This shows how low the U.S.’s stock has fallen in the Middle East. The Egyptian government knows that the Obama Administration strongly favored the Muslim Brotherhood regime that it replaced and fought against. The Egyptian government knows that the Obama Administration aided jihadist elements in Libya. So it isn’t hard to see why they decided to leave the U.S. off the list of those whom they notified about this operation.
“The U.S. Had No Idea Egypt and U.A.E. Were Going to Bomb Libya,” by Adam Chandler, The Wire, August 25, 2014 (thanks to John):
Egypt and the United Arab Emirates secretly teamed up to launch two airstrikes against Islamist forces in Libya.
This development comes as little surprise, after all, both countries are waging their own internal and regional battles to stem the rise of political Islam in the Middle East and North Africa. Libya itself is an unsurprising target, an oil rich country beset by chaos since a NATO intervention helped depose Col. Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. It also happens to be right next door to Egypt.
As the Times reported, there is just one little surprise in all of this:
The United States, the officials said, was caught by surprise: Egypt and the Emirates, both close allies and military partners, acted without informing Washington or seeking its consent, leaving the Obama administration on the sidelines. Egyptian officials explicitly denied the operation to American diplomats, the officials said.
joeb says
Well, they probably felt the US couldn’t be trusted not to leak the operation to the enemy…
rev g says
Dissed by the third world? So much for the power and influence of this potus. His pandering has only revealed how weak he really is, and how weak we as a nation are by extension.
David, Thailand says
If only the American people were mature enough to sideline the America-hating, white-hating, Jew-hating Muslim Socialist in the White House…but then, they wouldn’t have put him there, twice!
John C. Barile says
If only.
Michael says
I will admit that I voted for Obama twice–mainly for his domestic platform. I support health care reform, financial regulation, the consumer protection bureau, etc.
Looking back at his foreign policy up until the past year or so, it wasn’t all that bad. He devoted resources and personnel to tracking down and killing bin laden. That was his shining foreign policy success. He also got rid of Gaddafi, the man responsible for the lockerbie bombing, without putting a conventional army on the ground in Libya.
Originally it seemed reasonable to get US troops out of an unpopular war in Iraq. Obviously that has backfired badly, as Iraqi forces have been pretty pathetic in the face of ISIS. Hopefully Afghanistan doesn’t suffer the same fate once US troops are gone.
While Obama has had some success in both the domestic and foreign policy arenas, he has failed miserably in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His harsh criticism of Israel is downright SHAMEFUL; especially when the Israelis are being bombarded by constant rocket fire, and are going to great lengths to prevent civilian casualties. The UN mission in Gaza is primarily muslim-backed, and therefore biased against Israel. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. If Obama continues to alienate Israeli supporters in the US, he risks his party losing a very powerful block come election time. Staunch Democrats (such as myself) may end up voting Republican. Hopefully Clinton is a much stronger supporter of Israel. Israel is one of our strongest allies in the war against islamic extremism. And since they’re non-muslims in the heart of the muslim world, they were doing the West’s dirty work for 50+ years prior to the 9/11 attacks on the US. Only then did the US decide to take its gloves off and go after these islamic extremists in a big way. Unfortunately the US didn’t send its conventional military into Pakistan–which it really needed to do in order to eradicate the terrorist hideouts in the tribal areas.
In regards to Syria, I find it hard to blame Obama for not getting more involved. With shifting alliances and extremists spread diffusely throughout, it would have been very risky to get more involved. I do think that his “red line” comment on chemical weapons was rather foolish, as he did not follow through with it. In the end he didn’t want to go back to war unless absolutely necessary.
With the threat of the muslim hordes ravaging the land and butchering any non-muslim in sight, war has become necessary. I doubt Obama would want to be known as the US President that did nothing while ISIS committed genocide against 40,000 Yazidis. Or the President that allowed ISIS to consolidate its forces in order to carry out attacks on the West. These are the same muslim hordes that have attacked the West hundreds of times over the past 1300+ years.
