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We know who lost Egypt

We know who lost Egypt

Obama’s foolish policy of forcing Mubarak out of office precipitously without giving non-Islamist parties time to organize has resulted in Islamists achieving a sweeping victory in the first round of parliamentary elections.  Strength by the Muslim Brotherhood was expected, but the extremely hard line Salafists had a very strong showing.

As reported by The NY Times:

Islamists claimed a decisive victory on Wednesday as early election results put them on track to win a dominant majority in Egypt’s first Parliament since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, the most significant step yet in the religious movement’s rise since the start of the Arab Spring.

The party formed by the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s mainstream Islamist group, appeared to have taken about 40 percent of the vote, as expected. But a big surprise was the strong showing of ultraconservative Islamists, called Salafis, many of whom see most popular entertainment as sinful and reject women’s participation in voting or public life.

Analysts in the state-run news media said early returns indicated that Salafi groups could take as much as a quarter of the vote, giving the two groups of Islamists combined control of nearly 65 percent of the parliamentary seats.

That victory came at the expense of the liberal parties and youth activists who set off the revolution, affirming their fears that they would be unable to compete with Islamists who emerged from the Mubarak years organized and with an established following. Poorly organized and internally divided, the liberal parties could not compete with Islamists disciplined by decades as the sole opposition to Mr. Mubarak. “We were washed out,” said Shady el-Ghazaly Harb, one of the most politically active of the group.

The Times article points out that this first round of elections was in the most liberal areas of Egypt.  As voting moves to more conservative rural areas, the Islamists likely will gain an even more overwhelming majority.

This all was very predictable.  In fact, I predicted it while Obama was insisting that Mubarak leave ”yesterday,” NY Times columnists were writing delusional columns about the Arab Street and the Arab Spring, and venomous anti-Israeli pundits at Media Matters and elsewhere complained that the “Israel Lobby” was trying to stifle freedom.

On Feburary 20 I wrote The Yuppie Revolution In Egypt Is Over, The Islamist Revolution Has Begun.  I wish I had been wrong.

The liberated women of Egypt will be the first to suffer.  The Times notes:

The Brotherhood has pledged to respect basic individual freedoms while using the influence of the state to nudge the culture in a more traditional direction. But the Salafis often talk openly of laws mandating a shift to Islamic banking, restricting the sale of alcohol, providing special curriculums for boys and girls in public schools, and censoring the content of the arts and entertainment.

Obama lost Egypt, and he had plenty of help.

Update 12-1-2011: Barack Obama to Jewish Donors: “I Try Not to Pat Myself on the Back” But I’ve Done More For Israel Security Than Any Other President

And my updated post, “The idea that we could have controlled that process is absurd”

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Comments

Interesting that Obama couldn’t be troubled to say a few encouraging words to the rebels in Iran who were quickly suppressed by the Imams, yet he couldn’t wait to see the virtually secular leaders – Mubarak, Quaddafi, Assad – toppled. What a surprise that the hard line extremist Muslim Brotherhood will be filling the power vacuum.

hey, you don’t think this could lead to a united Caliphate of formerly separate Muslim countries, do you?

    Interesting that you should mention a Caliphate….I believe it was this past March than an Ayatollah from Pakistan called for Barack Hussein Obama to be installed as Caliph, leader of Muslims.

Jusuchin (Military Otaku) | November 30, 2011 at 11:39 pm

I don’t think it will, but still, very very very predictable. I’m pretty sure some folks over at DoS is secretly saying “we told you so”. Now if I can only go back to my peers before I graduated and tell em the same.

If Obama isnt the antichrist he is the tool used by the antichrist to arise. I feel sorry for those idiotic liberals in Egypt thinking that by getting rid of the strongman who was protecting them from strict sharia laws they would gain greater freedom. Its like the dopey libs here who believe in emasculating the police until they become a crime stat. Unfortunately for the Egyptians their last real election will be the islamofascist election for their next president for life. And the middle class there will long for the days of Mubarek.

