections dominated by frustration over Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

The Islamic Action Front (IAF), a political offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, came ahead of other parties and factions in the legislature after Tuesday’s vote, but was far from clinching a majority, according to official election results released on Wednesday.

The result is a historic win for the Islamists and their largest representation since the Muslim Brotherhood in 1989 gained 22 out of the 80 seats that existed then.

The article concludes:

Jordan in 1994 signed a peace treaty with Israel, becoming only the second Arab state to do so after Egypt, but regular protests have called for the treaty’s dissolution since the war erupted on October 7 when Palestinian terror group Hamas led a devastating attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

Israel responded with a military offensive to destroy Hamas in Gaza and free 251 hostages who were abducted by terrorists in the Hamas attack.

Oraib Rantawi, head of the Amman-based Al Quds Center for Political Studies, described the Islamists’ gains in the election as “astonishing in their magnitude.”

The Islamists won “nearly half a million votes,” a figure he said was unprecedented in their history in Jordan.

“Gaza played a major role in this,” he added, as well as a feeling among voters that other competing parties “were created in haste… to reduce the chances of success of the Islamic Action Front.”

The people of Jordan are not part of the terrorist movement. In the 1970’s the Palestinian Liberation Organization was kicked out of Jordan after they tried to overthrow the government. In recent years Jordan has supported Israel. Unfortunately, if the Islamist presence in Jordan’s parliament increases, it will pose a threat to possible peace in the Middle East.

When Your Duplicity Is About The Be Discovered

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On Friday, Hot Air posted an article about the underground tunnels that run from Rafah to Egypt. The article speculates that the tunnels are the reason Egypt has been against the invasion of Rafah by Israel.

The article reports:

Juuuussssttttt spitballin’ here, but it certainly seems like we have an answer for Egypt’s extraordinary pissiniss about Israel’s plans to clear out Rafah.

I have to admit, this was the favored line of thinking over the past few weeks as the Biden administration sabotaged every Israeli move, and the Egyptians blustered and threatened. Almost to a one, folks weren’t at all fooled. They were asking, “What is Egypt worried the Israelis are going to find?”

At least fifty tunnels – so far – scootin’ over – well, under – the border into Egypt.

What are the odds?

And what are the odds the Egyptians knew nothing?

Slim to none.

Why, though? Why would Egypt jeopardize a place at the table with Israel and the big dogs to grovel in the dirt with terrorists like Hamas?

The article includes the following Tweet:

The article notes:

…I think we can now fairly say the relationship is much more complicated than that. Egypt has propped up Hamas for years by allowing supply lines to go through it. 50 tunnels could not go through the border without Al-Sisi and his regime knowing about it.  .

Also keep in mind that Israeli intelligence believes that most arms for Hamas are brought in through the Rafah Crossing, which is under Egyptian supervision.  

In addition, their threats to torpedo the peace agreement if Israel goes into Rafah no longer seem to be just about refugees leaving Gaza. It also pertains to finding the tunnels and the extent of Egyptian cooperation with Hamas. In addition, it appears their resistance was part of an attempt to keep Hamas in power.  

I don’t have all the answers to why Egypt is supporting Hamas, but this is my guess: 

1) They have a modus vivendi with Hamas. They ask that Hamas not intervene in Egyptian politics and not undermine control in Sinai. In return, they turn a blind eye to the tunnels and arms going in. 2) They are getting kickbacks from Hamas and possibly Iran and Qatar in return. Egypt has serious economic and debt problems and could desperately use a source of income. 3) Egypt is rife with antisemitism, and they will lose no sleep over helping its enemies.

The political alliances in the Middle East are very complicated. Israel lives in a very rough neighborhood. It is only through showing strength (and the grace of God) that Israel has been able to survive . I hope the invasion of Rafah is quick and thorough. The people responsible for October 7th need to pay a price high enough so that events like that will never happen again.

Things Not Being Said Publicly

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On Saturday, Townhall posted an article about the continuing war in Gaza. Although the Biden administration and some other countries are putting pressure on Israel not to end Hamas, some countries in the Middle East are not in agreement with allowing Hamas to survive.

The article reports:

In the days after the brutal October 7 attacks executed by Hamas, Egypt knew what was going to happen. They deployed tanks to the border while their prime minister vowed that his country would sacrifice millions to keep their borders safe. He was not referring to Israel. So, what’s the latest? Well, Haaretz is reporting that Israel’s Arab neighbors are telling Jerusalem privately that they shouldn’t stop military operations until Hamas has been annihilated. They view them as a domestic threat:

The article includes a quote from an article in France 24:

The outcome of a joint summit of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in the Saudi capital highlighted regional divisions over how to respond to the war even as fears mount that it could draw in other countries. 

…The final declaration on Saturday rejected Israeli claims that it is acting in “self-defence” and demanded that the United Nations Security Council adopt “a decisive and binding resolution” to halt Israel’s “aggression”. 

It also called for an end to weapons sales to Israel and dismissed any future political resolution to the conflict that would keep Gaza separate from the Israeli-occupied West Bank. 

Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who before the war was considering establishing formal diplomatic ties with Israel, told the summit he “holds the occupation (Israeli) authorities responsible for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people”. 

…Some countries, including Algeria and Lebanon, proposed responding to the devastation in Gaza by threatening to disrupt oil supplies to Israel and its allies as well as severing the economic and diplomatic ties that some Arab League nations have with Israel, the diplomats said. 

However, at least three countries — including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which normalised ties with Israel in 2020 — rejected the proposal, according to the diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

In a televised address Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Arab leaders “have to stand up against Hamas”, which he described as “an integral part of the terror axis led by Iran”. 

Why is there so much talk about crimes committed against the Palestinian people and so little talk about crimes committed against Israelis on October 7th and before and after? Where is the concern for the rockets fired consistently on civilian populations in Israel since March 2006? How would America handle things if Mexico had been firing rockets into Texas since 2006?