I heard that recently Task Force Black was reactivated–a joint US-UK counter-terrorism hunter-killer force. It was the same force that decimated al-Qaeda in Iraq. Let’s hope this President makes up for some of his mistakes over the next few years. Saving the Yazidis and supporting the Kurds is a good start–although Obama should have gotten involved much earlier–especially with the fall of Fallujah in January.
RonaldB says
MIchael,
Your viewpoint as a liberal is certainly reasonable, though I may not agree with it. Liberal and leftist have come to mean two different things: leftist involves a reflexive support of revolutionary movements and the suppression of different points of view, especially the view that some people and cultures are better objectively than others.
Obama has made a boggle of domestic affairs, but I’m not sure he’s out of the tradition of US Presidents, both Democrat and Republican. With our own George Bush, we had “Islam is a religion of peace” as well as the “no child left behind”, which is continuing to interfere with state control of education.
In addition, Bush foolishly toppled the Saddam Hussein government, using US forces to completely decimate the structure of Iraqi society, replacing the mechanisms that worked in the past to suppress the tendency of different branches of Islam to slaughter each other.
The unique contribution of Obama was to give US aid, encouragement, and training to the Libyan rebels who toppled the government of Gaddafi, leaving Libya open to Islamic anarchy and terrorist groups, not to mention making vast stores of weapons available to other Islamic terrorists.
Also, Obama gave aid and training to the Syrian rebels, weakening the Syrian government and allowing ISIS to take root and expand into Syria and Iraq. He tried the same thing in Egypt, supporting the overthrow of Mubarak, and exerting US pressure against the toppling of the Muslim Brotherhood government.
I shared your support of pulling US troops out of active engagement in Iraq. Once George Bush destroyed the mechanisms of social control in Iraq, getting 4000 US troops killed in the process, it was a coin toss as to whether the US should keep the weak, corrupt Iraq transplant government on life support. Chances are, if the US had not actively supported the overthrow of stable, corrupt, and undemocratic governments, such as Syria and Libya, we would not have had an entity like ISIS developing.
For those liberals putting their faith in Hillary Clinton, bear in mind she supported the objective of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the largest bloc in the UN, which seeks a UN mandate to suppress criticism of Islam.
Oliver says
Hussein was very encouraging ( for want of a better term) of homicide bombins–AS LONG AS IT KILLED JEWS (primarily or mainly-not quite sure).
He had his people (?–I think animals might be a btter term) go to impovished Iraqis, and offer them money ($25,000) if their sons/ and/or daughter/s ( note 25,000 per child) go with the bombs.
Once that bastard ws killed, the homicide bombings in Israel ( and elsewhere–against Jews) went down.
They did go up in Iraq– where it was Sunni/ Shia. There and that, to me, no great loss. (Probably an unpopular view).
Michael says
With muslims having a vastly different view on governing, it has proven quite difficult to spread Western-style democracy throughout the Middle East. Even if a democracy is installed, the people may very well elect a radical islamist.
The idealistic view that one can just support these revolutionary movements and then install a Western democracy afterward is turning out to be naive at best. Without changing the minds of the people (eg away from radical islam), the region will probably not improve much.
From what I have read thus far (a few listed below), Clinton appears to be much more pro-Israel and willing to confront radical islam. I will, however, do a lot more research prior to election time; I certainly don’t want another President that supports Hamas/Qatar/Turkey.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/hillary-clinton-blasts-unfair-world-reaction-over-gaza-cites-anti-semitism-as-factor/
http://swampland.time.com/2014/01/14/hillary-clintons-unapologetically-hawkish-record-faces-2016-test/)
rev g says
I always thought a radical islamist would be one who sought to depart from the traditional words and teachings of his religion. In other words, the so-called “moderate muslim”.
BC says
He got rid of Gadhaffi? Excuse men but this very US centric. UK and France
were the driving force behind support for the attacks on Gadhaffi’s forces which were close to exterminating the opposition in Libya. Obama was dragged into it somewhat reluctantly by Cameron and Sarkozy.
Michael says
US cruise missiles did a number on Gaddafi’s regime. I do understand the war was a joint effort, but Obama still chose to get involved when he did not have to. For Gaddafi’s role in the Lockerbie bombing, I’m glad the West (US/UK/France) helped get rid of him. I certainly don’t mean to undermine the efforts of the United Kingdom and France in the Libyan War.
