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Africa North
Muslim Brotherhood Wants War With Israel
2011-02-01
Of course they do. That doesn't mean the Egyptian Army is stupid enough to listen to them.
Not now. But what will happen when the Muslim Brotherhood is the government?
The Egyptian generals aren't too fond of the Brotherhood. Now the captains and lieutenants, that's a different story, so it isn't clear which way the army will go. But even the most religious junior officer understands that the Egyptian army can't match up to the Israelis right now.
Mohamed Ghanem, one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, calls Egypt to stop pumping gas to Israel and prepare the Egyptian army for a war with it's eastern neighbor.

Speaking with Iranian television station Al-Alam, Mohamed Ghanem blamed Israel for supporting Hosni Mubarak's regime. Ghanem also said that the Egyptian police and army won't be able to stop the Muslim Brotherhood movement.
The real news here is that Ghanem has easy access to Iranian TV, and that the Iranians are quoting a Sunni hard boy. Any questions as to the relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Mad Mullahs™? Anyone? Bueller?
There are doubts about the loyalty of the Egyptian army to president Mubarak. If the brotherhood takes control over Egypt, it will be very messy from the whole region.
Posted by:Steve White

#21  Unfortunately, the Egyptians have been getting alot of Americain equipment. (Isn't foreign aid grand?)

"Americain" equipment don't fight and win battles by its lonesome.

And Tom Clancy novels are fiction.
Posted by: Pappy   2011-02-01 22:27  

#20  It's not just parts, its information. I read once upon a time that an American Sgt knows more about how a tank runs than an Egyptian Colonel because the American Colonel doesn't horde the knowledge as part of his power. That may no longer be true but it seems to be an issue with the third world in general.

The Israeli's will have a huge advantage on that level if things haven't changed.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2011-02-01 21:08  

#19  Dem Holiday Gift-giving Wily Geezer Elfs get all the Babes,

Have I said D *** NG IT???

* ION FREEREPUBLIC this AM > RELATED > MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD: SUEZ CANAL MUST BE CLOSED, EGYPT SHOULD BE READY FOR WAR WID ISRAEL.

* Also from SAME > EGYPT CRISIS: ISRAEL FACES DANGER IN EVERY DIRECTION.

* SAME > [Iran = FM Salehi] EGYPT REVOLT IS A "STEP TOWARDS ISLAMIC MIDDLE EAST".

IMO read, "ISLAMIC" = RADICAL ISLAMIST.

* DRUDGEREPORT > [BreitBart] IMF, WARNING OF WAR, SAYS READY TO HELP EGYPT. Middle East "Jasmine" chaos could derail the GLOBAL ECON RECOVERY + ULTIMATELY SPARK ARMED CONFLICT(S) which would only damage the Recovery + World markets even more.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2011-02-01 19:05  

#18  We are able to do maintenance because we have the parts to do it.

Well, even for the USA some of the time that is true, and some of the time the parts are on order and arrive weeks later. Its a quartermaster/ supply insider thing, you wouldn't understand. ;-)
Posted by: Caesar Ominetch6784   2011-02-01 17:59  

#17  Have the Egyptian troops absorbed the American maintenance ethos along with American equipment? Mr. Wife observed in 1987 that duct tape was a major component holding troop weapons and footgear together, at least for the soldiers standing guard around Cairo.

It may be less an issue of ethos than one of budget. A lot of Third World armies are funded sufficiently to present a formidable facade to internal opponents, and no more. We are able to do maintenance because we have the parts to do it. Parts require money. Most Third World armies aren't funded to that extent. Many have to cannibalize existing equipment just to continue training in peacetime.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2011-02-01 17:32  

#16  RJS could well be right.

