by Bruce Thronton<\/p>\n
Frontpage Magazine<\/em><\/p>\n In a story describing President Obama\u2019s six conversations with Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi that led to the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, the\u00a0New York Times<\/em>\u00a0summarized Obama\u2019s estimation of Morsi. Obama told his aides \u201che was impressed with the Egyptian leader\u2019s pragmatic confidence. He sensed an engineer\u2019s precision with surprisingly little ideology.\u201d Obama \u201cconsidered Mr. Morsi a straight shooter who delivered on what he promised and did not promise what he could not deliver . . . This was somebody focused on solving problems.\u201d<\/p>\n Technocratic qualities like \u201cengineer\u2019s precision\u201d and \u201clittle ideology\u201d sound strange when describing the leader of an organization whose credo is \u201cAllah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Quran is our law; Jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.\u201d And Obama\u2019s praise is oddly obtuse about the tactical reasons for Morsi\u2019s cooperation. A near-broke Egypt has over $9 billion in foreign aid pending, and Morsi\u2019s government has not yet consolidated its own power or its control over the military. Given the international prestige that has accrued to Morsi for his role as a mediator in the conflict, it should surprise no one that he would make a short-term tactical retreat in order to buy Egypt time until it can more confidently flex its Islamist muscles on behalf of its ideological offspring Hamas, and pursue its own goal to create a powerful and expansive Islamic state governed by \u201cSharia, then the Sharia, and finally the Sharia,\u201d as Morsi has defined his aims.<\/p>\n Perhaps the President\u2019s comments were just diplomatic public relations, though they are consistent with Obama\u2019s previous misunderstanding and confusion about the nature of Islam particularly evident in his 2009 Cairo speech. But they remind me of another great-power leader who drastically underestimated an aggressor and worsened the conflict he was trying to resolve.<\/p>\n In 1938, Neville Chamberlain reported back to his cabinet on the second of the three meetings he held with Adolph Hitler that make up the Munich debacle. Chamberlain said he \u201cwas satisfied Hitler was speaking the truth\u201d about the resolution of the Sudeten crisis as the road to peace\u2014 just as today Western leaders believe Muslims who say resolving the Israel-Arab conflict will make jihadist terror disappear. Of course, the Palestinians are as much a pretext for the jihadists\u2019 aggression as the Sudeten Germans were for Hitler\u2019s. Indulging an over-estimation of his powers of personal persuasion, Chamberlain claimed, \u201cHe had established some degree of personal influence over Herr Hitler.\u201d Remember when we were told that Obama\u2019s Muslim name and admiration for Islam would create \u201ca new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world . . . based upon mutual interest and mutual respect,\u201d as he said in Cairo, and thus advance American interests? At the next meeting Chamberlain assured his cabinet that Hitler \u201cwould not deliberately deceive a man whom he respected and with whom he had been in negotiation, and he was sure that Herr Hitler now felt some respect for him. When Herr Hitler announced that he meant to do something it was certain that he would do it.\u201d Doesn\u2019t this sound like Obama\u2019s comments above that Morsi is a \u201cstraight shooter who delivered on what he promised\u201d?<\/p>\n Of course, in reality Hitler had nothing but contempt for Chamberlain and the ease with which he had gulled the Prime Minister, whom he threatened to kick in the stomach and called \u201ca little worm.\u201d Obama and America\u2019s low approval throughout the Middle East \u2014 lower than when the hated George Bush left office \u2014 suggest Obama has earned a similar contempt. Remember the chant of the 9\/11 rioters at our embassy in Cairo: \u201cObama, Obama, we are all Osama\u201d?<\/p>\n Hitler\u2019s true aims were no more a secret then than are the Muslim Brotherhood\u2019s today, so ignorance cannot excuse either Chamberlain or Obama. For nearly a decade British ambassadors had sent reports to London about the nature of Nazism and Hitler. In 1933 Sir Horace Rumbold summarized Hitler\u2019s frequent \u201cderogatory remarks about \u2018such nonsensical ideas\u2019 as international understanding, peace pacts, and spirit of Locarno [the 1928 multi-national treaty that \u201cbanned war,\u201d as the\u00a0New York Times<\/em>\u00a0put it], the policy of conciliation, and the like.\u201d He described the Nazi German belief that \u201conly brute force can ensure the survival of the race,\u201d and that the young must be \u201ceducated to the maximum of aggressiveness\u201d and be implanted with \u201cmanly courage and passionate hatred.