The Prisoners Exchanged

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The news is doing a lot of reporting about the children kidnapped by Hamas and held captive since October 7th. Israel is rejoicing at the return of the hostages. Gaza is also rejoicing, but I suspect it’s for different reasons–they will now have more terrorists to deploy.

On Sunday, The U.K. Daily Mail reported:

A Palestinian woman who disfigured herself in a suspected bomb attack in Jerusalem has been reunited with her family after being released from an Israeli prison.

Israa Jaabis, 38, had been imprisoned since 2015 after being convicted of detonating a gas cylinder that wounded an Israeli police officer. The attack left her with severe burns on her face and hands.

She was released on Saturday as part of the agreement with Hamas that will see Israeli hostages freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Jaabis was given a flower crown and seen embracing her family upon her release. She told the Al Jazeera tv network that she was ‘shy’ to hug her son whom she hadn’t seen in eight years.

Israel freed 39 Palestinians – six women and 33 teenagers – from two prisons on Saturday during the second round of the exchange after an hours-long unexpected delay set nerves on edge. 

Hamas had accused Israel of breaking the terms of the agreement. Israel denied the allegation.

…The deal risked being derailed when Hamas’ armed wing said on Saturday it was delaying releases until Israel met all truce conditions, including committing to let aid trucks into northern Gaza.

Saving the deal took a day of diplomacy mediated by Qatar and Egypt, which President Biden also joined.

Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades also said Israel had failed to respect terms for the release of Palestinian prisoners that factored in their time in detention.

COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians, accused Hamas itself of delaying trucks trying to deliver humanitarian aid to northern Gaza at a checkpoint.

‘To Hamas, residents of Gaza are their last priority,’ it said on Sunday.

As much as I rejoice in the return of some of the hostages, this is a sad time for Israel. Because of international pressure, Israel was forced into a deal with Hamas which Hamas will use to manipulate public opinion. We can also expect more hostage-taking in the future since this has unfortunately worked very well for Hamas. Understand the people doing the negotiating are not on Israel’s side–Qatar is the home of the head of Hamas and funds Hamas generously. Even though I rejoice in the release of the hostages, I hope Israel will quickly go back into Gaza and eliminate Hamas.

Both Sides Are Not Playing By The Same Rules

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I wonder if the people who are supporting Hamas understand that Hamas views their country’s civilians as shields in time of war and the enemy country’s civilians as legitimate targets. That has been illustrated by the attack on Israeli civilians on October 7th and Hamas’ use of their citizens as shields and for propaganda purposes.

On November 4th, The Washington Examiner reported the following:

Hamas has been holding up efforts to get Americans and other foreign nationals out of Gaza and into Egypt through the Rafah Border Crossing by putting its own wounded fighters on departure lists meant for Americans, dual citizenship holders, Palestinian civilians, and other foreign nationals, according to a senior Biden administration official.

Since Oct. 7, when Hamas first invaded Israel, people holding dual, American, or some other foreign citizenship have been trying to leave through Gaza’s southern border and into Egypt, but their efforts have been blocked by Hamas, who officials have said were making unreasonable demands in order to let them cross into Egypt.

The senior administration official provided insight into these demands during a background call with reporters on Friday. The official explained that Hamas provided the United States, Israel, and Egypt with multiple departure lists that included injured Palestinians who were wounded during the war and should be allowed to leave with Americans and other foreign nationals, which is not objectionable, the official said, but after vetting the individuals on the list, it showed many of them were injured Hamas fighters.

The review found that nearly a third of the wounded Palestinians on the first list were actually Hamas fighters and that it would be unacceptable to allow them to exit Gaza, the official said. While the administration would be happy to let injured Palestinian civilians out of Gaza, they just couldn’t let Hamas fighters leave on the departure list.

A deal was eventually worked out to let civilians (not fighters) exit the Gaza Strip, but this is an example of how Hamas is fighting this war. Israel is doing its best to limit civilian casualties, but when civilians are used to shield rocket launchers, there will be casualties.

The People Who Know

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On Tuesday, Ed Morrissey at Hot Air reported that Jordan and Egypt have refused to take Palestinian refugees. They are not being heartless–they are protecting their regimes. There is a lot of history behind this decision.

The article reports:

How could Germany, of all countries, ask Jordan to accept a mass of Palestinian refugees? The PLO under Yasser Arafat tried to seize power in Jordan after King Hussein offered them sanctuary following the 1967 war with Israel. After two assassination attempts, Hussein finally used armed force to push Arafat and his collection of ingrates into Lebanon through Syria, another Arafat disaster that the Palestinians called Black September.

They gave that name to its terror wing, which is why Germany in particular should recall that history. After its ejection from Jordan, the PLO and its Black September wing went on an international terror spree, attempting to force the West to stop supporting Israel. One of its most well-known operations was the attempted abduction and murder of Israeli athletes in the 1972 Munich Olympics. As in Munich, Germany (West Germany at the time, of course).

How clueless does a German chancellor have to be to ask Jordan to recreate the conditions for another Black September — especially when the Gazans are so closely aligned with Iran? Clueless enough to attempt to ask Egypt next, apparently…

The article also notes:

Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has already rejected this idea, and with even more reason. As I wrote last week, Hamas sprang out of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and the Muslim Brotherhood wants al-Sisi dead. Why in the world would anyone think that al-Sisi would allow tens of thousands of potential Muslim Brotherhood foot soldiers into his country now? If Germany or any of the other leaders in the West took even a moment to consider the precarious nature of both regimes, they’d be embarrassed to even have floated this idea.

The only country that should give refuge to the Gazans at the moment is Iran. They authored the present misery of the Gazans through their proxy Hamas. Iran won’t take them in either, though, even apart from the logistics of that kind of relocation. For one thing, the Persian Shi’ite mullahs couldn’t care less about the mainly Sunni Arabs of Gaza and the West Bank, but also they can’t afford their destabilizing presence either. They already have a restive population that the IRGC can barely contain, and that population hates the Palestinians and the way that the mullahs exploit their cause to justify their oppression.

