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In this mailing:
by Bassam Tawil
• August 15, 2016 at 5:00 am
- At the level of
regional strategy, Egypt has a central role in the anti-Iran
coalition of Sunni Arab states, which includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
Bahrain and the UAE. The violence of the Arab Spring brought to the
fore the inevitable confrontation between a revisionist, aggressive
Shi'ite Iran and the Arab countries deploying to defend themselves
against Iranian aggression, mainly in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Africa.
- There might,
however, be a confrontation -- unfortunately with the United States.
Even as the Iranians proceed with developing nuclear weapons and
using proxies to destabilize the Arab and Muslim states, the
American shoulder grows colder towards both Israel and the el-Sisi
government in Egypt. The current U.S. administration is known
throughout the Middle East for empowering its enemies and being
treacherous to its friends.
- The traditional
Arab stance, used by autocratic leaders to bamboozle their
dissatisfied populace by pointing them at an external villain
instead of at our own leaders, has clearly begun to change. Israel
as the greatest enemy, is, correctly, being replaced by Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with
visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Jerusalem, on July
10, 2016. (Image source: Israel Government Press Office)
The presence of the Egyptian foreign minister in Israel last month
came as a surprise to many. Critical Egyptian public opinion and the
Egyptian media indicate that, in the years since the Israeli-Egyptian
peace was signed, the formal agreement has yet to trickle into public
consciousness and that there is still considerable suspicion on both
sides of the border. The same is true of the peace between Israel and
Jordan.
Under the reign of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi, relations
had reached a new low, with Egypt covertly aiding Iran's proxy, Hamas,
against Israel.
The visit of Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to Israel in
early July 2016 could be an indication that the frozen peace between
Israel and Egyptians, signed by Begin and Sadat in 1979, might be
thawing.[1]
by Robert Jones
• August 15, 2016 at 4:00 am
- Every
historical act carried out by Turks is praised and idealized.
History textbooks do not utter a
single word about the crimes committed by Turkey against the
country's minorities.
- Turkey-centric theories
were taught in Turkish schools and universities in the 1930s under
the rule of Ataturk. Through these myths, racism and irrational
views were instilled in the Turkish public.
- Apparently,
anti-Americanism is reaching new heights in Turkey, and many Turks
do not need facts and evidence to determine who was behind the coup.
- Meanwhile,
Ankara recently declared that it has "concerns about the rise
of xenophobia and Islamophobia in Europe." This condemnation
came from the government of a country that has slaughtered millions
of its own citizens -- for being non-Turkish or non-Muslim -- and
that has never once apologized for its crimes.
A propaganda poster from the time of Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk's rule shows Ataturk slaying opponents of his reform. (The sword
features the word "reform")
Xenophobia in Turkey is well-documented. The 2007 Pew Global
Attitudes surveys, for example, showed that negative views of the United
States were "widespread and growing" in Turkey, a NATO member
and European Union applicant. According to the Pew Research Center:
"Of the 10 Muslim publics surveyed in the 2006 Pew Global
Attitudes poll, the Turkish public showed the most negative views, on
average, toward Westerners.
"On this scale, the average for Turkey is 5.2, which is a
higher level of negativity than is found in the other four
Muslim-majority countries surveyed (Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan and
Pakistan) as well as among the Muslim populations in Nigeria, Britain,
Germany, France and Spain.
"Large and increasing majorities of Turks also hold unfavorable
views of Christians and Jews."
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