الرئيسية
من طرف Egypt: where did all our principles go?i
By Douglas Carswell World Last updated: August 14th,2013
telegraph.co.uk
........
The news from Egypt is a disaster;for Egypt,for the wider Middle East and for Western policymakers
In Cairo – cultural capital of the Arab world – government gunmen kill unarmed protesters. Alexandria,and other towns in the Delta, are starting to smoulder.Sinai has become a hothouse for jihadis
Far from ending Egypt's strife,last month's armed coup seems to be producing another Algeria, where,after the military annulled democratic elections,tens of thousands have been killed in a savage civil war
An Algerian-style civil war in Egypt,a country of 80 million people at the crossroads of the Middle East,would be a catastrophe
Here in the West,we might not be able to determine events on the ground in Egypt,but we ought at least try to influence things by ensuring we make the right response.Thus far,policymakers in Washington,London and Brussels have got things wrong
With every bout of bloodshed,the decision by Western diplomats and ministers not to condemn the military overthrow of President Morsi looks ever more bizarre
"But he was an Islamist!" you say "The Muslim Brotherhood were the bad guys,inept and extreme."i
Indeed.And who do you think was starting to appreciate that better than anyone? Ordinary Egyptians.The voters that gave him a narrow majority in the first place.Another few years,and Morsi and his party would have been ejected from office by most Egyptians
Instead,what has happened has played straight into the hands of the Brotherhood – and those even more radical elements beyond them
Back in 1962,one of the founders of the Brotherhood,Sayyid Qutb,wrote Milestones,a sort of Islamist manual.Scornful about liberal democracy,Qutb’s book blames Arab ills on collusion between a tiny Arab elite and Western governments
By equivocating about the overthrow of Morsi (the US State Department won’t even call it a coup), Western governments seem to be doing all they can to validate the Brotherhood's script.The more that we buddy up to the generals in Cairo,the further we legitimise the world view of people like Morsi
Where is the principled opposition to military takeovers in London and Washington? Where is the condemnation of the treatment of Egypt’s democratically elected leader? Where is the loud,and uncompromising condemnation of this morning's killings?i
Perhaps this is what happens when we leave it to career diplomats to determine foreign policy. Equivocation and drift.It does not do us – or Egypt – any favours
.........
Douglas Carswell was first elected to Parliament in 2005 by a slender 920 votes.He was returned as MP for Clacton in 2010 with a 12,000 majority.He is the author of The End of Politics and the Birth of iDemocracy and believes that the internet is making the world a vastly better place
By Douglas Carswell World Last updated: August 14th,2013
telegraph.co.uk
........
The news from Egypt is a disaster;for Egypt,for the wider Middle East and for Western policymakers
In Cairo – cultural capital of the Arab world – government gunmen kill unarmed protesters. Alexandria,and other towns in the Delta, are starting to smoulder.Sinai has become a hothouse for jihadis
Far from ending Egypt's strife,last month's armed coup seems to be producing another Algeria, where,after the military annulled democratic elections,tens of thousands have been killed in a savage civil war
An Algerian-style civil war in Egypt,a country of 80 million people at the crossroads of the Middle East,would be a catastrophe
Here in the West,we might not be able to determine events on the ground in Egypt,but we ought at least try to influence things by ensuring we make the right response.Thus far,policymakers in Washington,London and Brussels have got things wrong
With every bout of bloodshed,the decision by Western diplomats and ministers not to condemn the military overthrow of President Morsi looks ever more bizarre
"But he was an Islamist!" you say "The Muslim Brotherhood were the bad guys,inept and extreme."i
Indeed.And who do you think was starting to appreciate that better than anyone? Ordinary Egyptians.The voters that gave him a narrow majority in the first place.Another few years,and Morsi and his party would have been ejected from office by most Egyptians
Instead,what has happened has played straight into the hands of the Brotherhood – and those even more radical elements beyond them
Back in 1962,one of the founders of the Brotherhood,Sayyid Qutb,wrote Milestones,a sort of Islamist manual.Scornful about liberal democracy,Qutb’s book blames Arab ills on collusion between a tiny Arab elite and Western governments
By equivocating about the overthrow of Morsi (the US State Department won’t even call it a coup), Western governments seem to be doing all they can to validate the Brotherhood's script.The more that we buddy up to the generals in Cairo,the further we legitimise the world view of people like Morsi
Where is the principled opposition to military takeovers in London and Washington? Where is the condemnation of the treatment of Egypt’s democratically elected leader? Where is the loud,and uncompromising condemnation of this morning's killings?i
Perhaps this is what happens when we leave it to career diplomats to determine foreign policy. Equivocation and drift.It does not do us – or Egypt – any favours
.........
Douglas Carswell was first elected to Parliament in 2005 by a slender 920 votes.He was returned as MP for Clacton in 2010 with a 12,000 majority.He is the author of The End of Politics and the Birth of iDemocracy and believes that the internet is making the world a vastly better place
[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