Looking for a home for Palestinian refugees is like asking people to provide a home for a teenage murderer who has somehow escaped jail. Sometimes kindness involves great risk that can only end badly.

 

The Kabuki Theater Of The Middle East

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President Biden is meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu during his trip to the Middle East. He was originally scheduled to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah and Egyptian President al-Sisi. Jordan and Egypt cancelled those meetings. So why is President Biden going to Israel? Don’t assume that it is because America is supporting Israel.

The following video is posted on YouTube: I know it’s a long video, but it is worth listening to.

Caroline Glick explains the pressure America is putting on Israel to supply humanitarian aid to Gaza. Understand that any humanitarian aid to Gaza will be given to soldiers. Ordinary citizens will receive nothing. How many weapons can be smuggled in as ‘humanitarian aid,’ particularly when the inspectors belong to Hamas? Please see my previous article explaining HUDNA. 

The Conservative Treehouse reported on Tuesday:

Yesterday I provided some of my own thoughts on the motives.  “The people behind Joe Biden are sending him to Israel for (1) part of a rebranding effort; and (2) to impede Netanyahu and buy time for Hamas.”

Today, Caroline Glick affirms my perspective and also gives some troubling information about: (a) the White House demanding an invitation; and (b) Anthony Blinken threatening Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu to hold back the ground invasion or the U.S. will not allow munitions and bombs Israel needs for resupply.

This is where we are. America is not acting like an ally of Israel regardless of what he has said.

Moving Away From Peace

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The Center for Security Policy posted an article today about a recent foreign affairs decision by the Biden administration.

The article reports:

Is the Biden Administration holding Egypt aid hostage in exchange for freeing a bloodthirsty Muslim Brotherhood leader?

The Biden Administration is currently withholding $130 million in security and counterterrorism assistance to the Egyptian government, unless 16 unnamed prisoners, among whom may be included a virulent anti-Semitic jihadist cleric, are released from Egyptian prisons.

That was the reveal in a recent floor speech by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) this week. Cruz has been locked in a rhetorical battle with the Biden Administration for weeks in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, centered around nominee Barbara Leaf, currently proposed for state department assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs. Cruz has sought to force answers to questions about the conditioning of Egyptian security aid on the release of the unnamed prisoners.

“Not a single name. None of them. Congress doesn’t get to know who those 16 people are,” Cruz said during the speech, which featured a large poster board blow up of Leaf’s 1000-word response to Cruz’s questionnaire, “The answer from Ms. Leaf to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is, not to put too fine a point on, go jump in a lake.”

Cruz called the Biden Administration’s action “extortion” and wondered aloud about the nature of the prisoner list, noting that the list of names is available to Congress in a classified form, but one that remains hidden from the public.

There seems to be some information about who the prisoners are in a recent Senate report:

One possible clue as to the identity of these prisoners may be language buried within a recent Senate appropriation report, which calls on the secretary of state to consider conditioning aid on the treatment of Egyptian prisoners Ola al-Qaradawi, Hosam Khalaf, Salah Soltan, Abdelrahman Tarek, and Mohamed El-Baqer. Cruz noted that it is currently unknown who was responsible for the insertion of those names into the appropriations report.

Soltan’s is by far the most interesting name, as he is a well-known Muslim Brotherhood cleric and Hamas supporter. Soltan played a key role in leading U.S. Muslim Brotherhood organizations during his time in United States and has a long record of issuing blood-curdling anti-Semitic calls for violence. He is also known for praising Osama bin Laden, and even being an associate of the late Al Qaeda ideologue Anwar al-Awlaki.

Soltan is currently in an Egyptian prison convicted of incitement to murder. He was formerly a U.S. resident, but his application for naturalization was denied after Soltan appeared at a Hamas rally in Turkey.

This is the kind of thing that happened when Barack Obama was President and spoke in Egypt. He brought members of the Muslim Brotherhood into the country from exile and seated them in the front row. He planted the seeds for the Muslim Brotherhood takeover of Egypt, which was later overthrown.

Mohammed Morsi Has Died

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The Daily Caller is reporting today that former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has died following his collapse in an Egyptian courtroom.

The article reports:

Morsi was 67. He has been in custody since his ousting as president in 2013 during a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, which he represented, reported BBC.

Morsi was being tried on espionage charges when he passed out and was taken to a hospital, reported TIME.

His presidential term was short-lived after he was elected in the country’s first free elections in 2012 after the expulsion of former President Hosni Mubarak. Morsi broke out of prison in 2011 during the uprisings against Mubarak and was sentenced to death in 2015 for the jail break after being removed from power. He was sentenced for conspiring with Hamas and Hezbollah militants to break out, but the death sentence was overturned in 2016.

…President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has led Egypt since 2014. El-Sisi has promoted peaceful relations between Christians and Muslims in his country, including by presiding over the opening of a cathedral, but Egypt’s human rights record is far from perfect. For example, an Egyptian TV journalist was sentenced to prison for a year in January and fined 3,000 Egyptian pounds after interviewing a gay man on his show in August 2018, Egypt state-run media reported.

President el-Sisi was essentially put in place by the military to end President Morsi’s reign of the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt is not actually a democracy, but the military seems to run it with a fairly even hand–allowing most people to quietly practice their faith.

The Brutal Culture We Don’t Understand And Insist On Importing

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The Middle East is a tough neighborhood. Aside from the basic political unrest, there seems to be constant news of terrorist attacks and innocent people being murdered. The brutality of the region seems to be part of the culture. There are aspects of American culture that can be violent, but we have not accepted those elements in quite the same way.

PJ Media posted an article today about some recent events in the Middle East and one man’s reaction to those events.

The article reports:

In December, the Islamic State claimed a suicide bombing in a church inside Cairo’s Coptic cathedral compound that killed 29 (all but one were women and girls). On Palm Sunday, two separate Islamic State suicide bombings killed nearly 50 worshippers.