I am thankful for the efforts of the United Kingdom and France in the fight against islamic extremism. France’s role in fighting islamic extremism in Mali, for example, was certainly admirable.
Ice Star says
Bin Laden and Gaddafi were meaningless kills.
Bin Laden should have been killed when Bubba was POTUS, that would have been a good thing. Bin Laden was already neutralized by the time he was killed.
Gaddafi and his people paid for Lockerbie and he was a quiet idiot wandering the dessert in a tent. He was NOT a problem.
What GWB, Bubba and recent leaders failed to understand is that ISLAM is the problem, not individuals.
It is Jihad, as commanded by Mohamed that is the problem.
The Caliphate was based not on individuals but the ability of Islam to ensure its superiority in all areas it controlled.
Sharia, Hadith, Sunnah, Qu’ran, these are the basis of the Islamic state.
Assad protects Christians, that is why I support HIM.
Killing individuals fighting jihad is whack a mole.
We need to expose Islam completely to the free west in order to fight it effectively.
I won’t get into how badly BO has damaged the US health care system.
How he has divided the USA and made us vulnerable. Calls Fort Hood “workplace violence””.
And is the WORST POTUS we have ever had.
James Foard says
You said in your post ” I doubt Obama would want to be known as the US President that did nothing while ISIS committed genocide against 40,000 Yazidis”.
Did you perchance forget to mention one other significant religious group in Iraq that have been decimated by ISIS?
Just wondering – an oversight perhaps? I’m sure you meant to include the thousands of displaced and persecuted Christians in Iraq as well, didn’t you?
And then you’re so-called defense of Israel is revealed when you wrote:
“And since they’re non-muslims in the heart of the muslim world, they were doing the West’s dirty work for 50+ years prior to the 9/11 attacks on the US”.
Very deceptive, very clever post. Throwing a few bones our way to make an appeal for the entirety of your post, which is nothing but a cloaked, cleverly worded stealth jihadist argument rolled up in a rather lengthy polemic to defend Obama. At least I saw through it, I hope the rest of the Walid’s readers see through it also.
Michael says
I mentioned the Yazidi situation because there potentially could have been a massive slaughter, on a much larger scale than previously seen in the conflict, had the US not intervened. In regards to the Christians in Iraq, I was under the impression that the vast majority had fled ISIS areas (eg to Kurdish territory), and were not about to have tens of thousands be slaughtered. I am just as appalled about the persecution of Christians in Iraq (and other muslim-majority countries) as I am of any muslim persecution of non-muslims (eg yazidis, jews, hindus, etc).
So, no, I wasn’t throwing a few bones your way to make an appeal for some “jihadist argument”… I am actually appalled that muslims still have control of former Western cities & land (eg Constantinople, Antioch (former), Alexandria, etc). I am also very concerned about Western immigration policy and the rise of the muslim population in the West. Their birth rates are much higher than most in the West, and they are already causing problems in France, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.
In regards to Obama, many are quick to label him as worst POTUS ever, or total failure, etc. His foreign policy could certainly use some work–that I understand. However, under his leadership, the vast majority al-Qaeda’s senior members have been killed or captured. His success in fighting al-Qaeda was something that the Bush administration did not achieve. Obama also did not get the US into the costly, largely unnecessary ground war that Bush did in Iraq.
Although Obama has done well against al-Qaeda, his side in the Israeli-Gaza conflict makes me sick. He criticized Israel for defending itself against the terrorist group Hamas, signed arms deals Qatar and Turkey (the only two major supporters of Hamas), blocked a hellfire missile shipment to Israel, and has a piss-poor relationship for Mr. Netanyahu, whom I greatly admire. I applaud Mr. Netanyahu for not bowing down to pressure from the muslim world (and the Obama administration) during the conflict. I will note that Mr. Netanyahu favored Mitt Romney over Obama originally, and that may have led to a poor start to their relationship (or lack thereof).
Oliver says
At this moment, jsut one point on your last comment.
( I despise Obama, by the way).
Regarding Prime Minister Netanyahu being supportive of Mr. Romney.
