Fear the Muslim Brotherhood

Andrew C. McCarthy "The Obama administration has courted Egyptian Islamists from the start. It invited the Muslim Brotherhood to the president’s 2009 Cairo speech, even though the organization is officially banned in Egypt. It has rolled out the red carpet to the Brotherhood’s Islamist infrastructure in the U.S. — CAIR, the Muslim American Society, the Islamic Society of North America, the Ground Zero mosque activists — even though many of them have a documented history of Hamas support."

 Alfred E. Neuman in the driver’s seat 

To this day, the Brotherhood’s motto remains, “Allah is our objective, the Prophet is our leader, the Koran is our law, Jihad is our way, and dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope. Allahu akbar!”

"That seems pretty straightforward to me. I admire the candor and forthrightness. The Muslim Brotherhood believes in waging jihad, i.e. holy war, and they embrace death as their highest goal. At least we know where we stand."

[Middle-East expert and] Ex-President Carter: Political unrest in Egypt 'earth-shaking', Mubarak likely must step down  ""In the last four or five years when I go to Egypt, I don't go to talk to Mubarak, who talks like a politician," Carter said. "If I want to know what is going on in the Middle East, I talk to Suleiman. And as far as I know, he has always told me the truth.""

The New American Fans of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt  "Only one thing is clear: Let us avoid counsel from those who urge us to accept the radical Islamists who appear in sheep’s clothing. Listening to the Richard Falks of our own day and age will assure the triumph of the worst possible outcome."  Ron Radosh

Egypt

Bringing Freedom and Stability to Egypt  "The surest path to a stable and free political system lies in a gradual evolutionary process, but the Mubarak regime has squandered that opportunity despite years of American economic aid, support for civil society groups, and diplomatic cajoling. Egyptians are now confronted with the need for much more rapid and drastic reforms in a tense and overheated atmosphere that favors the ascendancy of radical groups over moderate reformers."


Egyptian police reappear alongside army "The police, who are widely detested here, have been blamed for triggering an almost complete breakdown of law and order in recent days across Egypt, a strategically vital nation at the heart of the Arab world. But with a measure of calm returning to the city Monday, many residents appeared pleased to have officers back on the job." Also this from GlobalSecurity.org

Obama: Egypt Needs Orderly Transition  "There was no indication from the White House late Sunday of the extent to which President Obama's calls with world leaders included discussion of the role of Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei."

Egypt and the Failure of the Obama Doctrine "The Obama Administration has been slow to embrace calls for liberty in Egypt is completely consistent with the Obama Doctrine as applied in the Middle East. When the Iranian people rose against the regime in Tehran in the wake of a disputed national election, Obama offered virtually no support for the cries for freedom. He was too committed to his engagement strategy with the Iranian regime, believing his “charm offensive” would be enough to deter them from pursuing nuclear weapons. Those efforts have completely failed."

Elliott Abrams:  Egypt protests show George W. Bush was right about freedom in the Arab world
""Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe - because in the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty," Bush said. "As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment and violence ready for export." "

Sources in Egypt and West: US secretly backed protest "If this is true, the Western observers who have concluded that the protesters have no leaders and are propelled into the streets purely by rage against the regime may not have the full story. The movement does have a leader whose identity is known to Washington and the demonstrations' ringleaders – but not to Mubarak or his security services." DEBKAfile

http://www.gorrellart.com/

William Kristol: Beyond Mubarak: ‘Twere Well It Were Done Quickly  "The Obama administration has gradually been adjusting to reality. On Friday evening, President Obama was still exhorting President Mubarak: “I told him he has a responsibility to give meaning to those words, to take concrete steps and actions that deliver on that promise.” By this morning, Secretary Clinton had basically abandoned Mubarak. She was talking to Chris Wallace about the need for “a transition to democracy,” “an orderly transition to a democratic government,” “an orderly transition” with a “a well thought-out plan that will bring about a democratic, participatory government.”"

Politics by the Numbers: Good Omens for the GOP in 2012

Michael Barone  "Numbers can tell a story. Looking back on Barack Obama's second State of the Union message, and looking forward to the congressional session and the 2012 elections, they tell a story that should leave Democrats uneasy."
But remember the demagogue factor.

US 'losing credibility by the day' on Egypt: ElBaradei

Jakarta Globe  "“You are losing credibility by the day. On one hand you’re talking about democracy, rule of law and human rights, and on the other hand you’re lending still your support to a dictator that continues to oppress his people,” added ElBaradei, the former head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency.

"His recommendations to President Barack Obama’s administration were blunt: “You have to stop the life support to the dictator and root with the people.”"
He can't vote "present" on this.

Max Boot: Obama Must Act Now on Egypt  "Problem is, taking no stand isn’t an option for the United States in this situation. For decades, Egypt has been one of the largest recipients of American foreign aid, and Mubarak has been one of our closest allies in the Middle East. Egyptian officers have been educated in the United States, its forces are equipped with American weapons, and they regularly conduct exercises with American troops. We have a large say, whether we want it or not. If Obama stays silent about Mubarak’s future, that will be interpreted within Egypt as American support for an increasingly discredited dictator."

A Time for Leadership  "President Obama’s reluctance to firmly put the moral weight of the United States behind the protesters will not be remembered kindly, just as his failure to support democratic opposition groups during his first two years in office will be recalled by the Egyptian democrats who may soon take power. President Obama tried to use Cairo as a prop in his efforts to engage the Muslim world, but he and leading administration officials refused to talk of democracy and refused, despite their desperate efforts now to rewrite history, to seriously pressure Mubarak to reform."
 Jamie M. Fly is executive director of the Foreign Policy Initiative.


