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| Africa North |
| Egypt Is On The Brink Of Chaos. Here's Why It Should Matter To Washington |
| 2014-04-05 |
| [Tablet] Three years after Mubarak's fall, the country is toying with global irrelevance--except as a possible terror exporter One argument here in Washington is that it's precisely for this reason that the Obama Administration should be working closely with Sisi. Among other things, the White House should give him the Apache helicopters it's withholding from the annual military assistance package in order to fight the insurgency in Sinai. And it's true that Sisi is the only horse Washington has left to ride. The way the Egyptian masses responded to the coup against Morsi shows that democracy is a long way off, and huge infusions of Saudi cash rather than an economic liberalization program are the only rational option at present. For now, Sisi is as good as it's going to get for Egypt. This White House, and the next, should be planning for how to manage the decline of a civilization, a nation of more than 80 million people likely to implode. Even if the Israeli land rail makes it possible for shipping to avoid a Suez under threat of terrorist attack, the reality is that sooner or later Egypt's problems are going to reach everyone's shores. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #6 millions of Egyptians hail Sisi as a hero who saved democracy by toppling their first and only freely elected president—Muslim Brotherhood member Mohamed Morsi And they are right. The idea that Morsi and his MusBro thugs were going to usher in a new Egyptian era of freedom and prosperity is laughable. Sisi saved Egypt's bacon, if you'll pardon the expression. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2014-04-05 15:07 |
| #5 Except he can't consistently deliver on low food and fuel prices -- the realities of the outside world won't permit it. As it is, the country is living on Saudi charity, having run through their own reserves in recent years. The Suez Canal is still generating income, but the tourist trade has pretty much dried up, so where will their income come from, going forward? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2014-04-05 15:01 |
| #4 "brink"? |
| Posted by: Barbara 2014-04-05 15:00 |
| #3 For at least 5,000 years Egypt has been ruled by a big boss (Rais). Nasser wore the title proudly. So did Sadat, and so did Mubarak. Democracy is as foreign to an Egyptian (and I lived there a number of years), as economic freedom is to Detroit's politicians. Egyptians, who are not particularly Islamist, want stability, low food and fuel prices, and a boot only rarely placed on their neck. For the present Sisi is the only leader who has some promise. |
| Posted by: Thrusotch and Tenille7340 2014-04-05 13:22 |
| #2 Nor did I. Last time I checked, Egypt has been around for quite a spell. I suspect if we leave them alone and stay out of their business, they'll work their way through it. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-04-05 07:37 |
| #1 I must be dense: read it all the way through and haven't seen anything---even halfway---convincing. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-04-05 04:04 |