The Washington Times says,
"US/backspace-Egypt military ties strained; Obama cancels joint maneuvers". More
than 600 have died in rioting.
Let's have a little straight talk to Americans.
The fighting in Egypt is between the Muslim Brotherhood and Christians. The Muslim brotherhood is a sector of the Muslim (Islam) religion. It is stated Muslim doctrine to convert the world's population to Muslims, and as indicated in Egypt they are willing to die for the cause.
In fact as Americans, we accept that according to our Constitution, all Americans are entitled to follow whatever religious philosophy they wish. America was originally populated by Christians from Europe, and early immigration continued from that source. Therefore, all of the founding fathers for the of Declaration of Independence and the later Constitution were of Christian persuasion. They also recognized the existence of other religions and allowed for their presence.
Notice from the above that as Americans, we have tolerance for other religious philosophies, even though a large percentage of us are of Christian persuasion. It is also extremely important to note the difference between religious philosophy and the practice of religion. If any religious sect practices any segment of its religion in a manner which is contrary to the laws of the United States, those persons are expected to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It should be noted that there is no justification for partiality, based on a bias toward one religion or another,.in the prosecution.
With respect to Egypt, US citizens and its government should regard the attempted takeover of the Egyptian government by the Muslim Brotherhood as the right of Egyptians. They are not Americans and are not covered by American law, in spite of what our personal and governmental biases may be. Bottom-line: the US government should stay out of Egyptian political involvements, including not giving money or weapons assistance to either side.
If the Muslims take over Egypt or even the whole Middle East, that is not an American concern, unless subsequent practices adversely affect American interests. When I say "interests", I am not concerned with intangibles. I mean, "Are the Muslims adversely affecting life and property of Americans?"
The US has two obligations in the Middle East; a moral obligation to physically protect Israel and to maintain a continuous flow of traffic (oil, etc.), through the Suez Canal. Israel is now in no more imminent physical danger from the Egyptian Civil War, and appears to require no special efforts on the part of the US at this time. Conversely, the Muslim Brotherhood may decide that shutting down traffic through the Suez Canal would be advantageous to their cause. Since this would be a physical property related action of direct interest to US citizens, it behooves the US government to avoid that occurrence. The obvious answer is to be prepared for it, and such preparation would also give notice to the Muslim Brotherhood that such would be an ineffective attempt. This readiness is accomplished by the US placing on both the Mediterranean and Arabian Sea sides of the Canal sufficient naval warships (aircraft carriers, battleships, destroyers, etc. to control sea traffic at both ends and also have on board a sufficient number of Marines and/or other military personnel to adequately handle any attempts by a land force to shutdown canal operations.
Other than keeping an eye on developments with respect to Israel and physically protecting continued traffic through the Suez Canal, the US has no other business in Egypt.
Let's have a little straight talk to Americans.
The fighting in Egypt is between the Muslim Brotherhood and Christians. The Muslim brotherhood is a sector of the Muslim (Islam) religion. It is stated Muslim doctrine to convert the world's population to Muslims, and as indicated in Egypt they are willing to die for the cause.
In fact as Americans, we accept that according to our Constitution, all Americans are entitled to follow whatever religious philosophy they wish. America was originally populated by Christians from Europe, and early immigration continued from that source. Therefore, all of the founding fathers for the of Declaration of Independence and the later Constitution were of Christian persuasion. They also recognized the existence of other religions and allowed for their presence.
Notice from the above that as Americans, we have tolerance for other religious philosophies, even though a large percentage of us are of Christian persuasion. It is also extremely important to note the difference between religious philosophy and the practice of religion. If any religious sect practices any segment of its religion in a manner which is contrary to the laws of the United States, those persons are expected to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It should be noted that there is no justification for partiality, based on a bias toward one religion or another,.in the prosecution.
With respect to Egypt, US citizens and its government should regard the attempted takeover of the Egyptian government by the Muslim Brotherhood as the right of Egyptians. They are not Americans and are not covered by American law, in spite of what our personal and governmental biases may be. Bottom-line: the US government should stay out of Egyptian political involvements, including not giving money or weapons assistance to either side.
If the Muslims take over Egypt or even the whole Middle East, that is not an American concern, unless subsequent practices adversely affect American interests. When I say "interests", I am not concerned with intangibles. I mean, "Are the Muslims adversely affecting life and property of Americans?"
The US has two obligations in the Middle East; a moral obligation to physically protect Israel and to maintain a continuous flow of traffic (oil, etc.), through the Suez Canal. Israel is now in no more imminent physical danger from the Egyptian Civil War, and appears to require no special efforts on the part of the US at this time. Conversely, the Muslim Brotherhood may decide that shutting down traffic through the Suez Canal would be advantageous to their cause. Since this would be a physical property related action of direct interest to US citizens, it behooves the US government to avoid that occurrence. The obvious answer is to be prepared for it, and such preparation would also give notice to the Muslim Brotherhood that such would be an ineffective attempt. This readiness is accomplished by the US placing on both the Mediterranean and Arabian Sea sides of the Canal sufficient naval warships (aircraft carriers, battleships, destroyers, etc. to control sea traffic at both ends and also have on board a sufficient number of Marines and/or other military personnel to adequately handle any attempts by a land force to shutdown canal operations.
Other than keeping an eye on developments with respect to Israel and physically protecting continued traffic through the Suez Canal, the US has no other business in Egypt.
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