Egypt and Iran: Will We Again Fuel the Fires of Revolution?  "If Obama emulates the horrendous decisions Jimmy Carter made during the Iranian revolution, radical Islam will spread through the region like a forest fire."....
"Had Obama done more than basked in the adulation of his Cairo speech and actually leaned on the regime to evolve toward a more legitimate and inclusive government, we might not be confronting the mess ahead of us."

http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/iran-hostage-crisis/

Taylor Rule II Shows Which Fed Policies Work Best:

Amity Shlaes

Amity Shlaes  "Taylor Rule II doesn’t have math. And it doesn’t say what the Fed should do. It predicts what the central bank will do. [Economist John]Taylor says a period of less Fed intervention and stable strong growth will come, along with a strengthening dollar. But by the time this happens, [Chinese leader] Hu, now 68, might be approaching 80.
"Taylor studied the past 60 years of U.S. policy, and found that the Fed moves in a pendulum pattern, swinging back and forth between discretion-based decisions and loose money on one hand and rules-based choices and tighter money on the other."

What's Keith Olbermann doing now? (Updated)

 

Moonbattery.com

 A Look Back at Keith Olbermann's Most Outrageous Quotes  "MSNBC abruptly ended the run of Keith Olbermann on Friday, bringing to a close an era in which the left-wing host compared conservatives to Nazis, accused them of "murderous deceit," of "urinating on the Constitution" and told President George W. Bush to "shut the Hell up!""

(Update) Politics and the Anatomy of Hate  ..."And the first order of business for Olbermann in his new professional home is to “find a suitable enemy, something he is good at.”http://tunnelwall.blogspot.com/


This and many more posts on American politics and culture at the Tunnel Wall

Does America stand against tyranny?

Blackfive  "The spirit of those words is distilled into a simple Latin phrase that is the motto of US Special Forces "De Oppresso Liber" To liberate from oppression. That captures the idea that we do not live in isolation. We cannot build a wall around America and ignore what happens on the other side. Even so, we are not bound to respond with force every time evil flourishes, we could not. But to quote Reagan again:"

Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.

Rep. Moran: Dems Lost Because Many 'Don't Want to Be Governed by an African-American'

Fox News "The comments were made following President Obama's State of the Union speech Tuesday during an interview with Arab network Alhurra. Asked about the results of the midterm elections, the Virginia congressman compared the political environment to that which preceded the Civil War and suggested race was a determining factor." Please refer to my comments in the sidebar to your right:

The PJ Tatler  "In other words, the “racists” who elected Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Florida Representative Allen West don’t like our president because his skin tone is too dark. “Racists” in New Mexico elected governor Susana Martinez. “Racists” in South Carolina elected Representative Tim Scott."

What a dupnik.

Moran Sneers His 24-Year Army Vet Opponent Offers No 'Public Service' Record  "Mr. Moran recently stated, "What [Republicans] do is that they find candidates - usually stealth candidates - that haven't been in office, haven't served or performed any kind of public service. My opponent is typical." Col. Murray served his country for 24 years in the U.S. armed forces. The fact that Mr. Moran thinks 24 years of service in the Army is not equivalent to public service speaks for itself."

What a dupnik.

Himalayan glaciers not melting because of climate change, report finds

UK Telegraph "Himalayan glaciers are actually advancing rather than retreating, claims the first major study since a controversial UN report said they would be melted within quarter of a century."

The Passu glacier in the Karakorum region of Pakistan Photo: ALAMY

The Left Must End Their War on School Choice

Heritage  "In the fall of 2008, 216 new low-income students were notified by the Department of Education that they had been selected to receive scholarships. Then at the behest of Obama’s education union allies, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sent letters to the 216 families informing them that he was taking back the $7,500 in scholarship money that the DCOSP had previously awarded them. The Democratically controlled Congress later voted to phase the program out entirely. Mothers like Latasha Bennett were left scrambling to find good schools for their kids. The DCOSP has been a tremendous success. Students that used a scholarship to attend a private school have a 91 percent graduation rate compared to the less than half of children in D.C. public schools that graduate high school."

The Bloomberg Syndrome

 Victor Davis Hanson  "Yet the more the unfolding details informed us that the Communist Manifesto/Mein Kampf-reading Loughner was mentally unstable, apolitical and without discernible interests in contemporary issues, the more the flamboyant Dupnik went on television to expand his cast of culpable characters. He finally ended up blaming everyone from Tea Party opponents of President Obama to talk-show host Rush Limbaugh — and became an instant celebrity and hero to left-wing partisans."

I see Dupnik becoming attorney general in a Kucinich administration. I'm just sayin'.



tobytoons.com



The old Obama in new clothing

Charles Krauthammer  "The November election sent a clear message to Washington: less government, less debt, less spending. President Obama certainly heard it, but judging from his State of the Union address, he doesn't believe a word of it. The people say they want cuts? Sure they do - in the abstract. But any party that actually dares carry them out will be punished severely. On that, Obama stakes his reelection. "

Who Is Charles Krauthammer?  "Charles Krauthammer has long been recognized as one of America’s most astute and authoritative political columnists, acknowledged as a cut above the majority of his scrivening colleagues. And yet there is something cryptic and elusive about him, like the coy Waldo in the famous puzzle. Perhaps he resents being put in boxes and wishes to preserve his independence of judgment, or his unpredictability."

 Krauthammer Correcting Krauthammer  "So — how long does it take a wise columnist to recognize a mistake and call an ideologue and ideologue? Six weeks. Here’s Krauthammer today:"