BOTH KNEW EACH OTHER, DECADES BEFORE, and worked together.
FURTHERMORE, EVEN BEFORE THEB 2012 ELECTIONS–WHEN PRIME MINISTER Netanyahu CAME TO THE WHITE HOUSE, TO MEET NOBRQAINER, HE WAS FORCED TO SUE A SERVANTS/DELIVERYMAN ENTRANCE.
THIS IS INSULTING TO AN LECTED HEAD OF TATE OF( THE ONLY FRIENDLY) NATION (IN THE AREA).
But The MB and other Muslims came in via the main entrance.
More comments, perhaps, later.
As to Khadafi–he did wrong, the US bombed the presidential palace. Nothign from there for 25 or so years. now, they (Libyans) kill4 Americans, and Rice, Shillery and nobrainer kiss their butt, apologize and blame it on a video.
The US has fallen unter this creep.
Amy B says
This is to Michael…
Play close attention to the people surrounding the future presidential candidates (such as Hillary). Obama surrounded himself with rabid anti-Jew loons, and all the evidence was there before the first election. Sadly he trotted out the “I support Israel” lie and a bunch of people fell for it. But all one needed to do was look at those he chose to hold positions of power and influence in his life, campaign, and eventually his presidency.
Michael says
You’re right about that, Amy. I supported Obama for his domestic policies, and largely assumed he would be pro-Israel, as past Presidents on both sides had been.
Thankfully it is primarily the Obama administration that holds his anti-Israel views, and not the entire Democratic party. The vote to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome funding passed 395-8; Broad bipartisan support for Israel in the US congress. Hopefully the next US President will hold the pro-Israeli views that the US congress and US public (60%+) do. If the next Democratic leader (whichever year elected) holds Obama’s views on the matter, I could very well switch party affiliation (to Independent, most likely).
TH says
You are still under an illusion about Obama. He is the principle one of the principle causes of the rise of jihadism in the Middle East. He even had these ISIS folk trained in Jordan and gave arms to jihadists against Asad in Syria and together with the Brits and the French got rid of Gadhafi in Lybia. He pulled out the American troops from Iraq too soon. He favored the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. He bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, the principle bankroller of jihadism around the world. How can you be so foolish to expect someone like him to do anything but create more disasters. As for Clinton you say: ” Hopefully Clinton is a much stronger supporter of Israel”. Since here prinicple aide in the State Department hadlinks to the Muslim Brotherhood, I wouldn’t trust her.
So, you need to wake up and get a dose of reality. It doesn’t seem that the Republicans are any better.
SpiritOf1683 says
Obama certrainly is responsible for the mess we find ourselves in today, but Cameron is at least as much to blame. It is he who wanted to help Libyan jihadis to oust Gaddafi and did indeed help them, much to our cost. Gaddafi was certainly no angel, but as we now know, he was better than the lot who are currently running Libya now. It is Cameron who wanted to help ISIS in Syria, and he would have done so had he not lost a Commons vote a year ago, with his cheeks on full power. The situation is very grave now, but if Cameron had managed to get his way, it would be far worse still, and there is nothing worse than a Prime Minister who lives in a Boys Own fantasy world, wanting to be a Churchill but cocking up everything he does.
Oliver says
To Spirit:
I am not British, nor do I ( in reality) follow British politics.
However, I have an acquaintance/ sort of friend/ business associate, who is British.
During the last (British) election time, his parents ( who live in Britian) were here ( US–Florida to be more exact) and i was with the three of them.
i asked which party and party leader they supported, and why.
They said Cameron. I asked why- their response– best of a bad lot. They said his opponents were even more ( for want of a better phrase-cannot reclal exactly what they said) off the all and out of touch with reality.
They went on ( now these were Caucasian Christians–not Jewish or Muslims or anything else, and british for generations) were totally oblivious to the Muslim issues; crime, etc.
Cameron, they felt, was a fool; the otehrs–greater fools. they yearned for a return of a Margaret Thatcher–someone with guts.
