The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is the Islamist organization that recently took power in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood now in power was founded in Egypt in 1928. Its slogan is “Islam is the solution.” The Brotherhood’s stated goal is to instill the Qur’an and Sharia Law as the foundations of an Islamic government. This cannot be good for Mrs. Clinton’s Women’s Crusade (see Saudi Arabia). There should be little dispute that Egypt is now an Islamic state.

The Muslim Brotherhood may have achieved legitimacy through a “free and fair” election, but it will continue in power and secure the apparatus of state government by any means necessary. Once in power, there is no going back, short of revolution or invasion (see Iran).

So what is the United States to do? Policy options often take the form of carrots and sticks. The stick is no longer seen as a credible regional power, but the carrot is a big one.

United States' (US) aid to Egypt has averaged over $2 billion ever year since 1979 (signing of the Camp David Accords). It has been reported that $1.3 billion of that amount goes to funding Egypt’s military. Should the US continue this level of aid – and who now controls the military? In my view, at this moment in time, the US cannot answer these questions with any certainty.

The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) has issued a decree stating they (the Generals) are in charge of Egypt’s military and all state security apparatus. At the moment, the Muslim Brotherhood has stated that they are the governing authority of all Egyptian government functions (civil and military). The courts have weighed in with conflicting rulings, which has further confused the situation. Until this political and legal quandary is sorted out, the state of affairs in Egypt is fluid and volatile.

Therefore, the salient question is: given that Egypt is now ruled by an Islamic political organization that supports terrorism, i.e., Hamas and al-Qaeda; is overtly belligerent to Israel, a US ally and the only democracy in the region; is hostile to Christians and women; should the United States continue its foreign aid to Egypt?

It’s a rhetorical question.

NATO In Syria: No No No

There are reports that Turkey will invoke Articles 4 & 5 of the NATO Charter (thereby invoking its common defense policy), after Syria shot down a Turkish fighter jet last Friday, July 22, 2012.

In my view, Turkey renounced its right to invoke Article 4 & 5 after refusing the United States (a NATO member) the right to move troops and materials through Turkey for an invasion of northern Iraq in March, 2003 (the start of the Iraq War). I believe American lives were lost because of their action, and the insurrection was given time to ferment.

Turkey we are told is a "secular democracy." Under the Constitution promulgated by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey was a secular democracy. However, under Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003, sadly it is no longer true. Mr. Erdogan has purged all opposition in Turkey, including the military that has been the protector of Kemal Ataturk’s Constitution. So today Turkey is an Islamic state no matter what Mr. Obama or Mrs. Clinton wish us to believe.

Furthermore, Erdogan’s Islamist Turkey is a repressive state that jails journalists and political opponents. Freedom of the press and political expression is a tag line in Turkey – not a right. 

Turkey is a friend of Iran, and a financial backer to the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas. Turkey’s support of Hamas and shield of Iran’s nuclear program infers that Turkey's foreign policy is antithetical to US and NATO interests.

Whether or not NATO ought to exist at all, and Turkey be allowed continued membership, are important questions. But it does, they are, and there is little doubt that Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton, and the unremitting interventionist John McCain are looking for any excuse to get US involved in yet another Islamic blowup.

Turkey is not a reliable ally – regardless of what Mr. Obama or Mrs. Clinton say, and the United States of America and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should not get involved in its dispute with Syria.