Friday, August 16, 2013

The Missing Element in the Egyptian Tragedy is Leadership

Events are fluid and rapidly changing today in Egypt. Here is a summary of what I have seen and heard reported. *Friday's marches were for the most part peaceful, with 33 deaths and 180 injuries reported by the Egyptian Health Ministry. There was sporadic gunfire and CNN reported early today that some pro-Morsi Brotherhood marchers carried hidden homemade pistols and pellet guns. The Egyptian army observed the marchers and prevented entry into Tahrir and Ramses Squares. The curfew is now in effect and seems largely to be effective. *The Brotherhood has called for daily marches until Morsi is reinstated as president. *Attacks on Christian churches have subsided - or are not being reported. *The Egyptian ambassador to the United States told a CNN anchor that the pro-Morsi group has beheaded at least one policeman. *Middle East countries are sticking to their previous positions - either condemning or supporting Wednesday’s crackdown by the Egyptian army against Moslem Brotherhood protesters. Turkey, Iran and Qatar, which identify with the Brotherhood and its Islamist agenda, condemned the violent dispersal of the protests, while Saudi Arabia and the UAE continued to back the military. *The European Union has called for a review of its relations with Egypt. *Israel is watching in silence. If any country needs a stable and friendly Egypt, it is Israel and the silence reflects the Jewish fears that an islamist Egypt could emerge. *Expert Middle East watchers are in unanimous agreement that whatever influence America once had in Egypt has largely disappeared because of President Obama's lack of a coherent Middle East policy. Their conclusion is that the $1.5 billion that the US is using as a lever in trying to make the Egyptian military adhere to a policy that welcomes the Brotherhood into its political fabric will not work - because the aid the Egyptian military is receiving from its Arab neighbors far exceeds the small amount Obama is dangling. ~~~~~ Dear readers, it is not at all clear that the Egyptian military is either anti-democratic or excessively violent. Their program of presenting a draft constitution is on target to be completed in August. They were very careful today in the face of very large pro-Morsi / anti-mitary marches. And the marchers themselves were restrained and peaceful for the most part. While the two sides in this battle are far apart politically and culturally, their rhetoric is similar. They seek democracy. They want a popularly elected government. They deplore the violence. These positions may well be cynically made for TV consumption. But they could offer the chance to talk -- if there were a leader capable of bringing them together. It is a truism that leadership is never missed until it is needed. But, at that point, it is too late.

6 comments:

  1. The change that may come out of this new civil war is that we will have new leaders. It will still be a Theocracy state with perchance a smidgeon of minor freedoms someplace in the dark corner. Unless a mediator step up very soon and drives the negotiations towards a true democracy. That's at best.

    At worse Egypt will fall deeper into the control of the Brotherhood never to see the light of day in most of our life times.

    A rhetorical question ... Do we all see what is happening here? Do we see that many "christian" Egyptians will suffer and quite possibly die. Do we see that by taking over Egypt via a civil war the Brotherhood become enormously more powerful with a cash flow to use on the black weapons market that scares me ...ie:Iran & Nuks. And certainly not lastly, but what about the Suez Canal. What about the Western world not having access to it ... the price of nearly everything goes sky high to either uncontrollable Inflation or complete recession.

    There is something her for everyone to be concerned about. We ALL have an individual stake in what happens in Egypt and how fast or slowly it happens.

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  2. Some believe there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills -- against misery, against ignorance, or injustice and violence. Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and 32 year old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal. ‘Give me a place to stand,’ said Archimedes, ‘and I will move the world.’ These men moved the world.

    Where are our movers today. Our young dreamers who think nothing is out of their reach (and it's not).

    Vision and leadership is of little value without following through. A man that stands at the bottom of a very long stair case and has a vision of reaching the top. Without any venture to start up the stairs his vision is bound to fail.

    To have NO vision of leadership as President Obama and this entire administration is lacking is worse than the man who wants to climb the stairs ... he at least will leave the challenge for someone else if he fails or doesn't even attempt.

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  3. "The nation will find it very hard to look up to the leaders who are keeping their ears to the ground". —Sir Winston Churchill

    Politicians sometimes keep their ear to the ground to hear which way the masses are moving ... with him or away from him.

    There are NO leaders or visionaries involved in the Middle East/Egypt right now. And I don't see any movement of one coming forth.

    Are the stakes of possibly of failing to great for us anymore to answer the call fro "HELP".

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  4. Everything and everyplace that Obama gets involved in shows a great lack of leadership. A lack that takes you right to believing there is NO "leadership" at all there.

    He is not a great leader. He is not one that I would follow into the mouth of the dragon blindly.He doesn't instill a great amount of that silent quality that real leadership "oozes" with.

    But what he is doing in the realm of Foreign Policy is down right dangerous to the entire world.. take a look at England, France, Russia, China, Japan. They all have a leader that is predictable and dedicated to his/her own country. With Obama , he seems to be out in left field playing a game of sorts. But it's not the game of the American people, it's not a game that has the feeling of a victory at the end. It is a game that I feel is teetering on the edge and could go either way ... win or loose.

    We must keep our eyes on the Suez Canal. That falling into the hands of the Brotherhood wood be akin to the Panama Canal being taken over by Cuba with a healthy Fidel Castro.

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  5. President Obama, if you read this or an aide tells you about it ... "Do or Do Not ... There is NO Try" Yoda

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  6. The lack of ANY leadership from the US in Egypt's struggle to gain freedoms and independence from the strangling Sharia Law that the Brotherhood wishes to rule the county through, is very disturbing to me.

    The United States has a history of being pro-active in situations like this. But under the Obama Doctrine being pro-active has a new meaning ... DO NOTHING.

    Presidents Obama's idea of leadership and political guidance seem to come down to two thoughts ...

    1. What value is there to the United States National Interests

    2. Can we remain un-subportive to everyone and still have a modicum of STABILITY in OUR (US) FUTURE DEALINGS with whoever wins.

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