For those who have believed the Arab Spring would result in new democracies across the Middle East, the vote in Egypt should squash those dreams. With voting over and the military government postponing the formal announcement of result, it has been learned that over 70% of the votes went to pro-Islam and Sharia Law candidates. One group, it has been reported, received 48% of the nod. This does not bode well for Europe, America or Israel. Can the other participants in these uprisings vote any different? We doubt it.
What does that mean for the non-Muslim world? It is clear that Islam is coming on strong, that its plan to take over the world is taking hold and gaining momentum. Their goal of regaining the power they had in earlier centuries, has not been accomplished yet, but has taken a foothold in the Middle East and soon will spread to Europe and Africa.
With Turkey moving away from a secular government to a religious Islamic one and the Egyptian vote should send alarm bells going in Tel Aviv and Washington. Those who had "hoped" for a democratic Egypt see those hopes dashed with the real possibility of a war even more imminent. What a victory it would be for the Muslim movement to see Israel destroyed! We pray that will not happen but these are the same dreams that the previous wars in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973 were based.
Additionally, the movements around the world to de-legitimize Israel, to claim it is a pariah state, to punish it for "crimes against the Palestinians are all adding fuel to the fire that causes wars to be fought. On top of that we see the decisions by the Obama Administration to separate the United States from support of Israel. And yesterday Iceland was the first country to recognize the Palestinians as a nation state. With all of this evidence, the Arabs see the best opportunity in decades to eliminate Israel.
The cherry on the top of the Arab pie, would be for Iran to get nuclear weapons. With those devices, Israel could be forced to do anything the Arabs wanted or risk annihilation. Will Israeli leaders be strong enough to stand up to world condemnation and atomic bombs? You tell me. I do not know
The one thing I do know is, should the Israelis face this "Sword of Damocles" decision, the United States must side with them. However, if President Obama is President at that time, I doubt it would happen. As I have written before, I fear Israel will be left to fend for itself without support from the world. Will it be successful, one would hope, but the Arabs have great military equipment and lots of manpower. This war will not be over quickly as Israel would fight to the last man not unlike those martyrs of Masada or Warsaw.
Your comments are welcome and ALL thoughtful, respectful discussions will be published, we promise!
What does that mean for the non-Muslim world? It is clear that Islam is coming on strong, that its plan to take over the world is taking hold and gaining momentum. Their goal of regaining the power they had in earlier centuries, has not been accomplished yet, but has taken a foothold in the Middle East and soon will spread to Europe and Africa.
With Turkey moving away from a secular government to a religious Islamic one and the Egyptian vote should send alarm bells going in Tel Aviv and Washington. Those who had "hoped" for a democratic Egypt see those hopes dashed with the real possibility of a war even more imminent. What a victory it would be for the Muslim movement to see Israel destroyed! We pray that will not happen but these are the same dreams that the previous wars in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973 were based.
Additionally, the movements around the world to de-legitimize Israel, to claim it is a pariah state, to punish it for "crimes against the Palestinians are all adding fuel to the fire that causes wars to be fought. On top of that we see the decisions by the Obama Administration to separate the United States from support of Israel. And yesterday Iceland was the first country to recognize the Palestinians as a nation state. With all of this evidence, the Arabs see the best opportunity in decades to eliminate Israel.
The cherry on the top of the Arab pie, would be for Iran to get nuclear weapons. With those devices, Israel could be forced to do anything the Arabs wanted or risk annihilation. Will Israeli leaders be strong enough to stand up to world condemnation and atomic bombs? You tell me. I do not know
The one thing I do know is, should the Israelis face this "Sword of Damocles" decision, the United States must side with them. However, if President Obama is President at that time, I doubt it would happen. As I have written before, I fear Israel will be left to fend for itself without support from the world. Will it be successful, one would hope, but the Arabs have great military equipment and lots of manpower. This war will not be over quickly as Israel would fight to the last man not unlike those martyrs of Masada or Warsaw.
Your comments are welcome and ALL thoughtful, respectful discussions will be published, we promise!
Fact-checking you: "For the first time in Egypt we don't see a political intention by the state to forge the elections," said Magdy Abdel Halim, coordinator of an EU-backed group of election monitors.
ReplyDeleteHe said the infractions observed did not affect the legitimacy of a vote held in a "reasonably fair atmosphere."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/01/us-egypt-election-idUSTRE7AR08V20111201
==============
So, if the EU-backed election monitors say it was a "reasonably fair" election, why call it undemocratic? is it only democratic if the Islamists lose the election?
The Arab Spring was not against Islam. It was against military dictatorship.
