The answer is yes. Israel should consider taking back Sinai as a buffer against a Muslim Brotherhood run Egypt. Will it is another question. There will be some who think that it will send a negative message to the Arab Street (Obama and J Street) and then there others, like us, who think it makes good sense and that Israel MUST act in its best interests. Having the Sinai as a controlled space is a safe military option.
Where will the Israeli leaders end up on this topic, who knows. However, it is well worth considering and in light of the apparent domination of Egyptian politics by the Muslim Brotherhood, makes considerable sense.
What do you think?
Conservative Tom
Suleiman with PM Netanyahu (Photo: GPO)
Where will the Israeli leaders end up on this topic, who knows. However, it is well worth considering and in light of the apparent domination of Egyptian politics by the Muslim Brotherhood, makes considerable sense.
What do you think?
Conservative Tom
Egypt's Suleiman: Israel may consider occupying Sinai
Roi Kais - YNet News, April 15th, 2012Egyptian presidential candidate Omar Suleiman addressed the relations between Egypt and Israel for the first time since he announced his candidacy earlier this month.
In an interview with Egyptian daily al-Youm al-Saba'a, Suleiman analyzed relations between the two neighboring countries in the wake of the Arab Spring and the ongoing terrorist activity originating from the Sinai Peninsula. “I'm fearful of the price Egypt will have to pay if Israel decides to reoccupy Sinai,” he said.
He called on the Muslim Brotherhood party, which is considered his political rivals, “to exercise caution in an effort to keep peace in the region.”
“I fear that Israel thinks Egypt has become one of its enemies,” he said referring to the close relations between Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood and the current situation in Sinai.
“Israel regards the Sinai Peninsula as an unsecure area, and is lead by the notion that Egyptian territory can be used for rocket launching. Therefore, Israel may consider returning to secure borders,” he added.
Suleiman with PM Netanyahu (Photo: GPO)Asked whether he plans to reoccupy Sinai, Suleiman replied: “It's possible that Israel will confront us and use its national security as an excuse to do so. Israelis are experts at presenting such excuses to the world.”
He further said that he is fearful of misleading signals that could lead to unwanted confrontations. “If the Israelis reenter Sinai, they won't be quick to leave it again. Egypt could pay a heavy price if such an event occurred,” he said.
According to Suleiman, “Egypt should continue tightening its relationship with Hamas but not at the expense of the country's national interests, regional security and peace that will all enable Egypt to further develop internally.”
Suleiman, appointed deputy president by Mubarak in his last days in power, entered the presidential race at the last moment, triggering both concern and heavy criticism from reformists who see him as a symbol of Mubarak's rule and a danger to democracy.
Tens of thousands of Egyptians packed into Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday to protest against Suleiman's run for the presidency. Muslim Brotherhood supporters waved banners depicting the presidential candidate as an agent of Israel.
Meanwhile, the body overseeing Egypt's presidential election recently disqualified 10 candidates from the race, including Suleiman.
According to Suleiman, “Egypt should continue tightening its relationship with Hamas but not at the expense of the country's national interests, regional security and peace that will all enable Egypt to further develop internally.”
Suleiman, appointed deputy president by Mubarak in his last days in power, entered the presidential race at the last moment, triggering both concern and heavy criticism from reformists who see him as a symbol of Mubarak's rule and a danger to democracy.
Tens of thousands of Egyptians packed into Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday to protest against Suleiman's run for the presidency. Muslim Brotherhood supporters waved banners depicting the presidential candidate as an agent of Israel.
Meanwhile, the body overseeing Egypt's presidential election recently disqualified 10 candidates from the race, including Suleiman.
According to election rules, disqualified candidates have 48 hours to appeal the decision. The final list of candidates will be announced on April 26.
Suleiman told Egyptian media sources that the commission did not fully disqualify him but had told him that he had not presented the proper number of endorsements. Each candidate needed at least 30,000 endorsements, including at least 1,000 from each of the country's 15 provinces, to join the race.
