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| Gheit: WeŽll work with Israeli govŽt, just not with Lieberman | |
| 2009-04-16 | |
| [Jerusalem Post Front Page] Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Wednesday that until the attitude of his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman toward his country changes, Cairo will not work with him and he will not be invited to Egypt. "A man must know that there are consequences to the messages that pass from his brain to his tongue," Gheit said in an interview with the television channel Russia Today. The Egyptian foreign minister stressed that Cairo would cooperate with the new Israeli government, just not via Lieberman. In the past, Lieberman has harshly criticized Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for refusing to visit Israel, saying he could "go to hell," and once said Israel could attack the Aswan Dam in case of a future war with Egypt.
During his speech when he took office last month, Lieberman apparently attempted to relieve tensions with Egypt, calling it an important country in the Arab world and a key factor in maintaining regional stability. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry, however, responded negatively to Lieberman's attempt to mend his relations with Cairo, issuing a statement that Egypt "did not need any party to recognize its position or role, especially from those who have previously attacked it." Also during Wednesday's interview, Gheit called the alleged Hizbullah activities in Egypt a "dangerous" episode, saying violating Egyptian law had "consequences." The Egyptian foreign minister went on to say that his country, which he emphasized "is not small," had the full ability to control what goes on in its territory and would not let anyone threaten it. He added that Iran must reevaluate its activities vis-a-vis Egypt, saying that "they aren't hurting Egypt, they are only hurting themselves." | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 The most important aspect of realpolitiks, Anonymoose, is "never play the other fellow's game". Israelis have had enough of "Peace Process", and mealy mouthed international mediators. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-04-16 11:32 |
| #3 Egypt has enough street cred with the Arabs, and enough diplomatic cred with all the proper-thinking people, that a rupture with the Gyptos would not be a good idea. Though I otherwise agree with TW, they aren't much good for anything else. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-04-16 10:48 |
| #2 While Lieberman has a good attitude, he is incautious. An important concept of Realpolitik is that you never, ever say what you really think. It achieves nothing, and can give away much. Two very good tales of such discretion are first William of Orange, who got his nickname, "William the Silent" (in one version), after listening to a friendly nobleman explaining a complex international situation to him on a hunting trip for hours without saying a word. Shortly afterward, this nobleman learned that William was the known as the preeminent expert on the subject, but had allowed him to chatter on about it, for inscrutable reasons. Another example was a high ranking Russian Admiral, who achieved the top rank by mumbling so incoherently, he could always claim he had been misquoted. He thus avoided the pitfalls that eventually took down his peers. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-04-16 10:40 |
| #1 Israel can refuse to work with Egypt, too. It's not like they're good for much except hosting pointless talks between Hamas and Fatah, and pointless negotiations about the captured Schalit. Egyptian Foreign Minister Gheit is posturing for effect. |
| Posted by: trailing wife in Buffalo 2009-04-16 09:15 |