\u201d Rumbold\u2019s successor Sir Eric Phipps prophetically reported, \u201cIf [Hitler] finds that he arouses no real opposition, the\u00a0tempo\u00a0of his advance will increase\u201d and will be checked only \u201cby the knowledge that the Powers who desire peace are also strong enough to enforce it.\u201d<\/p>\n Likewise the Muslim Brotherhood\u2019s similar ideology of violence and subversion as the tools to advance its Islamist agenda has been clear ever since its creation by Hassan al-Banna in 1928. If anyone believes the tactical deception that the Brotherhood has \u201crenounced violence\u201d\u00a0and so is \u201cmoderate\u201d and \u201cpragmatic,\u201d listen to the speeches of the Brotherhood\u2019s \u201cspiritual leader\u201d Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who was welcomed back to Egypt from exile after the fall of Mubarak. Qaradawi sanctions violent jihad including \u201cmartyrdom\u201d operations, the recreation of the Islamic Caliphate, the conquest by jihad of Europe and America, the universal application of shari\u2019a law, and suicide bombings of Israeli Jews including women and children. And he has expressed admiration for Hitler and the holocaust, about which he has said, \u201cThis was a divine punishment for them [the Jews]. Allah willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers.\u201d<\/p>\n And if you think the Egyptian rebellion against Mubarak was about creating democracy, consider Morsi\u2019s remarks made in May 2012 at a televised campaign rally. There he recited the Brotherhood\u2019s credo line by line as the crowd repeated his words, including \u201cJihad is our path\u201d and \u201cDeath for the sake of Allah is our most lofty aspiration.\u201d As for the line \u201cthe Quran is our law,\u201d a day after the cease-fire, Morsi cashed in on the gushing praise from Hillary Clinton and Obama, and decreed for himself sweeping dictatorial powers that mean, as his spokesman put it, \u201cThe constitutional declarations, decisions and laws issued by the president are final and not subject to appeal.\u201d An important effect of this power-grab is to neutralize the judiciary and thus prevent it from interfering with the Islamist-dominated assembly now writing a constitution likely to enshrine Sharia law. Unless current protests in Egypt erupt into a civil war that the Muslim Brotherhood loses, Morsi is now closer to fulfilling the promise he made at that same May campaign rally:<\/p>\n This nation will enjoy blessing and revival only through the Islamic Sharia. I take an oath before Allah and before you all that regardless of the actual text [of the constitution] . . . Allah willing, the text will truly reflect [the Sharia], as will be agreed upon by the Egyptian people, by the Islamic scholars, and by legal and constitutional experts . . . Rejoice and rest assured that this people will not accept a text that does not reflect the true meaning of the Islamic Sharia as a text to be implemented and as a platform.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Given the ample evidence of the Islamists\u2019 true beliefs and aims, why do so many Westerners misread them and their leaders as badly as Chamberlain misread Hitler? One obvious reason is the failure of imagination that allows many in the West to project their own ideals and goals on people who have very different ones. Since for us religion has been reduced to a private lifestyle choice and banished from the public square, we assume other peoples are equally casual about their faith. Because we prize personal freedom and material well being as the highest goods, we interpret revolutions against dictators as based on the desire for political freedom and economic development rather than on goals like a government consistent with illiberal and intolerant religious laws. In short, we think the whole world is comprised of peoples who are embryonic Westerners just waiting for conditions to change so that they can be and live like us. Hence we dismiss all evidence that contradicts that questionable assumption, or misinterpret it as mere rhetoric.<\/p>\n Given the high price paid for England\u2019s failure to take seriously Hitler\u2019s professed beliefs and aims, you\u2019d think that by now we would have learned to believe an aggressor when he says he wants to destroy us, and to accept that negotiation and \u201cengagement\u201d absent a credible threat of force are futile. The Munich analogy may be overused, but the chronic failure to learn from its mistakes means we still need to be reminded of its lessons.