--David
David, the Arab Spring was an Islamic uprising couched as a popular movement. It was against the dictatorships, however it had nothing to do with freedom or democracy.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the monitors go, does this description (from the latter posting) tell you the voting was unbiased?
"The complexity of the voting process played right into the hands of the FJP. Voters had to choose two individual candidates and one party list or their ballot would be invalidated. Because of its many decades of charity work with the Egyptian poor, the Brotherhood had a ready-made base of support which it capitalized on by setting up “information” booths right next to polling stations to help voters — many of whom were illiterate — in choosing who to cast their ballots for. The Associated Press described one such “information” center:
Outside polling stations around the country, Brotherhood activists were set up with laptop computers in booths, helping voters find their district and voter numbers — which they wrote on cards advertising the party’s candidates. Elsewhere, they posted activists outside to wave banners, pass out flyers or simply chat up voters waiting in line.
For the illiterate, there were symbols next to which they could mark their ballot. And the FJP made sure that the voters knew which symbols stood for the Brotherhood candidates."
I think you are being a bit naive.
The Msulim Brotherhood is best known, respected, and best organized political party in Egypt. Why shouldn't they be expected to do better than other parties in this election? Does that make the election undemocratic? Didn't other parties have the same opportunity to set up booths and advertise their candidates? I think you are unhappy with the results, but that doesn't mean that the election process was not free and fair (as stated by the election monitors).
ReplyDelete--David
David, I believe that is naive as the Muslim Brotherhood represents part of the Islamic worldwide movement that is bent on taking away your and my rights to make these comments. The election was not as free as you imply. You need to read more about the Islamic world.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am not happy with the results but I expected it, I was not disappointed. I predicted the results in previous postings.
Fact-checking: NDI (National Democratic Institute) was one of 6 international groups that the Egyptian military invited to monitor voting.
ReplyDeleteHere is their preliminary report….
http://www.ndi.org/files/Egypt-Preliminary-Statement-Round1-113011-ENG.pdf
As you can see, it is generally quite positive, especially considering that this is the first time Egypt has held free elections since 1952.
Considering that Egypt is 90% Muslim, it should be no shock to anyone that -- in a fair and free election -- the Islamist parties (especially the long-established Muslim Brotherhood) would do well in the voting.
I understand that you don't like the result, but it is clear that with 70% of population voting in an election that independent monitors like NDI consider reasonably free and fair, this is the will of the Egyptian people.
As a defender of freedom, you should respect the right of "self-determination" for a country so long as they are not interfering with the same right of their neighbors. Can we at least agree on that?
--David
So David, do you have a problem with the Islamists killing the Coptics, just because they are Christian?
ReplyDeleteDavid, I am not making myself clear. I predicted this would happen. I expected that the Islamists would be elected and that Sharia Law would become the law of the land. My fear is that the Islamists will not be so open to "self-determination for their neighbors.
For example for the last couple decades, Egypt and Israel have had a "cold peace" when it came to the Sinai. That peace has gone away and now Israel is facing another challenge of Al Queda and other terrorists coming across its southern border.
Americans of all political stripes need to become more aware of the dangers of the Islamists.
May I suggest a book to read?
ReplyDeleteThe Islamic Antichrist by Joel Richardson.
I know many will not want to read this because it is based on religion, but for Islam (and many other religions) politics and religion go hand in hand (even if people want to deny it, our morals and ethics come from our religious beliefs, whatever they may be, and those influence our political views).
This book is educational about Islam and it's political views.
If you have any books you could suggest on this topic I am open. I want to learn as much as possible about Islam, I don't want to make judgments out of ignorance or based off media biases.
Tom, I too predicted this would happen and am not surprised by it. I wish I also wasn't surprised by the reactions of many to this development.
I am a Libertarian. That is why I support Ron Paul. The idea of "self-determination" leaves it up to the people of Egypt to determine what kind of government they want. They just overthrew an oppressive dictatorship, and appear to be transitioning to a civilian government via free and fair democratic elections. From a Libertarian perspective, that's all positive. You don't like the results of the voting. Too bad.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, for the people of Israel.
Neither country has the right to interfere with the self-determination of the other. If they do invade, it is the right of the other country to self-defense.
Saddam invaded Kuwait, and was crushed. If Egypt invades Israel, it will suffer the same fate. Until then, their internal affairs are their business -- not ours. Do you agree, or not?
--David
David,
ReplyDeleteI do believe each nation should govern themselves and only in extreme circumstances should other countries interfere. I also believe that certain countries are our friends and deserve our support, whether verbal or in actual assistance when asked.