In response to his “temporary” disqualification, Suleiman pledged to press ahead with his campaign out of respect to his supporter
The U.S. has been putting steady diplomatic pressure on Egypt to honor the peace treaty with Israel, and all signs indicate that it is working...
ReplyDelete"The delegation came to the U.S. on the recommendation of the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate for the presidency, Khairat Al-Shater, who himself began intensifiying contacts with U.S. government officials six months ago. Al-Shater has also been in contact recently with representatives of the World Bank and international financial institutions in order to secure loans and credit that will enable Egypt to restore the massive damage inflicted upon her in the aftermath of the revolution.
The adherence of the Muslim Brotherhood to the Camp David accords has turned into a test of the reliability of the movement when it comes to international relations, and also part of the criterion by which the U.S. will determine the level of aid that the Obama administration will give to Egypt.
To date, Muslim Brotherhood spokespersons and representatives in parliament have emphasized that they are committed to the Camp David Accords, and that now the are shying away from the idea of conducting a national referendum to give legitimacy to altering - or canceling - the agreement.
The Salafi movement, which has nominated its own candidate for president, has also made clear its adherence to the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, and has stated that it is not considering reexamining it now. Calls for taking a second look at the agreements are coming from secular and liberal circles now, as the Accords symbolize, among other things, the legacy of the authoritarian regimes of former Egyptian presidents Sadat and Mubarak."
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/muslim-brotherhood-we-will-not-put-egypt-israel-peace-treaty-to-referendum-1.423099
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So, with these encouraging signs, it would be stupid for Israel to start a war with Egypt. They need to deal the Hamas in the Sinai the same way Turkey deals with Kurds attacking them from Iraq...or Americans dealing with Taliban attacks from Pakistan. Also, I would like to see some of the diplomatic and economic pressure on Egypt focus on Egypt's responsibility to secure the border region. But it is premature for Israel to start a war with Egypt over this. It would just make their problems worse.
--David
P.S. I thought you might find it interesting that it is actually the secularists rather than the Islamic parties that are calling for breaking the peace treaty with Israel.
One would hope that you are right, David. Time will tell, however, I am not holding my breath.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that Israel will "start a war" with Egypt but it must protect its southern flank if Egypt does not control the Sinai. Whether retaking the peninsula would start a war, that is another question which time will tell us.
It is in Egypt's national interest to honor the treaty in order to secure financial aid from the U.S. and the World Bank. Israel would have to start a war to take territory away from Egypt. As I said, they need to go into the Sinai as necessary to root out Hamas if they are launching mortar attacks from there. This is what the U.S. is doing with the Taliban in Pakistan and Turkey is doing with Kurds attacking them from Kurdistan. Pakistan and Iraq do not consider these acts of war because they are defending against terrorist attacks across the borders. In fact, I thought the U.S. should have gone into Pakistan LONG ago. It would be dumb for Israel to break the treaty with Egypt. The best solution of all would be for the U.S. and World Bank to use their influence to get Egypt to secure their own borders.
ReplyDelete--David
There would certainly be a war. Do you seriously think the Muslim Brotherhood is going to allow Israel to take their land without a fight? What's worse, the U.S. would probably leave them alone to finish what they started. At least I hope that's what would happen.
ReplyDeleteBTW, what do you think of this secret deal the U.S. just made with the Afghanistan government to give them more military and financial aid through 2024? This is nuts. Vote Ron Paul!
--David
David, when you say "...the U.S. would probably leave them alone to finish what they started." Who are you speaking about? Israel or Egypt?
ReplyDeleteRegarding Afghanistan, I would think that we need to provide them with aid unless we want the Taliban to come back or some other nefarious group. When the Afgans kicked the Russians out, there was a representative who wanted us to give aid to the Afgan government so that others would not come in--we did not and the Taliban/Alqueda took our place. This probably is the best solution we can expect. Although I would much rather see them take care of themselves but I doubt that the government could survive long without our aid.