Over the weekend, the group threatened more attacks on Christians

The Muslim Brotherhood was formed in Egypt in 1928 and has been a problem for Egypt ever since. Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has tried to keep the Muslim Brotherhood in check since he took office. Obviously, he has not been totally successful. It is somewhat annoying to me that some Americans in the last administration were extremely sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood. One in particular posted some strange tweets.

The article reports one of Mohamed Elibiary’s (former Obama Homeland Security Advisory Council member)  tweets:

Reading ISIS’s latest mag “otherizing” Egypt’s Copts. Subhanallah how what goes around comes around. Coptic ldrs did same to MB Egyptians.

The article explains:

What has Elibiary upset? Many in the Coptic Christian community backed the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi in 2013. In his tweet, he references “MB Egyptians” — Muslim Brotherhood Egyptians.

During the time Morsi was President of Egypt, Christians were relentlessly persecuted. Although the persecution has somewhat abated under el-Sisi, it does continue. The Coptic Christians are one of the oldest branches of Christianity in the Middle East, dating back to about 42 AD. By the beginning of the Third Century, they comprised the majority of Egypt’s population. Many of them have left in recent years because of persecution.

According to Pew Research:

The highest share (of Christians in Egypt) reported in the past century was in 1927, when the census found that 8.3% of Egyptians were Christians. In each of seven subsequent censuses, the Christian share of the population gradually shrank, ending at 5.7% in 1996. Religion data has not been made available from Egypt’s most recent census, conducted in 2006. But in a large, nationally representative 2008 survey — the Egyptian Demographic and Health Survey, conducted among 16,527 women ages 15 to 49 — about 5% of the respondents were Christian. Thus, the best available census and survey data indicate that Christians now number roughly 5% of the Egyptian population, or about 4 million people. The Pew Forum’s recent report on The Future of the Global Muslim Population estimated that approximately 95% of Egyptians were Muslims in 2010.

Religious tolerance is not a part of Koranic Islam. Infidels have to be converted or killed. Sharia Law takes precedence over any Constitution or law of the land. So I have a few questions. Why was a man who supports the Muslim Brotherhood in the Department of Homeland Security in America? Why are we importing ‘refugees’ who will not respect our Constitution and who believe that killing infidels is acceptable? Where will American Christians flee if our citizens elect people who support the persecution of Christians? How many of our government appointees from the last administration share the beliefs of Mohamed Elibiary?

 

A Culture That Is Foreign To Us

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The Middle East culture is not a culture most Americans understand. It is a tribal, brutal culture. The highest goal of a young man in a Muslim country is to fight and be martyred for Allah. That is the only sure way to paradise. Sharia Law is the final authority. Women and second-class citizens, and homosexuals are killed. Disobeying your parents can get you killed in an ‘honor killing’ by a trusted relative. ISIS has taken Sharia Law to a whole new level, and not everyone is pleased.

Yesterday PJ Media reported that a group of Bedouins in the Sinai Peninsula set fire to an ISIS fighter and called on all the tribes to unite and fight ISIS together.

The article reports:

As ISIS has been losing territory in Iraq and Syria, their Sinai chapter has expanded its reach, even establishing a religious police force that has been terrorizing residents who smoke cigarettes or shave. ISIS also threatened residents against cooperating with the army and police.

That, along with ISIS spreading fake news that they had killed 40 members of the al-Tarabeen tribe, drove the Bedouins to snatch an ISIS leader and film their own video of his death, the tribe told Al-Arabiya.

They said the man had killed three Sinai residents and a police and burned their bodies, so the Bedouins set him on fire. That’s employing the Islamic principle of qisas, killing a killer in the manner by which the victim was murdered. ISIS tried to use the same reasoning when they burned a Jordanian pilot in a cage in a shocking 2015 video.

The article concludes:

The al-Tarabeen said in a statement they would fight ISIS “bravely and courageously as the sons of the tribe do not fear the battles.”

“It is time to get together to face ISIS, which did not have mercy on the elderly or young, and filled the earth with corruption and destruction,” they said in a call for the tribes to unite.

“To anyone who supports ISIS by word, action or by monitoring, he has to surrender himself immediately,” they added.

We need more Muslims willing to stand up against ISIS. Otherwise we will be fighting this war forever.

Some History To Explain Some Current Events

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Technically Egypt is considered a Republic. However, Egypt has a history of military coups, protests, and assassinations that have forced changes in leadership. As I am sure you remember, there were protests in Egypt as part of the so-called Arab Spring. As a result of those protests, on 13 February 2011, the military dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution. In June 2012, Mohamed Morsi was elected President of Egypt. On 2 August 2012, Egypt’s Prime Minister Hisham Qandil announced his 35-member cabinet comprising 28 newcomers including four from the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood was formed in Egypt in 1928. It has a two-fold purpose–to implement sharia law worldwide and to re-establish the imperial Islamic state (caliphate). Al Qaeda has the same objectives as the Muslim Brotherhood–they differ only in timing and tactics. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was responsible for the assassination of Anwar Sadat after he signed a peace treaty with Israel. Although most Egyptians supported the treaty, Egypt was kicked out of the Arab League because of Anwar Sadat’s actions, and he was assassinated by the Muslim Brotherhood. That is some of the history of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and explains why the Egyptian military removed Mohamed Morsi from office. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was elected President and sworn in on June 8, 2104. My purpose in explaining the history is to illustrate the reasons el-Sisi has found it necessary to crack down on the Muslim Brotherhood. They are very active in Egypt and are a threat to the nation’s freedom.

President Obama had a much better relationship with Morsi than he did with el-Sisi. President Obama was much more sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt than he was to those who opposed them. When President Obama spoke al-Azhar University in Cairo in 2009, he specifically invited 10 members of the Brotherhood’s parliamentary bloc to attend the speech. President Obama’s actions showed much more sympathy to the Muslim Brotherhood than to those who wanted religious freedom in Egypt. So where am I going with this?

