This article by Carolyn B. Glick appeared in the Jewish World Review.
Two weeks ago in an unofficial inauguration ceremony at Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt’s new Muslim Brotherhood President, Mahammed Morsi took off his mask of moderation. Before a crowd of scores of thousands Morsi pledged to work for the release from U.S. federal prison of Sheikh Omar al Rahman. “Morsi said “I see signs for mar Abdel Rahman and detainees pictured. It is my duty and I will make all effort to have them free, including Omar Abdel Rahman.”
Rahman was the mastermind of the jihadist cell in New Jersey that bombed the World Trade Center in 1993. His cell also murdered Rabbi Meir Kahame in New York in 1990. The also plotted the assignation of Hosni Murbarak and intended to bomb N.Y. landmarks like the Lincoln and Holland tunnels and the U.N. headquarters. The leader of Gama’at al-Islamia who assassinated Anwar Sadat in 1981, Rahman worte the fatwa permitting Sadat’s murder. The group is also listed by the State Department as a specially designated terrorist organization. After his conviction, Rahman issued another fatwa calling for jihad against the U.S., which fatwa was cited by Bin Laden for the 9/11 attacks.
By calling for Rahman’s release, Morsi has aligned himself and his government with the US’s worst enemies and he cares more about winning the acclaim of the most violent American hating jihadist in the world than in forming good relations with the U.S.
Morsi isn’t the only Rahman supporter to visit Obama at the White House. His personal terror organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, has also been welcomed with open arms. And, in spike of the fact that US law makes it a felony to assist members of terrorist organizations, the State Department invited Hani Nour Eldin, a newly elected member of Islamist dominated Egyptian Parliament to visit the U.S. and meet with senior officials at the White House and at the State Department. Victoria Nuland, State Department spokesman refused to provide any explanation for Obama’s decision to break federal law in order to host Eldin in D.C.
Morsi is not the only leader to embrace terrorists only to be embraced by our government. In an unrelated matter, it was reported that in an attempt to satisfy Obama’s urgent desire to renew negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Prime Minister Netanuahu offered to exchange 124 Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons for a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas. Thankfully Abbas refused – he didn’t think Netanuahu’s offer was generous enough and demanded a mass release of terrorists. How did Obama respond? He attacked Israel!
Whereas Obama opted to embrace Morsi even as he embraced Rahman, he condemned Israel by banning Jews from exercising their property rights in legal Israeli settlements. In short, its okay for Obama to embrace terrorists organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood and to invite members of jihadist terrorist groups to the White House. It is also okay for him to embrace every single Palestinian terrorists, including those who have murdered Americans. But it isn’t okay for Israel’s government to exercise their legal right to build on the their own land because of a false claim of Palestinian ownership.
Obama came into office with the theory that jihadist hated America because American is an ally of Israel so by placing “daylight” between the US and Israel he believed he could convince terrorists to put aside their hatred of America. He’s had three and one-half years to put his theory into practice and it is a record of failures, one after another.
His failure is exposed in all its dangerous consequences by one simple fact — Since he entered office America has dispensed fewer jihadists than they have empowered. Since 2009 the Muslims world has become vastly more radical. Several key countries – first and foremost Egypt – once led by pro-Western, US allied governments when Obama entered office are now Islamists.
While its true that election results in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and elsewhere weren’t Obama’s fault, they still expose the wrongness of his policy. His policy of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood over our allies like Mubarak have helped strengthen our enemies.
Rather than contend with the consequences of his policy, Obama and his surrogates have opted to deny the dangerous reality of his actions. Even worse, they have made excuses for maintaining this policy despite its failures.
Nowhere is this effort more obvious than in a NY Times analysis “As Islamists Gain Influence, Washington Reassesses Who Its Friends Are.” The NY Times embraces the notion that it is possible and reasonable to appease the Muslim Brotherhood since their entry into politics should reduce the terror threat. In other words, the US should continue to pretend its enemies are its friends.
This bit of jaw-dropping irresponsibility requires a complete denial of reality – just like Obama. The Taliban were in power in Afghanistan in 2001 and it didn’t stop them from cooperating with al-Qaeda. Hamas has control of Gaza since 2007 and it hasn’t stopped them from carrying out acts of terrorism against Israel. The Mullahs have been in charge of Iran for 33 years and it hasn’t stopped them from serving as the largest terrorist sponsors in the world. Hezbollah has been involved in mainstream politics in Lebanon since 2000 and it has remained one of the most active terrorist organizations in the world.
In the 1980’s the Reagan Administration cooperated with the precursor of al Qaeda in America’s covert war against Russia in Afghanistan. It never occurred to them that the same people would one day follow Rahman and attack America.
Could there be any doubt that Obama’s foreign policy will end badly?