So, perhaps that is why it is Cameron blasted here- that these three spoke for many.
and the others would have been worse
greg says
if you are not appalled with the hidden ideology agenda and false leadership running this country you are not paying attention , denial can run very deep in unproductive men!
joeb says
http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/whose-planes-keep-mysteriously-bombing-middle-eastern-countries/
Daniel Greenfield wondered who was doing this last week..
jewdog says
I think al Sisi has Obama’s number, and it’s not positive.
Bezelel says
All of those Egyptians holding signs about obamud supporting terrorism were serious.
enwhitenment says
If I were about to bomb the brotherhood of islamic jihad the last people on earth I would inform would be obama & kerry.
Oliver says
Questions:
most important–were they able to kill any–hopefully many, terrorists/militants?
(or was this a practice run?)
2. Is CNN upset? The Qatari “network most likely is, but CNN? After all, they,, along with the rest of the lame stream media here (US) along with the Useless nations blame Israel for everything wrong in the world (probably including potholes in Seattle or New York). By not knowing, they might have been accusing Israel of bombing civilians in Libya. (If so, probably would not apologize, or if they did, 5 weeks from now at 2 AM). (Sort of like the tape from the Zimmerman trial.. kept saying it said one thing, then when Fox News had WHAT IT SAID (different) they had a ‘booth” to take out background noises–Fox was right. Would think try that FIRST).
My 4 cents.
Myxlplik says
It’s no secret that our government has been infiltrated by the Brotherhood and it’s affiliates for a long time. You might as well save everyone the trouble and warn the terrorists yourself rather than tell Obama and his Brotherhood advisors.
Rebecca says
bec the media is obsessed with reporting about every gaza resident that gets hurt after they use their homes to strike Israel and then get hurt when Israel strikes back at their home. This sympathy for the poor palestinians who are crying because they are trying sooooo hard to destroy and terrorize Israel- and don’t we are feel bad for them when Israel doesn’t lay down and say- no problem- kill us all?
this issue is much more important that reporting about ISIS, Syria (they barely reported on these issues during July bec they were so busy obsessing over the poor palestinians). Kerry is so busy with the poor palestinians that he is losing his touch with all of the craziness and chaos that the muslims are bringing to themselves in the region.
Rebecca says
bec the media is obsessed with reporting about every gaza resident that gets hurt after they use their homes to strike Israel and then get hurt when Israel strikes back at their home. This sympathy for the poor palestinians who are crying because they are trying sooooo hard to destroy and terrorize Israel- and don’t we are feel bad for them when Israel doesn’t lay down and say- no problem- kill us all?
this issue is much more important that reporting about ISIS, Syria (they barely reported on these issues during July bec they were so busy obsessing over the poor palestinians). Kerry is so busy with the poor palestinians that he is losing his touch with all of the craziness and chaos that the muslims are bringing to themselves in the region.
sidney penny says
Pakistan was not told about the Osama raid.
Why would Egypt tell Obama when Obama is not friends with Egypt.
Obama would warn the jihadists.
Salah says
Unlike the West, Egypt is serious about its fight against islamic terrorism.
Last year, the proud Egyptian people has crushed the most powerful islamic terrorist organization: the Muslim Brotherhood.
The new Egyptian constitution does not allow religious based parties. Lately, the Freedom and Justice party (the political arm of the MB) has been officially dismantled. Other Islamic parties will soon follow.
But there is more. Educated Egyptians are now unafraid and are starting to ask questions about Islam itself. They’re doing it openly, on public TV stations. They are confronting the most powerful Islamic institution: al Azhar.
Little by little, verse by verse, hadith by hadith, Islam will fall apart.
Islam must, and will be destroyed from within.
http://crossmuslims.blogspot.ca/2014/08/cannibalism-in-islam-taught-at-al-azhar.html
Kevinr says
I do hope you are right Selah
I too see Sisi as a good man who has at his heart the good of all the Egyptian people, whatever faith they follow. A proud Egyptian who recognises that for his people to prosper Islamic fundamentalism has to be crushed. If only our western leaders and our media elites could see as clearly.
I hope that first Egypt, and then Iran will cast off the shackles of Islamic supremacism, and that freedoms will then follow for all.
