Posted on 11/16/2013 3:16:39 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Egypt's top general hailed a new era of defense cooperation with Moscow on Thursday during a visit by Russian officials, sending a message to Washington after it suspended some military aid.
Relations between Cairo and the United States deteriorated after the army overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on July 3. Last month, Washington announced it would withhold deliveries of some military and economic aid pending progress on democracy.
The visit to Cairo by Russia's defense and foreign ministers was billed by both sides as historic, although the delegation from Moscow left without announcing any major agreements.
And playing down speculation of a big shift in Egyptian foreign policy, defined by close ties with Washington for more than three decades, Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said Russia was not meant to be a "substitute" for anyone.
Egypt and the Soviet Union were close allies until the 1970s, when Cairo moved closer to the United States, which brokered its 1979 peace deal with Israel.
General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt's army chief and defense minister, told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, the visit indicated the continuation of "historic strategic relations via starting a new era of constructive, fruitful cooperation on the military level", the state news agency reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Egypt's interim President Adly Mansour (C), General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (2nd R) and Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy (R) meet with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (2nd L) and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) at El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo, November 14, 2013. CREDIT: REUTERS/AMR ABDALLAH DALSH
Amateur Hour continues.
Al-Sisi open to including Muslim Brotherhood under his conditions
http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/8333-al-sisi-open-to-including-muslim-brotherhood-under-his-conditions
Meme-building goes on in the EU:
Abdul Fattah al-Sisi: Egyptian general is idolised for deposing former President Mohamed Morsi, but can his popularity last?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/abdul-fattah-alsisi-egyptian-general-is-idolised-for-deposing-former-president-mohamed-morsi-but-can-his-popularity-last-8940476.html
Sisi praises Egypt’s ex-army chief in leaked video
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=123045
Seriously, I don't think there has ever been a period like this in US history. For all of Obama's meddling, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan are disasters. Staunch US allies like Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States are turning to Moscow. Israel, a democracy and a natural ally, is estranged from the US. The Iranian mullahs are playing the US for a fool. The future does not look bright for the US in either Turkey or Pakistan either.
This is a debacle wrapped inside a disaster. The only way it could be worse is three more years of Obama. Wait a minute...
You nailed it.
Sisi is American trained military.
He could be a staunch ally.
Evidently the Obama Administration continues to push him toward Russia.
This didn’t have to be this way.
Carter lost Iran.
Barry & Hillary lost Eygpt, Iraq, and Afghanistan and really screwed up Libya and Syria.
Barry and Hillary will be ridiculed for generations to come.
Wonder if General Sisi could come here and overthrow our dictatorship, too?
Egypt is destitute and will accept aid from anyone who offers it. If the Arab donors tire of their big subsidies, the price of food and necessities will skyrocket and there will be riots. Sixty years of Euro type socialism, corruption and backwardness has taken its toll. If Egypt allowed wide open Hong Kong like productive capitalism, real wealth would be produced and there would be less political, social and religious tension.
“...This didn’t have to be this way.”
:::::::::::
True. This country could have rejected Obama and his ideology. Fools.
The millions of Christians in Egypt may get a little protection from Russia’s influence (Putin, for all his KGB blood, has shown some concern for Christians ... so some help is possible if Russia increases its influence with Egypt)
The American influence under the current conditions is, of course, deadly for Christians and Jews...especially in that part of the world where Obama’s Islamicist or Muslim Brotherhood terrorist gang friends hold his favor so assiduously
Given the choice between siding with Obama or Putin, frankly if I were Sisi, I’d choose the Russians as well.
He’s Jimmy Carter in thug.
His loyalties are not the same as ours.
No, Putin’s just another atheist con-man, who, like Obama, is enriching himself at the public expense.
Zero doesn’t work for us, he’s an enemy of the United States.
Around FR he’s been accused of working for the Saudis, the Russians, the Chinese, the Iranians, al-Qaeda, and the MB, just for starters.
The fact is, it’s clear and obvious that, like any other common street thug, he’s been looting the public coffers, just as his fellow racist did in Detroit. Zero belongs in prison, and it’s unlikely that he’ll get there, because he and his cronies will have so much of our money (and the money of the Chinese and others who finance gov’t overspending) that he and they will be untouchable.
By the law, anyway.
To get a good start on the list of his co-conspirators, it will merely be necessary to see who he pardons during his last couple of days in office, which, thankfully, is only a little more than three years off.
I’ve given up trying to find a coherent foreign policy; Zero clearly doesn’t care, as long as it hurts the United States.
If I were inclined to argue in favor of the opposite, I’d take a stab that he’s trying to “disengage” the US from the “peace process” both between Israel and “Palestine” and between the Iranian mullahcracy and the rest of the Middle East and parts of Asia.
The Saudis (that is, the regime, not the various billionaire freelance supporters of jihad) have been miserably poor at sustaining insurgencies or even keeping friendly gov’ts propped up in neighboring countries. The disaster that is Yemen began after WWII, and led to a shooting war between both armed forces of, and proxies of, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Nasser’s Egypt was first in the Middle East to use poison gas against an enemy, and that happened in Yemen. Eventually that civil war simmered down after Yemen was partitioned, which is the way it was back when I was in school. Reunification has resulted in a big fist gov’t having to keep cracking down on the various local gentry who act up.
Saudi Arabia hasn’t turned to Moscow. The Saudis offered to buy a big pile of arms from the NeoSoviet state in exchange for Russian withdrawal from Syria. Pooty Poot turned it down, but a year or so from now he’s going to regret that. Personally, I hope he doesn’t live that long.
The biggest single problem that hasn’t quite happened yet is the beginning of the disintegration of Turkey. The Turkish Islamofascists running the place have been strolling willingly down the garden path strewn for them by the Iranians; they bet wrong in Syria, by that I mean they thought they could count on Soetero. Ha! As Syria continues to slide right past chaos into whatever comes after that, the Alawite minority in Turkey (about 15% of the population, something like that) will get more restless. As Assad loses his grip (and there’s little doubt that he’s seen his best days) Turkey will be one of the big refugee destinations.
Pakistan is and has been disintegrating for decades, much along the lines of Afghanistan, and for the same reasons, and by the same funding, and the same pools of volunteers and jihad trainers.
Alas, India and Iran are likely to align, to cooperate in the parting out of Pakistan and other matters. The endgame will probably not be good for anyone, but India has a significant fraction of the entire human race, Iran has perhaps 66 million of whom perhaps 5 million are guest thugs from various Arab hell-holes.
Egypt’s economy improved immediately after Morsi’s overthrow, thanks to the Gulf States; Qatar’s former emir had been bankrolling the MB in Egypt and elsewhere, and the various jihadist factions in Syria, then was deposed by his son, who pulled the plug on the Syrians and the Egyptian MB. The Gulf states started to send aid to the interim gov’t.
Al-Sisi has a lot of headbusting left to do. He needs to scapegoat the MBs for EVERYTHING that’s wrong, and punish their rank and file (and execute their leaders whenever they’re caught).
The Iranians are increasing their domination of the various African jihadists, and that’s a big problem for the US. This means that Zero will find some what to corrupt out some more bucks for himself and abandon more allies.
He will also see Morsi hanged.
Good luck in getting a couple of billion of dollars per year from the Russkies.
Excellent and thoughtful analysis—thanks!
India and Iran likely to align? Yikes!
word.
Heh, word.
Thanks for the kind remarks!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.