Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Barry's Deadly Hugs Meant Egypt's MuBros Days Were Numbered

The sad/funny thing is, writes Daniel Greenfield, that Obama still can't figure out how it happened:
Obama played beautifully into the opposition’s hands by denouncing Morsi’s overthrow and urging the release of Muslim Brotherhood leaders. It was a plan that made sense in Washington, which reflexively thinks in terms of issuing orders, but in Cairo it looked like the puppet master demanding the return of his puppets. 
The Egyptian military had stepped in as a response to a national emergency dealing with foreign intervention in Egypt’s political system. The more Obama denounced the military’s actions, the more he was demonstrating that the Egyptian military had been correct to step in. 
Despite his years in the Muslim world and his family connections, Obama had not really understood how Egypt worked. And his associates understood it even less. If they had, they would have pulled out Anne Patterson once she became a target and openly criticized Morsi for not listening to the demands of the protesters, while privately conveying a message of support. 
Instead Obama hugged Morsi to death. And he’s still hugging Morsi to death.
Update: Obama was a man with a grandiose plan--one which gets a big fat F:
The plan was simple but elegant: The U.S. would work with moderate Islamist groups like Turkey's AK Party and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to make the Middle East more democratic. This would kill three birds with one stone. First, by aligning itself with these parties, the Obama administration would narrow the gap between the 'moderate middle' of the Muslim world and the U.S. Second, by showing Muslims that peaceful, moderate parties could achieve beneficial results, it would isolate the terrorists and radicals, further marginalizing them in the Islamic world. Finally, these groups with American support could bring democracy to more Middle Eastern countries, leading to improved economic and social conditions, gradually eradicating the ills and grievances that drove some people to fanatical and terroristic groups.  
Hey, it worked out about as well as Obama's other schemes. At least he didn't try to foist Obamacare on 'em.

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