For reasons I have great difficulty understanding, U.S. policy has supported the rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. If I had to guess, I’d say that we have assumed that they represent what the people of Egypt really want.
That’s what makes the video below the fold all the more interesting: It shows poor people, young people, and students sacking the offices of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political front, the Freedom and Justice Party, in Alexandria, Egypt. According to regional expert Walid Phares, who posted this link on Facebook, they’re calling for the “crumbling of the regime.”
So what is the position of the U.S. government toward all this? Hand-wringing and pious platitudes – what else? State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland called on
Egypt’s political leaders of all stripes to make clear to their supporters that violence of any kind during this polling is unacceptable.
At the same time, we call on President Mursi, as the first democratically elected leader of Egypt, to lead the effort before, during and after the voting to continue to try to build a national consensus.
Right – I’m sure Mohamed Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood will take that guidance to heart.