Our relationship with Egypt has improved since President Trump took office.

The Daily Caller is reporting today:

Egypt has released an Egyptian American woman who was imprisoned in Cairo for several years after Donald Trump struck a deal with the Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi.

Aya Hijazi, 30, a U.S. citizen and humanitarian worker, had been in prison for three years on child abuse and trafficking charges — which the U.S. dismissed as false — because she operated a nonprofit dedicated to helping kids on the street with her husband. Last week, an Egyptian court dropped all charges against her.

Ms. Hijazi had been in prison for three years. Donald Trump has been President for three months. There is no reason that President Obama could not have freed this woman as soon as she was arrested (other than the fact that he did not have a good relationship with el-Sisi).

Egyptians will probably never enjoy the degree of freedom that Americans enjoy, but it is to our advantage to stay on good terms with as many world leaders as possible. Some of the early indications are that the Trump Administration will endeavor to do this.

Using Our Court System Against Us

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The Gateway Pundit posted an article today about Imam Ismail Elshikh, who leads the largest mosque in Hawaii.

The article quotes a World Net Daily article explaining the Imam’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood:

Imam Ismail Elshikh, 39, leads the largest mosque in Hawaii and claims he is suffering “irreparable harm” from the president’s executive order, which places a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. from six countries.

One of those six countries is Syria. Elshikh’s mother in law is Syrian and would not be able to visit her family in Hawaii for 90 days if Trump’s ban were allowed to go into effect.

Hawaii’s Obama-appointed federal judge, Derrick Watson, made sure the ban did not go into effect, striking it down Wednesday while buying Hawaii’s claim that it amounts to a “Muslim ban.” The state’s attorney general, along with co-plaintiff Elshikh, claims the ban would irreparably harm the state’s tourism industry and its Muslim families.

…Elshikh was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt, the home base of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose stated goal is to spread Shariah law throughout the world.

Elshikh is living in the U.S. on a green card, which gives him permanent legal status.

The proof that his mosque is affiliated with the Brotherhood is found in the court records for Honolulu County, which lists the deed holder as the North American Islamic Trust.

John Guandolo, a former FBI counter-terrorism specialist and now private consultant to law enforcement at Understanding the Threat, said all mosques under the “Muslim Association of” moniker are typically affiliated with the Brotherhood.

But the clincher in this case is that the mosque property is traced to NAIT, “confirming it is a Muslim Brotherhood organization,” Guandolo told WND in an email.

Let that sink in a minute. A man whose goal is to implement Sharia Law throughout the world is claiming that he is suffering “irreparable harm” from the president’s executive order. Why would that be? How is the president’s executive order impacting him? The man is not an American citizen–he is here legally, but he is not a citizen. When did a non-citizen have the right to work with a judge to overturn a legal act of the president? What country would allow that?

 

Why We Need To Be Careful Who We Allow To Settle In America

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Yesterday Andrew McCarthy posted an article at The National Review about the death of Omar Abdel Rahman, also known as the“Blind Sheikh.” The Blind Sheikh died in a federal prison Friday night. He was in prison for plotting the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. Andrew McCarthy was the lawyer who prosecuted the case against him.

The Blind Sheikh was an active terrorist before he came to America. Unfortunately the people who allowed him to immigrate to America failed to notice that his name was on the terrorist watch list. He came to America from Egypt, where he issued the fatwa relied upon by the jihadists who murdered Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat at a military parade in 1981. He was acquitted when he was tried in Egypt for that murder, relying on a defense that he was merely carrying out Islamic Law–under Islamic Law, Sadat deserved to die because he had signed a peace treaty with Israel. This is what we are up against. The Blind Sheikh in America trained, encouraged, and planned various operations with jihadists. While living in America, he was part of a conspiracy to murder Hosni Mubarak during one of Mubarak’s visits to the U.N.

The article concludes:

Omar Abdel Rahman was physically incapable of doing anything that would be useful to a terrorist organization: He couldn’t build a bomb, hijack a plane, or carry out an assassination. The only thing he could do for a terrorist organization was lead it. His life is a testament to the centrality of sharia-supremacist ideology to modern jihadism and to the broader Islamist movement in which it thrives. His death reminds us why we must fight everything he represented.

Omar Abdel Rahman was in America legally. Before he was arrested and tried, he was actively planning jihad against Americans. His story is one reason we need to be very careful about who we invite to live in America.
Please follow the link above to read the entire article. There is a lot we need to learn from our experience with Mr. Rahman.

The International Repercussions Are Beginning

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Breitbart is reporting today that one Egyptian lawmaker has already weighed in on the results of yesterday’s election.

The article reports:

Mustafa Juneidi said he was sure Trump was going to win, and said that “dark days are awaiting the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies.”

He also said that Egypt’s relations with the US “will improve, as Trump already named President [Abdel Fatah] Sisi as a hero and a strong ally who was shunned by the Obama Administration.”

He further said that Trump’s victory signals the victory of social media over the mainstream media that was biased in Hillary Clinton’s favor. “Trump’s election means that people no longer believe what the media tells them.”

The prominent Kuwaiti journalist Fajr al Said, a strong supporter of Sisi, also alluded to a demonstration scheduled for Friday, which the Egyptian government accused the Muslim Brotherhood of organizing.

“I congratulate President Sisi on Trump’s election and hard luck [sic] to the organizers of 11/11 who wanted to harness a Clinton victory to spread anarchy in Egypt.”  

That is what eight years of President Obama have done to America’s image overseas.

The Iran Deal Just Gets Uglier

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The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday:

The Obama administration agreed to back the lifting of United Nations sanctions on two Iranian state banks blacklisted for financing Iran’s ballistic-missile program on the same day in January that Tehran released four American citizens from prison, according to U.S. officials and congressional staff briefed on the deliberations.

The U.N. sanctions on the two banks weren’t initially to be lifted until 2023, under a landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers that went into effect on Jan. 16.