Well, well. That good ‘ol Mubarak. Boy we miss him. Wish he could come back and all.

Except that many of the same people who were screaming the loudest for his neck – are now the ones lamenting the Islamist victory in Egypt.

How times change! And, in only 10 months.

What now? Try to get Egypt to drop democracy like a hot potato – and go back to the good old days of dictatorship?

Or, keep hyping it in the media so Egypt is “forced” to hold elections again and again – until “we” get “our” way in Egyptian politics?

I predict Islamist’s have realized that democracy can work wonderfully for them and every country in the MENA region will go Islamist and slightly anti-West.

That seems to be the upward trend.

Because it has been brought about by a democratic process, I can live with that. No sour grapes here.

John Brian Shannon

TeaPartyPatriot4ever | December 1, 2011 at 12:49 am

What else is new with Obama.. Here’s Obama’s Doctrine for America, and the World, as Obama sees it, which all the evidence, of his policies, and his actions, points to as correct, and why and what Obama says and does, what Obama says and does..   as Obama truly believes that America, in it’s inherent criminal American Colonialism – American Imperialism, is the root cause of all of the world’s problems, and is not, and should not be, the world’s shining example of Freedom, Liberty, Equality, Justice, and Economic, Political, and Social Prosperity, for all the world to emulate and aspire to..”

Article:  Our World: “America’s Descent into Strategic Dementia”
~Caroline B. Glick~
3/21/2011

Quote:

“Since taking office, Obama has made clear that he views the US as an imperialist power on the world stage. As a result, the overarching goal of Obama’s foreign policy has been to end US global hegemony. 

Obama looks to the UN as a vehicle for tethering the US superpower. He views US allies in the Middle East and around the world with suspicion because he feels that as US allies, they are complicit with US imperialism.” 

Unquote-

Another casualty of Obama’s ingenious foreign policy.

How many of these “Huge victor[ies] for Obama,” (as a high school classmate of mine declared on Facebook upon Mubarak’s fall) can we withstand? How many can Israel cope with?

As General MacArthur said about the problem of preventing conflagrations, it can all be distilled down into two simple words: “Too late.” Too late in recognizing the importance of ominous developments and too late in addressing them with action.

I don’t want to hear any second-guessing or witness any elaborate hand-wringing if and when Israel chooses to act preemptively. (If Israel is behind the recent “mishaps” in Iran recently, it’s a thing of beauty.)

If any nation has a preemptive right bestowed by history, it is Israel. Let’s pray “too late” are words never uttered about this unfolding drama.

LukeHandCool (who found the Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle with You” tune playing in his head. In Israel’s case it would be, “Egypt to the left of me, Iran to the right, here we are, stuck in the middle, we Jews”).

I never imagined in my lifetime we could possibly elect a President who was more inept and would cause more damage than Jimmy Carter.

The race to the bottom continues.

    DINORightMarie in reply to Sanddog. | December 1, 2011 at 5:51 am

    Me either, @sanddog. Me either. I actually thought the American voters were not stupid enough in 2008 to fall for Obama’s lies. I was wrong about that, too.

    Snow job. Big time.

    Let’s hope that enough of the electorate has awakened and, after living this nightmare, vote to prevent another 4 years of ObamaVille, ObamaNomics, and ObamaCare….remember: he’s not “finished” yet!

DINORightMarie | December 1, 2011 at 5:47 am

The countries around Israel are now all Islamist (read: terror-supporting, West-hating, fundamentalist Muslims).

We need to ensure that Obama is held to account for this, by being elected OUT of office, and putting someone in who has the foreign policy vision of how best to handle this hot issue. It is too late to prevent, but must be dealt with aggressively now that the “Arab Spring” is manifesting itself into bona fide hostile, religio-fascist regimes. (Did I say “fascist”? Funny how calling something what it is can be a fallacy these days.)

Also – no less important – we need to vote IN Conservative House and Senate members who will support a strong foreign policy and our steadfast support of Israel.

