Monday, March 6, 2017

Singing the Tune composed by the Master

If you begin by rejecting the idea that an Arab country – especially Egypt – has adopted one set of policies or another because it fears someone or something, you'll read the articles based on that idea differently from the ignorant lies that the writers try sometimes to throw at you.

In fact, the article that came under the title: “What an Egyptian-Iranian thaw would mean for U.S. foreign policy in the region,” uses the word “fear” five times to describe Egypt's foreign policy. Consequently, you should do more than take this thing with a grain of salt; you should dismiss it as a basket of lies meant to exploit you. The article was written by Haisam Hassanein and Wesam Hassanein of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and published on March 4, 2017 on the Hill website.

The Hassanein brothers did not research the subject from the normal sort of angle before writing the article. Rather, they plunged into the cesspool that was cultivated by the organization to which they belong, and came out with a basket of false stereotypes. They strung those things together, making their work sound like it is fresh, authentic and in line with current events.

Had the two writers read history, or had they been old enough to remember it, they would have recalled the following Arabic words: “nussallem mann yusallemuna, wa nu'adee mann yu'adeena,” They made up Gamal Abdel Nasser's favorite sentence because they meant this: we treat with gentleness they who treat us gently, and treat with adversity they who treat us adversely. With the exception of Morsi who was of the Brotherhood and the enemy of Nasser, everyone that governed Egypt has adopted Nasser's philosophy – especially the country's newest President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

These were the principles upon which Egypt – together with India and Yugoslavia – became a founding father of the Non-Aligned Movement. And they remain the principles that most Egyptians return to, time after time. Furthermore, Egypt does not sit back and wait for those who would come and treat it gently or adversely. It constantly goes out in search of potential partners with whom to forge a peaceful co-existence; with whom to develop lofty sort of values and live by them.

If you, my friend, keep that in mind as you read the article of the two Hassaneins, you'll realize that the aim of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy is to distort reality to such an extent that the Trump administration – which considers Egypt an ally – will botch that relationship and sour it, unaware of what it is doing. That would serve the interests of Israel, of course, because it is the sort of thing that the Jewish leaders have been working on for half a century, and succeeding more often than not.

This time, the writers were so inattentive however they gave themselves away trying to drive the wedge between Egypt and the Trump administration. They began the article by explaining what Trump was trying to accomplish in the Middle East. But then, Egypt reversed its policy, they say, because of three illegitimate reasons that have to do with current events, one of which is fear. But then, right after that, the writers blew their theory by admitting that long before the current events “Egyptian-Iranian relations in the last six decades have gone through phases”.

The brothers describe several of the phases, and the reasons why they came to be. They are, in fact, normal sort of reasons that have nothing to do with fear. To wit, one reason they cite is this: “Arab nationalistic ideas influence large sectors of the Egyptian intellectuals, who have a favorable view of Iran as an old civilization with an ancient history”.

Another favorite of the Jewish organizations is to speak of Egypt's “bleak financial situation,” and use that to explain why Egypt made one choice instead of another. Our two writers do so in their article, but then describe situations that refute their theory. For example, they say that Egypt lost the stream of cash and oil it used to get from Saudi Arabia, which is why it counts on Iran to replace the Saudis. But nothing has come from Iran, and nothing is in the offing. Meanwhile, Egypt has negotiated an oil deal with Iraq (not Iran), and has had big discoveries of its own that will make it self-sufficient before the end of the year. The Hassanein brothers mention none of this.

They go further and kill their own theory with this: “Egypt understands that a complete alignment with Iran means tremendous financial loss.” And so they urge Trump to “contain the dispute between Egypt and Saudi Arabia” while helping Egypt financially.

And that's their bottom line. It is a development that the Jewish leaders have been working on for some time now. They want America to form a new alliance comprising Sunni states that will stand up to Shia Iran. And where America leads an organization, they see the Jews taking control of it.

Their dreams never materialize and they never end.