The U.N. Security Council’s delisting of the two banks, Bank Sepah and Bank Sepah International, was part of a package of tightly scripted agreements—the others were a controversial prisoner swap and transfer of $1.7 billion in cash to Iran—that were finalized between the U.S. and Iran on Jan. 17, the day the Americans were freed.

If the Iran nuclear deal is such a wonder thing, why has so much of it been kept secret?

The Middle East was in relatively good shape when President Obama took office. Hillary Clinton was his Secretary of State. Eight years later, where are we? In 2011 we saw the birth of the ‘Arab Spring’ which was supposed to democratize the Middle East. The Arab Spring brought the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt, destabilized Libya, and eventually led to the civil war in Syria. Egypt (with no help from the Obama Administration) was able to wrestle its country back from the Muslim Brotherhood and install leadership that will fight the Muslim Brotherhood and terrorism. It’s far from a democracy, but it is keeping peace within the country and working to stop terrorism. I am not impressed with the Obama Administration’s foreign policy under the leadership of Secretary of State Clinton. We have consistently worked against freedom, and we have funded terrorism by giving money to Iran.

Please follow the link above to read the entire Wall Street Journal article. The foreign policy of the Obama Administration has been a nightmare for America. Electing Hillary Clinton as President will give us more of the same.

And The Buck Stops Here

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As President Obama’s term of office winds down, some of the background information on some of his really bad foreign policy decisions is beginning to come out. Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is speaking out about the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, which was encouraged by the Obama Administration.

The Blaze posted an article today about Secretary Gates’ comments in an upcoming Fox News special.

The Blaze reports:

According to Gates, Obama called for Mubarak’s immediate removal despite his national security team urging him to be cautious.

“Literally, the entire national security team recommended unanimously handling Mubarak differently than we did,” Gates said. “And the president took the advice of three junior backbenchers in terms of how to treat Mubarak. One of them saying, ‘Mr. President, you gotta be on the right side of the history.’ And I would be sitting there at the table, and I’d say, ‘Yeah, if we could just figure that out, we’d be a long way ahead.’”

It matters who sits in the White House and who is on his team. Please remember that when you vote in November.

A Short Story With A Big Impact

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Yesterday CNN posted a very short article that may have a big impact on the politics of the Middle East.

The article reports:

In what could be the largest natural gas discovery in history, Italian energy company Eni says it has unearthed a “supergiant” gas field in the Mediterranean Sea covering about 40 square miles.

The gas field could hold a potential of 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Eni says that’s the energy equivalent of about 5.5 billion barrels of oil. The company won’t know the field’s true size until it begins to develop it.

Eni already has a presence in Egypt and expects to be able to develop the field quickly. It is possible that the field could satisfy the natural gas needs of Egypt for decades to come.

So why is this important? As the wealth from this discovery flows into Egypt, we can expect the Muslim Brotherhood to become more active in the country. Egypt has been one of the few countries in the Middle East to deal with the Muslim Brotherhood successfully. This is somewhat ironic since the Muslim Brotherhood began in Egypt. Egypt has been dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood since 1928. The Brotherhood was responsible for the assassination of Anwar Sadat and played a role in the ousting of Hosni Mubarak. At various times in its history, Egypt has jailed and executed members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Since the Muslim Brotherhood government that was set up after Hosni Mubarak was ousted, Egypt has been moving toward peace with Israel and alliances with western countries. This discovery should mean that Egypt will continue to move in that direction.

The Beginning Of A Middle Eastern Nuclear Arms Race

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The signing of a nuclear agreement with Iran will mark the beginning of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt understand Iran’s desire to build a world-wide caliphate under Sharia Law. The also understand that the possession of a nuclear weapon by Iran will help make that possible. Israel has had nuclear weapons for a long time, but has never been a threat to its neighbors–Israel has always made it clear that its nuclear weapons (which they only recently admitted having) are for defensive purposes only. Considering the neighborhood they live in, it is probably a really good thing for them to have nuclear weapons.

There will be two major changes in the Middle East as a result of this agreement. The first is that within a fairly short time, Saudi Arabia will become a nuclear power. I suspect Egypt will not be far behind. The second result is that Iran will now have the money to buy the delivery system for the nuclear bomb that they will build within the next few years (despite this agreement). We have seen this play before–it resulted in North Korea going nuclear. We have not learned the lessons of history.

Here are some quotes from various news sources on the treaty:

From PJMedia:

This deal is an historic disaster. Not only does it legitimize Iran’s nuclear program, but it goes far to confer legitimacy on Iran’s regime — the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. For the U.S., it’s a variation of running up massive U.S. government debt, and leaving the next American president — as well as America’s people, and our allies — to face the real cost. Which in this case involves nuclear weapons.

From Yahoo News:

President Hassan Rouhani told Iranians in a live televised address that “all our objectives” have been met by a nuclear deal agreed on Tuesday with world powers.

In doing so he said “God has accepted the nation’s prayers”, and the accord would lift “inhumane and tyrannical sanctions” that have caused years of economic distress to people and businesses.

From CBN News:

The agreement leaves Iran’s nuclear facilities intact and allows it to continue to enrich uranium, a deal that satisfied its leaders.

Iran also achieved its most sought-after reward: lifting economic sanctions. The economic benefits are potentially massive. It stands to receive more than $100 billion in assets frozen overseas and an end to a European oil embargo and various financial restrictions on Iranian banks.

 We will wait and see if Congress and the United Nations approve this deal, I hope they do not, but I am not optimistic. This is not a step toward peace–it is step toward war.

 

Some Good News From The Middle East

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The Jerusalem Post reported yesterday that Egypt will be sending its first full-time Ambassador to Israel in three years.

The article reports:

Netanyahu said this is something Israel appreciates and is “deeply welcomed,” and that he believes it is “very good for cementing the peace that exists between Egypt and Israel.”

