Obama’s allies in the Middle East are America’s enemies

By Alexander Maistrovoy, WORLD TRIBUNE

During a recent visit to Cairo, Vladimir Putin was received with imperial honors. The streets of Cairo were decorated by giant portraits of the Russian ruler.

Egyptian jets accompanied the Putin’s aircraft in the skies of Cairo, and an honorary cavalry escorted a limousine with Putin and Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Sisi.

The visit resulted in an agreement to build a nuclear power plant and a decision to cooperate in all scopes, including the military. As a first sign of cooperation, Putin gifted an AK-74 to al-Sisi. It was a meaningful gesture, especially given the fact that Moscow and Cairo signed an arms deal worth of 3 billion dollars.

In the 90s it was very unlikely to believe that Russia would’ve been able to return to the Middle East.

[Related: Egypt’s Sisi signs agreement with Putin for 4 reactors, Feb. 11.]

Not only has Moscow returned, but it has returned triumphant.

The same day, coincidentally, in an interview with Vox Journal, President Barack Obama said that “we occasionally have to twist the arms of other countries that wouldn’t do what we need them to do”.

In reality, he has twisted arms in his own country.

Strategic partners as bargaining tools

Russia’s success, as well as China’s, which is negotiating New Suez Canal Expansion project with Egypt, is Barack Obama’s “achievement”.

For six years he has been “twisting arms” of U.S. strategic allies. As a result, the USA has lost influence in the region in ways that would make it extremely difficult to regain, if conceivable at all.

In the last 50 year, the U.S. has relied on the “tripod” in the Middle East: Riyadh, Jerusalem and Cairo.

U.S.-Egyptian relations have been torn to shreds; the alliance with the Saudis, Kuwait and the UAE has been poisoned by mistrust; Israel is afraid to repeat the sad fate of Czechoslovakia in 1938.

Since the late 1970s the U.S. and its allies were united (despite the conflict of interests and polar ideology) by the hostility towards “Muslim Brothers” (the cradle of Islamic fundamentalism, including “Al Qaida”) and the Shiite regime in Tehran with its puppets.

Obama turned the whole system of relations on its head. He pushed away Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel and began to flirt with their worst enemies.

It was a conscious choice by the president. According to the Egyptian Rose El-Youssef magazine in December 2012, six famous American Muslim Brotherhood activists became prominent advisers to Obama: Arif Alikhan, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for policy development; Mohammed Elibiary, a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council; Rashad Hussain, the U.S. special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference; Salam al-Marayati, co-founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC); Imam Mohamed Magid, president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA); and Eboo Patel, a member of President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships.

Turkey’s MB branch, the Justice and Development Party led by President Recep Erdogan, and Qatar, the financial and media sponsor of MB, have become the main allies of Washington in the Middle East.

After re-inauguration, Obama said he would cooperate with the three major regional powers: Egypt, Turkey and Iran. Egypt at that time was ruled by MB. In Turkey they have ruled until now. In Iran … We know exactly who is who in Iran. Saudi Arabia and Israel were not mentioned at all, and after Sisi came to power, Egypt was out of work as well.

Obama’s comments about democracy and moral values were blatant cynicism.

Erdogan has essentially become a dictator. Dozens of generals, journalists and dissidents were imprisoned in Turkey without charge or trial, based on fake charges, and the West couldn’t care less.

In Egypt, Shariah was entrenched by the MB. They mercilessly pursued secular liberals and turned a blind eye to Salafi atrocities against Copts. Iranian political prisoners are subjected to rapes and torture. Obama, apparently, believes that rape is the right to have sex.

Egypt: On the side of ‘jihadists’

Egypt became the first victim of the betrayal. Hosni Mubarak, a traditional ally of Washington,was thrown to crowds in Tahrir Square, as a bone to hungry dogs, in the name of the mythical democracy in the Arab world.

After Sisi has toppled Mohamed Morsi’s regime, the White House froze arms shipments to Egypt, and the Egyptian army didn’t get combat helicopters in its fight against Islamists in the Sinai.

When the U.S. together with the EU began to patronize the MB with the compassion of Mother Teresa, Sisi warned that the U.S. turned their backs on the Egyptians, and the people of Egypt would not forget this.

Obama and Kerry neglected this warning. In February, the representatives of the State Department met with a delegation of MB. According to Jen Psaki, they discussed “issues of democracy and human rights”.

