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| Africa North |
| Mideast Diplomacy: Is Egypt Really Warming Toward Iran? |
| 2011-04-24 |
| Reports of a thaw in Egyptian-Iranian diplomatic ties has created a stir in the Middle East, particularly in Egypt and its neighbor, Israel. Indeed, even as Egypt struggles to iron out its own emerging political system after the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak, Cairo's foreign policy is also undergoing a sea change. "If you look at Egypt over the last 20 years, it just hasn't played a very serious role in the foreign affairs of the region," says Gary Sick a Persian Gulf expert at Columbia University, who served on the National Security Council under three U.S. presidents. For decades, in fact, the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak acted as little more than a "foreign policy cardboard standup" to its powerful ally and benefactor, the United States. But all that is about to change, he says. "Many of the countries that now have new leaders are going to reset their foreign affairs," Sick predicts. "And the United States is going to have to get used to that." For post-revolutionary Egypt's new leaders and politicians, forging a new foreign policy means pushing back against much of what Mubarak stood for. That clearly includes Egypt's perceived puppet-like status to the United States, Europe, and Israel. "Let us eat the way we want, dress the way we want. Let us organize ourselves the way we want to," says Kamal Habib, a Salafi politician, who was jailed for a decade under Mubarak for his affiliation with a violent jihadist organization. "We don't want to repeat the Mubarak-American relationship again." Habib's opinion applies to more than just his Salafist cohorts. Many Egyptians want to hit the reset button on their country's stance on Palestinian statehood, as well as its posture toward the Gaza Strip, where it has helped to enforce an Israeli-led blockade for four years. Most recently, it also includes re-thinking a decades-old enmity with Iran. |
| Posted by:Zebulon Thranter9685 |
| #2 " Let us eat the way we want, dress the way we want ... organize ourselves the way we want to [etc]". Uh, uh, "THE HORROR, THE HORROR" [of Freedom]??? Gut nuthin. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-04-24 20:22 |
| #1 sure, open up the gazoo border to your "Paleo brothers". Don't be surprised when tourism drops to zero, Uncle Sugar doesn't have any foreign aid for you, and the wymyns start getting lashed in the streets for being uncovered cat meat |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-04-24 13:23 |