Israel appointed Haim Koren as its ambassador to Egypt in 2014. On Friday, Koren made history in being the first ever Israeli ambassador to deliver a Ramadan greeting to the Egyptian people.

In the video message uploaded by the Foreign Ministry, Koren said in Arabic, “On my behalf and on behalf of the people of Israel ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, we wish the Egyptian people Ramadan Kareem,” referring to the traditional Ramadan blessing.

America‘s Middle East policy (whatever it is) is not working. As a result of our failure to bring peace in the area, alliances between countries that are looking for stability are forming. That is a good thing. Hopefully, this is simply the beginning of good things to come.

Libya Does Matter

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Erick Stakelbeck posted a story on his blog entitled, “Why You Should Care About Libya.” I will admit that I never understood the need to remove Muammar Gaddafi after he began cooperating with the west in the War on Terror. If you remember, as a result of the American invasion of Iraq, in December 2003, Libya renounced its possession of weapons of mass destruction, decommissioning its chemical and nuclear weapons programs. At that point Libya’s relationship with the United States improved and seemed to be moving in a positive direction. Admittedly, his civil rights record was questionable at best, but it was no worse than any government that has followed him.

So why should I care about Libya?

The article explains:

While the West’s attention is focused on ISIS’s rampage through Iraq and Syria, Libya is fast becoming one of the world’s most dangerous and unstable countries–a hotbed of ISIS and Al Qaeda activity and ravaged by civil war. ISIS now wields a major presence in the Libyan cities of Sirte (where it recently seized a civilian airport) and Derna (where it has been battling other jihadist groups for supremacy) along the Mediterranean coast and is making further moves elsewhere in the country.

ISIS has also wasted no time extending its genocide against the Christians of Iraq and Syria to the shores of North Africa. In February, ISIS released a horrific video showing its jihadists beheading 21 Egyptian Christians on a Libyan beach. It issued a similar video in April showing the beheading and shooting of over a dozen Ethiopian Christians in Libya. And just last week, ISIS reportedly kidnapped 88 more Christians–this time, Eritreans–who were refugees traveling through Libya. These Eritrean Christians’ outlook for survival is obviously grim.

So why should you care about ISIS’s advances in Libya? For starters, Libya is rapidly becoming a terrorist safe haven–the kind of place where jihadists can train freely and plot attacks against the United States (see: pre-9/11 Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, and the ISIS-held territories of Iraq and Syria). That’s bad enough. Worse still is Libya’s geographic proximity to Europe–it lies just 600 miles across the Mediterranean from Italy. And according to a recent Fox News report, ISIS is wasting no time using its Libya strongholds to transit into Europe:

“Refugees” have been pouring into Europe from Libya. In recent weeks, the Italians have picked up at least thirty ISIS fighters who have come into Italy from Libya. This is a threat to Europe and eventually to America.

So what was the regime change in Libya about? What was the Arab Spring really about? In his book Catastrophic Failure, Stephen Coughlin examines the timeline of the Arab Spring. He cites a Der Spiegel article explaining the goal of Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood to bring about the collapse of the Arab governments that were not based on Islamic Law. America, unfortunately, came down on the wrong side of history in the Arab Spring and simply strengthened Al Qaeda and helped bring chaos to the Middle East.

The Egyptian government has moved against the Muslim Brotherhood, sentencing many of its members to death, including former President Mohammed Morsi. Again, the civil rights record of the new Egyptian government is not good, but they have restored order and are eliminating the threat of the Muslim Brotherhood to Egypt. American needs to wake up to the threat the Muslim Brotherhood is to America. I strongly recommend reading “An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America,” by the Muslim Brotherhood operative Mohamed Akram. This is one of the government exhibits from the Holy Land Foundation Trial. You can find more information at Discover the Networks.

There are many lessons we can learn from Libya and many reasons why Libya matters.

Losing Friends In The Middle East

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Yesterday The Wall Street Journal posted an article about shifting alliances in the Middle East. The article pointed out that Israel and Saudi Arabia have both had strained relationships with America under President Obama.

The article comments on both of these relationships:

Each relationship would become special in its own way: one based on the need to protect access to Saudi oil and stability in the Persian Gulf; the other driven by support for a Jewish state in the wake of the Nazi genocide and what would increasingly be seen as shared values and interests with the region’s only democracy. Over the years there were significant tensions in both relationships, but more predictability and consistency were demonstrated than change.

Shifts in the Middle East have produced unprecedented stresses in both relationships. The Arab Spring, particularly the fall of Hosni Mubarak and perceptions that the Obama administration had facilitated his ouster, alienated the stability-driven Saudis. Growing tensions between the Netanyahu government and the Obama administration on settlements and the peace process strained U.S.-Israeli ties.

There are still read questions about the role President Obama played in the ouster of Hosni Mubarak and the support of the Muslim Brotherhood government that replaced him. When the government of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was ousted, Washington voiced its displeasure.

The article concludes:

The administration’s view that Iran may hold the key to stability on the nuclear issue, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen has opened a divide with traditional allies who see things quite differently. As the administration looks more and more toward Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia will look beyond Barack Obama–biding their time, furthering their own agendas, and hoping that the next president, regardless of party, will see Tehran in a different light.

Unfortunately it will take some time to repair the damage done both internationally and nationally by President Obama and his policies. Hopefully the next President will be up to the task and will bring change instead of more of the same.

The Corruption Goes On

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On Wednesday, Front Page Magazine reported that Gehad el-Haddad, who left the Clinton Administration for a position with Egypt’s jihadist Muslim Brotherhood has received a life sentence in Egypt for seditious activities.

The article reports:

According to the New York Times, the defendants “were reportedly accused of joining a command center” during an Aug. 14, 2013 Islamist sit-in at Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya Square “that sought to spread chaos across Egypt in defiance of the government.” The Muslim Brotherhood-led protest was in support of President Obama’s Islamist ally, the now-deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Morsi, whose rhetorical repertoire seems limited to calling Jews “bloodsuckers” and “the descendants of apes and pigs,” himself received a 20-year prison sentence this month and his Muslim Brotherhood organization is now officially banned in the Arab republic.