I am intrigued by the comment about a Caliphate, and that someone in Pakistan said that Obama should be the leader…..really? I missed that one @Joy. I know Glenn Beck has been talking about it, and that Armageddon is often mentioned. But I hadn’t heard that.

Why would they want such a loser to lead them? I can’t imagine.

Obama was going to restore the reputation of the US on the world stage after Bush. What ally would risk working with the US after what Obama did with Mubarak?

I doubt the King of Jordan is getting many good nights of sleep.

Japan, Taiwan, and South Korean should be watching very closely.

Obama should go to Egypt, Iran, Syria and Libya to do what he does best. Organize the community. That will solve our problem, that being what to do with him. If he ain’t here, he is screwing up some other country.

Did anyone here stop to think that maybe, just maybe, the majority of Egyptians want to be represented and ruled by people that espouse the positions of the Muslim Brotherhood.

I mean, do Christians in America really believe that a democracy must absolutely be bundled with all the rights and laws that the west has created with our use of our democracy? Do gay right have to be inextricably tied to democracy? How about laws on women’s rights? How about abortion? Do others have to use their democratic vote to implement the exact same things we have? The answer is no.

Christians would love to be ruled by more faithful Christians than the sorry lot we have in Washington DC right now. Why can’t Muslims desire the same thing. Fact is that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is a rather moderate group in the spectral spread of Egyptian politics.

So why can’t Egyptians vote as they will and us not have the west get the vapors?

    Liberty in reply to Quayle. | December 1, 2011 at 9:14 am

    “Fact is that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is a rather moderate group in the spectral spread of Egyptian politics.”

    If the Mo Bros can be described as moderate, I can’t wait to read how you define extreme. I think you should immediately apply for a job in Obama’s regime….it appears as though you will fit right in with these people. Then again….maybe you already work for Obama.

      Quayle in reply to Liberty. | December 1, 2011 at 10:40 am

      I define extremism as the Salafis. Do you know anything about Islam and the Muslim world? Apparently not, because, as I said, in the Egyptian spectral spread of ideologies, the Muslim Brotherhood are relatively moderate.

      They may not be moderate to your American sensibilities, but why do Egyptians have to be like Americans?

      (And FYI I am an Obama opponent, Christian conservative in America, but whose daughter happens to live and study in Cairo, and who is also a conservative Christian, and can clearly see, as a fluent Arabic speaker, that Americans’ are blind about the details of Egyptian and Muslim politics, and are easily scared by all kinds of boogeyman arguments.)

        deadrody in reply to Quayle. | December 1, 2011 at 12:35 pm

        You know, that is exceptionally weak. Bashing your strawman about,

        “Americans’… blind about the details of Egyptian and Muslim politics, and easily scared by all kinds of boogeyman arguments.”

        Bashing that is so simple. Too bad you can’t even be bothered to construct a specific strawman. For someone who claims to be anti-Obama, you seem awfully comfortable using his “some people say…” rhetoric.

        What is it you think we all believe about Egypt that is patently not true ?

        Joy in reply to Quayle. | December 1, 2011 at 6:29 pm

        @Quayle….read the link I posted a few minutes ago and pray that your daughter stays safe living among these ‘moderates’

    spartan in reply to Quayle. | December 1, 2011 at 10:34 am

    Do we then have to maintain our foriegn aid to Egypt?

    Your silliness aside, the MB will use democracy to achieve power. It will be one man, one vote, one time. They will not solve the crisises that imperil Egypt. The people will not have more food. They sell an illusion.
    What is real is Israel will now be surrounded on all sides: Syria and Hezbollah to the North, Fatah from the east, Hamas from the west, and now Egypt to the south.
    Throw in the more modern Egyptian military, financed by Uncle Sam and you will soon see war waged as a distraction from the problems the MB will not be willing to solve.

    Perhaps, you are channeling your inner HL Mencken, the common people know what they want and deserve to get it, good and hard.
    In this case, it will be a disaster in the Middle East.