Michael Copeland says
It may be just too difficult to distinguish Islamic fundamentalism from Islam. Surely they are the same. Mohammed (if he existed) said “The strongholds of Islam will be brought down one after another, …. Religion [Islam] will crawl back to Medina like a snake to its hole”.
Aton says
Can someone do an analysis of who is supporting whom, and vice versa?
I always thought that the Muslim Brotherhood and the Saudis went hand in hand. So why would Saudi be involved in this?
Some clarification is necessary.
Aton
Oliver says
The Muslim Brotherhood is listed as a terrorist organization in Saudi Arabia.
I am not sure if they did it before or after Egypt– but it was (more or less) around the same time- possibly a couple of months or so either way.
Qatar is a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood. (And Hamas and hezbollah and probably 97 other terrorist groups).
Michael says
Oliver is correct.
At least 4 Middle Eastern countries have labeled the muslim brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Syria was the first to do so, on Oct 21st, 2013, followed by Egypt on Dec 25th, 2013, Saudi Arabia on March 7th, 2014, and the United Arab Emirates on March 9th, 2014. Also Russia had declared it a terrorist organization back on February 12th, 2003.
Key support for islamic extremists like Hamas, the muslim brotherhood, etc, primarily comes from Qatar and Turkey. Additionally, you could also say that the Obama administration has been supportive of the muslim brotherhood. He gave funding to them when they were brought into power in Egypt, and initially withheld funding to el-sisi’s new Egyptian government. In a change of policy toward Egypt’s new government, the US provided $575 million in funds to Egypt in mid-June. Obama also signed arms deals with Qatar and Turkey in late July, and has been at odds with Israel over their Israeli-Palestinian conflict; instead of harshly criticizing Hamas, he has harshly criticized Israel. This is in stark contrast to the US congress, who refunded Israel’s Iron Dome with a 395-8 vote this summer, and US people, who strongly support Israel (>60% in recent polls).
Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates have strongly supported el-sisi’s Egyptian government, providing 18 billion thus far, and there is the potential for another $20 billion down the line.
So, you could basically have the sides as
Against muslim brotherhood:
Egypt
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Kuwait
US Congress
Israel (most likely)
(Syria)
(Russia)
For muslim brotherhood:
Qatar
Turkey
Obama administration (arguably)
In Libya, for example, it is the military forces supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates against the islamic extremists supported by Qatar and Turkey.
Michael says
On a further note, I just signed a petition for the US to declare the muslim brotherhood a terrorist organization. As the petition already had over 100,000 signatures, it is currently awaiting response from the Obama administration. Not that the Obama administration would do such a thing, but perhaps the next administration will.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/declare-muslim-brotherhood-organization-terrorist-group/zGxCQ55g
Aton says
.
I am still confused.
Saudi Wahabi Sunni Islam teaching is but a hair-breadth away from Muslim Brotherhood Sunni teaching. So why should they not be allies? Why would Saudi not use the MB as a proxy force, to bias public opinion and overturn governments.
I am pretty sure they do cooperate, but Saudi Arabia has to pretend to be against the MB, in order to preserve their Western and American political links (and money). Much the same as everyone in the East secretly gives money to Hamas, while openly condemning their tactics.
As the Koran says – some Muslims must go out and fight, while others must stay at home and support the fighters financially. Saudi is the ‘stay at home’ family.
Aton
R. Craigen says
They threw a war and forgot to invite the Americans? Whoa. Who’s off the A-list now?
pumbar says
I don’t think Kerry even knows what he had for lunch yesterday. I assume his aides zip his flies and tie his laces.
Rezali Mehil says
I wonder how many kuffar will go to the soccer world cup in Qatar in 2018…
Those fools should stick to stadium building…kuffar building their stadia should get the hell out of there …no doubt the IS or muslim brotherhood will want to provide a “suitable reply to this bombing.
BC did the US inform Pakistan that it was going to get Osama BL says
Well did the US inform Pakistan that it was going to get Osama BL?
onisac says
They had no idea? They had no idea? maybe if this administration would remove it’s head from the dark spot, they have a clue?…
Uncle Vladdi says
0bama sees his fantasized and anticipated caliph-hood slipping away again LOL!
😉