Willful blindness, Egypt edition

Powerline Blog ^ | May 11, 2011 | Scott Johnson

[La Enchiladita]

Barry Rubin cites Matt Bradley's Wall Street Journal interview with Amr Moussa -- the leading candidate in Egypt's presidential race -- to highlight the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt's coming elections. Bradley quotes Moussa indirectly: "It is inevitable, he said, that parliamentary elections in September will usher in a legislature led by a bloc of Islamists, with the Brotherhood at the forefront." The "bloc" will include Salafists who are even more maniacal than the Muslim Brotherhood.

The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to power in the coming election was easily foreseeable. Indeed, Rubin himself foresaw it this past February. Now Moussa chimes in to the same effect.

Rubin translates Moussa's prediction: "I'm going to be president of Egypt and will have to get along with a parliament dominated by radical Islamists. They will write the constitution. I don't intend to fight against them but to act in a way that they will support me."

[La Enchiladita]

Well, so what? What what the Muslim Brotherhood? You might get a clue from their Hamas affiliate. Rubin explains: "The Brotherhood is a radical Islamist group that supports genocide against Israel and violence against the United States. It is anti-Christian and wants to keep women as second-class people. It favors killing homosexuals."

[La Enchiladita]

Rubin quotes Hillary Clinton, speaking as Secretary of State on behalf of the Obama administration:

QUESTION: Should we fear the Muslim Brotherhood?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I think we don’t know enough yet to understand exactly what they’re morphing into. And I’m - I mean, for me, the jury is out. There are some Islamist elements that are coming to the surface to Egypt that I think on just the face of it are -

QUESTION: Coming out of jails, in fact.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Coming out in jails, coming out of the shadows that are inimical to a democracy, to the kind of freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of conscience that was the aspiration in Tahrir Square.

Rubin cuts Clinton slack. “Clinton isn’t that stupid. She’s stuttering so much because she has to follow the president’s political line, and that is very stupid indeed. And much worse, it is very dangerous.”

[ken21]

obama deliberately chose supporting the “democracy” groups in the mideast

in order to attack israel.

[John O]

In every conflict obama supports the most radical moslems. He will never support those seeking true democracy and freedom.

After all, he’s a radical moslem, he has to support his own.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks La Enchiladita.

"It is inevitable, he said, that parliamentary elections in September will usher in a legislature led by a bloc of Islamists, with the Brotherhood at the forefront."

While doing some laundry and errands tonight, I was reading a midsummer 2010 issue of "The Economist" and the special section was entirely an op-ed about the future of the Middle East Muzzie states. The upshot of the article about Egypt was, no worries, there will be more democracy, but dunno when, and Islamic influence has peaked and is now in decline. Whew, what a huge relief. ;')