Egyptians Enraged by U.S. Outreach to Muslim Brotherhood
Aug 16, 2013
Here is an articfe from Egypt, commenting on the recent visit by Senators McCain and Graham, who came to show their support for the US-sponsored Muslim Brotherhood.
In the eyes of tens of millions of Egyptians, Senators John McCain’s and Lindsey Graham’s recent words and deeds in Egypt—which have the “blessing” of President Obama—have unequivocally proven that U.S. leadership is aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Egyptian media is awash with stories of the growing anger regarding this policy....
What did McCain do and say in Egypt to earn the ire of millions of Egyptians?
First, most offensive to Egyptians—and helpful to the Brotherhood’s cause—is McCain’s insistence on calling the June 30 Revolution a “military coup.” In reality, the revolution consisted of perhaps thirty million Egyptians taking to the streets to oust the Brotherhood....
Further angering Egyptians is McCain’s insistence that all arrested Brotherhood members be released from prison. As Musa said, McCain’s stance does not address the fact that Brotherhood leadership is awaiting trial on serious charges: inciting terrorism, causing the murder of Egyptians, and grand treason by conspiring with foreign powers against Egypt’s interests....
McCain’s call to release Brotherhood leadership validates the widespread belief in Egypt that America is a fellow conspirator with the Brotherhood. Egyptians believe the U.S. fears that Morsi and others, if tried, would reveal the nature of their cozy relationship with the U.S. government, leading to any number of ugly revelations—treasonous ties and conspiracies, the exchange of billions of dollars, and Sinai issues. Hence, McCain wants them freed....
In short, McCain’s remarks and actions in Egypt have further confirmed the popular narrative—as memorably displayed by countless anti-Brotherhood and anti-Obama placards raised during the June 30 Revolution—that U.S. leadership is aligned with the Brotherhood, and thus ultimately a supporter of terrorism. Americans can no longer afford to ignore this serious accusation with broad implications.
Both sides of the conflict in Egypt lay claim to the principle of democracy. Morsi's supporters want him re-instated on the grounds that he was "democratically elected." But another principle of democracy is that the government ought to respond to overwhelming protests from the people. The protests last June by millions of Egyptians went unheeded by President Morsi, who thought he could ignore them on account of his support from the US government. He discovered the hard way that US support is no match for 30 million Egyptians.
Even our own Declaration of Independence allows the people to replace a government which they find repugnant. That too is a "democratic" principle.