    MiddleWay in reply to Quayle. | December 1, 2011 at 6:19 pm

    Quayle, you’d be okay if the Christians took over the US via elections and instituted their “church law” (e.g. no birth control, abortions, divorce, etc)? You’d be okay with that if they were elected by the majority?

    The problem I have with this isn’t that the Egyptians are electing an Islamic government, it’s that we were repeated told by the Administration that this wouldn’t happen and that we were anti-freedom for questioning the possibility.

    If this comes to pass, it will be terrible for minorities (religious, ethnic, etc) and women who live there. And I suspect you’ll see the Coptics move out pretty quickly.

[…] notch in the headboard of the failed foreign policy of Obama and Hillary Clintoon: Obama’s foolish policy of forcing Mubarak out of office […]

Cassandra Lite | December 1, 2011 at 10:54 am

The update link above, if the quote is correct, strongly suggests that Obama suffers from a psychotic form of narcissism. Did he really have the cojones to say that he tries “not to pat myself on the back” for his work toward Israel’s security? Funny, the Israelis don’t feel that way. They’re terrified. Our official relations with them are lower than at any time since the country’s founding. It takes a lot to get my jaw dropping in nonplussed amazement, but this did it.

“Did anyone here stop to think that maybe, just maybe, the majority of Egyptians want to be represented and ruled by people that espouse the positions of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

You mean like all those people who voted for Barack Obama so he could bring a new tone of co-operation to Washington and increase the status of the US worldwide?

The Muslim Brotherhood party calls itself the “Freedom and Justice” party. Who could possibly be against freedom and Justice?

[…] Prof. William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection notes: Obama’s foolish policy of forcing Mubarak out of office precipitously without giving non-Islamist parties time to organize has resulted in Islamists achieving a sweeping victory in the first round of parliamentary elections. Strength by the Muslim Brotherhood was expected, but the extremely hard line Salafists had a very strong showing. […]

[…] know who. And a lot of people were warning about it at the time. And I think it’s going to eventually […]

We know who lost Egypt, but let’s not forget the deranged babble of his predecessor’s Second Inaugural Address: deranged babble at best.

Bush literally kissed a Saudi despot; Obama bowed. Both of their policies are far more hostile to secular Mideastern despotisms than to theocratic ones.

Although there are significant differences between the two parties, our troubles are due to the political class as a whole.

To defeat Obama, many supporters want Sarah Palin to reconsider running for President. Conservatives4Palin are showing an ad on TV this week. To demonstrate that you think she should run, you can wear items that proclaim the message and help spread it far and wide. Please go to the link to find a t-shirt, jewelry, hat, tote bag, button, mug, water bottle or other item to advertise your support of the “Reconsider Movement”!
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[…]  We know who lost Egypt.  3 guesses and the first 2 don’t count.  I knew this would happen as soon as Obama uttered, “Mubarek must go.”  I know I’m not the Lone Ranger. […]

We will never completely recover from the mess Obama has created in the middle east. Among many other disasters he has spawned.

It is not over yet, election is still in early stage, If Obama really cares, he can, and he knows how to fix it, but he would not because he has hidden agenda. When he was asked in an interview I think in 2004 about Jesus, he never said that Jesus is a son of God, bit weird for devoted Christian who prays and go to church every week, not acknowledge the most important thing in the Christian faith.
I wish if he leaves Syria alone, the fall of Syria will create two strong groups of extremist Muslim
( Shiaa and Sunni) Both of them want to fight Israel, and both of them are dumb enough to do it. By the way I am not Syrian.

I know for fact that millions and millions of Egyptian did not agree with the revolution and now millions and millions do not agree with the Muslim brotherhood, I know that Egypt will lose one major source of income which is tourism. It is up to the American now to get up and try to help the Egyptian, Egypt will be another Iran but very poor, women will suffer. It is not too late, if you can help Egypt please try, do not let the pyramids and all the history to fall in the hand of another Taliban.