Pan-Arab solidarity in the form of an Armoured column headed for Tripoli.
Posted by: phil_b   2011-02-01 17:07  

#15  Have the Egyptian troops absorbed the American maintenance ethos along with American equipment? Mr. Wife observed in 1987 that duct tape was a major component holding troop weapons and footgear together, at least for the soldiers standing guard around Cairo.
Posted by: trailing wife   2011-02-01 16:47  

#14  Equipment becomes inoperable quickly in combat, especially American equipment. Spares and well trained maintenance personnel are critical. How many of either does Egypt have, especially if supplies from the US cannot be shipped rapidly because of, say, difficulty in delivering into a combat zone? That is one of the advantages of having them armed with American systems.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2011-02-01 16:28  

#13  If they must go to ar (to distract the population) might I suggest Libya. They have oil, are underpopulated, generally unpopular, and they lost to guys in trucks when thrown out if Chad.

In the long run a victory against other Arabs will be more satisfying than another loss against Israel.
Posted by: Rjschwarz   2011-02-01 15:12  

#12  Unfortunately, the Egyptians have been getting a lot of American equipment. (Isn't foreign aid grand?) The junior officers may be getting delusions of grandeur.

Yes, but most also know that the Israelis have at least as good on their side. Fortunately, the senior Egyptian leadership still knows that a one on one war with Israel will not go in their favor as their troops are poorly trained and poorly lead.
Posted by: DarthVader   2011-02-01 14:27  

#11  There are a few dozen Egyptian soldiers who have died at the hands of Hamas (maybe one or two officers)

Similarly there are thousands (maybe 10s of thousands) of soldiers who have been harrassed, called names, spit on, fired at, etc. by Hamas.

The Egyptian Army will be a stabilizing force.

However, as in the case of Turkey, a determined civilian government can, over time, imposed its own ideologues into positions.

As far as the Moslem Brotherhood, their relationship with Hamas is not peachy dandy (the MB accused Hamas of assisting in attacks on Egyptian soil). There is also some tension and factions within the MB. Most interestingly, the MB has a policy of renouncing violence while preaching Jihad (yes that's weird).
Posted by: Lord Garth   2011-02-01 13:33  

#10  Maybe they'll have to sort it out with a civil war before they attack Israel.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2011-02-01 13:12  

#9  even the most religious junior officer understands that the Egyptian army can't match up to the Israelis right now

Unfortunately, the Egyptians have been getting alot of Americain equipment. (Isn't foreign aid grand?) The junior officers may be getting delusions of grandeur.
Posted by: Frozen Al   2011-02-01 12:40  

#8  Fixed it, Mullah Richard.
Posted by: trailing wife   2011-02-01 12:19  

#7  Oops......
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2011-02-01 11:44  

#6  I'd not want to be a Copt in Egypt with MB in charge

Nor a member of one of the other Christian sects (many Anglicans, Catholics and even Methodists) that fled to Egypt from strife in Sudan, Chad and Nigeria. There are huge numbers of folks who are extremely worried about the Islamists coming to power.
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2011-02-01 11:43  

#5  Most, maybe all muslim nations seem to have the fantasy of destroying Israel. Israel is the only democracy in the mideast. Islamic nations don't seem to have a grasp of democracy. It does not seem to be compatible with islam.
Posted by: JohnQC   2011-02-01 11:36  

#4  Even if they don't actually attack Israel, they can still offer the sop of an infidel-bashing now and then. I'd not want to be a Copt in Egypt with MB in charge.
Posted by: James   2011-02-01 10:26  

#3  AFAIAC, religious groups keep this animosity towards Israel alive just to keep the masses distracted from what's really going on with their crappy systems of government.

Give them a lollipop in the form of the chance to attack Israel, and the people will grab at it, thereby installing whoever was in a position to offer it, in this case, the MB. After they are in power, they can backpedal all they want to and it will be too late for the idiots who put them in power.
Posted by: gorb   2011-02-01 09:59  

#2  
War with Israel? Yeah, that worked out so well last time you tried it.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" - Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás

Posted by: Parabellum   2011-02-01 08:04  

#1  FREEREPUBLIC > ADMIN OFFICIAL: OBAMA NOT RULING OUT LEGITIMACY OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN NEW EGYPT GOVT.

Lots of Freep'er responses - you betcha!?

* Also from FREEREPUBLIC > SWEDISH WELFARE STATE COLLAPSES AS [Multi-ethnic] IMMIGRANTS WAGE WAR.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2011-02-01 00:58  

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