Gehad el-Haddad was the lead English-language spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood. He is the son of Essam el-Haddad, who was foreign affairs adviser to then-President Morsi. Gehad’s brother, Abdullah el-Haddad, serves as spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood in London, England.

Hillary Clinton, of course, headed the U.S. Department of State during the “Egyptian Revolution of 2011″ that ousted longtime U.S. ally and anti-Islamist Hosni Mubarak and cleared the way for Obama pal Mohamed Morsi.

On March 8, I reported that (rightwinggranny.com) Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking any and all communications – including emails – from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Chief of Staff Huma Abedin with Nagla Mahmoud, wife of ousted Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi, from January 21, 2009 to January 31, 2013 (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:15-cv-00321)).

Both the Clinton Administration and the Obama Administration have had very cozy relationships with a number of people inside the Muslim Brotherhood. It is encouraging that one of these Muslim Brotherhood operatives is now in jail, even if he is in jail in Egypt rather than America.

Who We Help And Who We Don’t Help

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Yahoo News posted an article today about U.S. military aid to Egypt. The U.S. suspended aid to Egypt after the Muslim Brotherhood government was ousted by the Egyptian military.

The article reports:

“With respect to aid and assistance, I really expect a decision very soon,” Kerry told reporters in response to a question on when Washington planned to release the $650 million in military aid it froze after Morsi’s overthrow.

Washington annually offers about $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt, including $1.3 billion in military aid.

A part of it was frozen at the height of a deadly crackdown on Morsi’s followers after his overthrow and arrest.

Think about this for a minute. We give money to Saudi Arabia–one of the richest Gulf States and one of the least free. We give foreign aid to the Gaza Strip, which routinely burns and stomps on American flags and pays tribute to terrorists. So why are we setting another standard for Egypt?

The article reports:

Mubarak was toppled after an 18-day uprising in early 2011, leading to years of unrest. Islamists revile Sisi, but he is popular among Egyptians who say the country needs a firm hand.

Washington like several Western capitals remains critical of the crackdown, but realises that Sisi, who leads the biggest Arab military force, cannot be ignored in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Sisi has called for a unified Arab military force to fight the jihadists who are also present in the Egypt’s Sinai, and he ordered air strikes against the militants in Libya last month.

We need to remember that America encouraged the fall of Mubarak. The ‘revolution’ was to be part of an ‘Arab Spring’ that would bring democracy to the Middle East. This was part of President Obama’s foreign policy. Instead, in Egypt, the revolution brought in the Muslim Brotherhood and an attempt to institute Sharia Law.

We have not been on the side of the everyday people in the Middle East who have wanted freedom. In Iraq we left the country and diluted our influence so that the old sectarianism could take hold and allow Iraq to become a satellite state of Iran. This encouraged the rise of ISIS. We have intentionally or otherwise taken the side of the Muslim Brotherhood and allowed Iran to become a major player in the area. Had we supported the changes in Egypt after the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood government, we might have had a chance for peace in the region. The Egyptians are willing to fight terrorists, but they are not inclined to take over the whole region. Unfortunately, President Obama has put his money on the wrong horse.

The Skeletons Are Beginning To Fall Out Of The Closet

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Hillary Clinton’s Chief of Staff, Huma Abedin, is alleged to have family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood (National Review, July 2013). The Muslim Brotherhood took over the government of Egypt and was later removed from power. There are some valid questions about the role the Obama Administration played in the Muslim Brotherhood takeover and the role the Obama Administration played in resisting the ousting of the Brotherhood. Inquiring minds want to know, and Judicial Watch plans to help them find the answers.

Judicial Watch posted the following announcement yesterday:

Judicial Watch announced today that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the State Department seeking any and all communications – including emails – from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Chief of Staff Huma Abedin with Nagla Mahmoud, wife of ousted Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi, from January 21, 2009 to January 31, 2013 (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:15-cv-00321)).   This latest lawsuit will require the State Department to answer questions about and conduct thorough searches of Hillary Clinton’s newly discovered hidden email accounts.  Judicial Watch also has nearly a dozen other active FOIA lawsuits that may require the State Department to search these email accounts.  Huma Abedin is also alleged to have a secret account as well.

Judicial Watch submitted its original FOIA request on August 27, 2014. The State Department was required by law to respond by September 26, 2014 at the latest to Judicial Watch’s request for:

  1. Any and all records of communication between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Nagla Mahmoud, wife of ousted Egyptian president Muhammad Morsi, from January 21, 2009 to January 31, 2013; and
  2. Any and all records of communication between former State Department Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin and Nagla Mahmoud from January 21, 2009 to January 31, 2013.

To date, the State Department has not responded.

Ms. Mahmoud threatened Mrs. Clinton after Morsi was ousted.  According to JihadWatch.org:

In the words of El-Mogaz News, Morsi’s wife “is threatening to expose the special relationship between her husband and Hillary Clinton, after the latter attacked the ousted [president], calling him a simpleton who was unfit for the presidency.  Sources close to Nagla confirmed that she has threatened to publish the letters exchanged between Morsi and Hillary.”

The report continues by saying that Nagla accuses Hillary of denouncing her former close ally, the Brotherhood’s Morsi, in an effort to foster better relations with his successor, Egypt’s current president, Sisi—even though, as Nagla laments, “he [Morsi] was faithful to the American administration.”

“Now we know why the State Department didn’t want to respond to our specific request for Hillary Clinton’s and Huma Abedin’s communications,” stated Tom Fitton.  “The State Department violated FOIA law rather than admit that it couldn’t and wouldn’t search the secret accounts that the agency has known about for years.  This lawsuit shows how the latest Obama administration cover-up isn’t just about domestic politics but has significant foreign policy implications.”

It will be interesting to see if Judicial Watch ever obtains any of those records.