This video shows Iranians throwing shoes at photos of Obama and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak. Iran funds and supplies Hamas, which makes Egypt and other Sunni states in the region nervous, and Egyptian troops have fired upon Palestinians trying to enter Egypt during this present conflict.
This and more has led to the widespread view among the learned analysts that the Egypt is still the Egypt of Sadat (which wasn’t what it was cracked up to be in the first place), a beacon of Islamic moderation that is determined to abide by the Camp David accords and maintain peace with Israel.
Well, not so fast.
“Editor’s Notes: Tunnel vision,” by David Horovitz in the Jerusalem Post, January 15 (thanks to Looney Tunes):
Israel’s deference to Egyptian sensitivities enabled Hamas to build up its military strength. If the diplomats fail again, the next confrontation will be far worse.
In late December 2007, at a meeting with a very senior Israeli defense official, The Jerusalem Post was told about a videotape, compiled by the security establishment, which documented Egypt’s failure to effectively seal its border with Gaza.
The tape, the Post was told, featured evidence of Egyptian assistance in arms smuggling and included footage of Egyptian security personnel aiding Hamas terrorists crossing illegally into Gaza. At one point, Egyptian border policemen were seen helping a group of some 80 Hamas personnel slip into the Strip through a hole cut in the border fence.
The Post was told that the tape was being sent to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, and we reported this. The security establishment’s intention and expectation was that the tape would be made available on Capitol Hill. The aim was to encourage Congress to use the leverage of US financial aid to Egypt to press for more effective controls. …
Naaah. They’d rather keep throwing money away on regimes that play a double game, claiming to be fighting the “war on terror” while aiding the jihadists. It is happening in Egypt no less unmistakeably as it is happening in Pakistan.
Anyway, read it all.