<\/p>\n \u00a92012 Bruce S. Thornton<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bruce Thronton Frontpage Magazine In a story describing President Obama\u2019s six conversations with Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi that led to the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, the\u00a0New York Times\u00a0summarized Obama\u2019s estimation of Morsi. Obama told his aides \u201che was impressed with the Egyptian leader\u2019s pragmatic confidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[28,118],"tags":[12,1035,141,1017,139,1043,30],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-4Z","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6122,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/obama-to-egyptian-christians-dont-protest-the-brotherhood\/","url_meta":{"origin":309,"position":0},"title":"Obama to Egyptian Christians: Don’t Protest the Brotherhood","author":"victorhanson","date":"June 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim FrontPage Magazine As Egyptians of all factions prepare to demonstrate\u00a0\u00a0in mass against the Muslim Brotherhood and President\u00a0Morsi\u2019s\u00a0rule on June 30, the latter has been trying to reduce their numbers, which some predict will be in the millions and eclipse the\u00a0Tahrir\u00a0protests that earlier ousted Mubarak.\u00a0\u00a0Accordingly, among other influential\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Muslim Brotherhood"","block_context":{"text":"Muslim Brotherhood","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/muslim-brotherhood\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6353,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/egyptian-military-warns-obama-supporting-terrorism-in-egypt-is-red-line\/","url_meta":{"origin":309,"position":1},"title":"Egyptian Military Warns Obama: ‘Supporting Terrorism’ in Egypt is ‘Red Line’","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim \/\/ RaymondIbrahim.com According to a report titled \u201cSisi to Pentagon: We will not turn back, sovereignty is a red line,\u201d published in\u00a0Watan\u00a0newspaper (Saturday, August 17 edition), Egyptian Maj. Gen. Muhammad al-\u2019Assar has just issued a strongly worded letter to the Pentagon, on behalf of the Egyptian military\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Egypt"","block_context":{"text":"Egypt","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/egypt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6341,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/egyptians-enraged-by-u-s-outreach-to-muslim-brotherhood\/","url_meta":{"origin":309,"position":2},"title":"Egyptians Enraged by U.S. Outreach to Muslim Brotherhood","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim \/\/\u00a0PJ Media In the eyes of tens of millions of Egyptians, Senators John McCain\u2019s and Lindsey Graham\u2019s recent words and deeds in Egypt\u2014which have the \u201cblessing\u201d of President Obama\u2014have unequivocally proven that U.S. leadership is aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood. Egyptian media is awash with stories of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Muslim Brotherhood"","block_context":{"text":"Muslim Brotherhood","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/muslim-brotherhood\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6138,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/libyan-intelligence-muslim-brotherhood-morsi-involved-in-u-s-consulate-attack\/","url_meta":{"origin":309,"position":3},"title":"Libyan Intelligence: Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi Involved in U.S. Consulate Attack","author":"victorhanson","date":"June 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim RaymondIbrahim.com According to a Libyan intelligence document, the Muslim Brotherhood, including Egyptian President Morsi, were involved in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, where several Americans, including U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, were killed. On Wednesday, June 26, several Arabic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Muslim Brotherhood"","block_context":{"text":"Muslim Brotherhood","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/muslim-brotherhood\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":675,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-evils-of-the-muslim-brotherhood\/","url_meta":{"origin":309,"position":4},"title":"The Evils of the Muslim Brotherhood","author":"victorhanson","date":"July 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim Investigative Project on Terrorism Egypt's longtime banned Muslim Brotherhood \u2014 the parent organization of nearly every subsequent Islamist movement, including al Qaeda \u2014 has just won the nation's presidency, in the name of its candidate, Muhammad Morsi. 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A reporter who was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Muslim Brotherhood"","block_context":{"text":"Muslim Brotherhood","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/muslim-brotherhood\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":310,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309\/revisions\/310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}