Since the MB supports Islamists in Sinai, we can assume that it was “human rights” of terrorists from “Ansar Beit al-Maqdis” group related to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) tht they were talking about.

A couple of days after the meeting in Washington, the MB in Egypt called on its supporters and followers for “uncompromising jihad”.

Saudi Arabia: Carte blanche to ‘Shiite crescent’

In 2009 Obama bowed before the Saudi monarch. This didn’t preclude Obama from betraying the monarchy in the most difficult of times for Riyadh.

When the Saudis sent troops into Bahrain to save the ruling dynasty from Shiite upheaval, operated from Tehran, the State Department expressed its dissatisfaction. With the support of the U.S., Iran got access to the strategic Ras Musandam pinnacle in Oman on the other end of the Strait of Hormuz, making it a perfect basis to advance into the heart of Arabia.

The rapprochement between U.S. and Iran behind Riyadh and its allies and the gradual lifting of the sanctions against Teheran was lowest point in relations between the White House and Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis felt betrayed: The U.S. basically gave carte blanche to Iran to create “Shiite Crescent” from Bahrain to Lebanon.

Any step of Riyadh and its allies irritated the White House. The U.S. helped Qatar, France and UK to overthrow Gahafi, but condemned Cairo when Egypt and UAE air forces bombed Islamists’ positions in Libya. The Washington considered it as “destabilizing factor”.

When Islamic organizations in the U.S. and Europe linked to MB such as Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim American Society (MAS) were added to the “black list” of terrorist groups by the Saudis, Kuwait and UAE, the White House demanded “clarification”.

Since the time of Dwight Eisenhower, Saudi Arabia was the main strategic ally of the U.S. in the Middle East. Under Obama it has ceased to be one.

Israel: The spirit of Munich

Israel has experienced the preferences of the “Big brother” from the start. In his first term, the President has humiliated its strategic ally by aggravated shout outs and arrogant moralizing.

Obama associated the peace process with freezing construction on West Bank and Jerusalem — even Arafat never demanded it. Abbas had to follow Obama’spolicy.

Assistants of the president barely concealed a dislike of Israel bordering on pathological. Samantha Power, Susan Rice, Philip Gordon and others saw Israel as the main cause of all the troubles in the world.

John Brennan called Jerusalem “Al-Quds,” and encouraged rapprochement with “Hizbullah”.

Martin Indyk, who blamed Israel for the failure of the Camp David negotiations, was appointed as a special Middle East envoy of the peace process.

Some acts and statements of American leaders stunned Israelis; for example, John Kerry’s comparison (in Instanbul) of terrorist attacks victims in Boston with provocateurs on the “Mavi Marmara”.

During a visit to Lebanon in June 2014 Kerry called on “Hizbullah” “to engage in a legitimate effort to bring this war to an end”.

The administration has regularly hinted that it could reconsider its right of “veto” in the UN. According to media speculation, anti-Israeli demarches of EU were initiated by Washington. In Jerusalem, negotiations with Iran are perceived as appeasement.

During the operation in Gaza, the State Department condemned Israel; Obama demanded to stop the operation and threatened to freeze all military supplies. The State Department gambled on Hamas backers — Turkey and Qatar, as opposed to Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and UAE.

‘There’s no confidence in the Obama administration’

But that’s not all. America is no longer perceived as a superpower, it has become a source of headaches. Americans look like weak, naive and incompetent “suckers” — at best; and treacherous liars — at worst.

Obama’s “red line” in Syria is vanishing and negotiations with Iran has become the “red line” for the Arabs.“There’s no confidence in the Obama administration doing the right thing with Iran,” – said prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the nephew of former king Abdallah.

Russia and China are considered countries that don’t betray their allies in trouble, even if they are cruel. The U.S. and Europe perceived as ones that are willing to give up strategic partners for the sake of short-term interests and doubtful ideology.

Treachery and cowardice in the Middle East mean political death. The local people have long memories. A strong player, even an unfriendly one, is respected.

The recent conflict on Israel’s northern border with “Hizbullah” was settled by the Kremlin. Russia is not Israel’s ally, but its power and influence allow it to present itself as an arbitrator.

No one sees an arbitrator in Obama. He is a tool for Middle Eastern rulers and a source of deep frustration in Israel. He twisted arms in his own country. It’s not surprising, that Putin was welcomed in Cairo as the victor.