Egypt Rising

When nearly two dozen Egyptian Christians were beheaded by ISIS terrorists in Libya, the Obama administration first refused to call them Christians. It did not want to imply that they were murdered for their religious beliefs. And it did not want to imply that the killers were acting in the name of their religion.

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi reacted angrily to the offense against his Christian citizens, sending bombers into Libya to attack ISIS strongholds.

Now, he is planning an invasion of Libya, the better to destroy more of ISIS.

Moreover, a court in Egypt has just declared Hamas a terrorist organization. Recall that when Israel countered Hamas attacks in Gaza the Obama administration decided to be even-handed, working to stop the Israeli counterattack, even endorsing a principal Hamas demand—to end the blockade of Gaza.

The Debkafile site has the stories, barely reported in other news outlets:

Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi has massed his troops for all-out war on ISIS strongholds in Libya, the first Arab ruler to challenge Islamist terrorists in a fellow Arab country, DEBKAfile reports. His initiative dramatizes the spillover of the Islamist State’s threat across the Middle East, and the ineffectiveness of the US-led anti-terror coalition’s efforts in Iraq and Syria. Egyptian commando and marine forces stand ready for imminent sea landings to seize Darnah and wipe out the Islamist militias, coupled with an air and ground campaign against their hideouts in Sinai.

Compare this to the Obama administration’s efforts to retake Mosul. Debkafile reports:

Our Washington sources report that the Obama administration’s planned spring campaign to free Iraqi Mosul from the Islamic State’s occupation is stuck in the sand. Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike accuse the president of having no clear war strategy and of holding back from the US-led coalition the fighting manpower necessary for a successful operation.

And also in Egypt:

While Hamas' armed wing was previously branded a terrorist organization, Saturday's Egyptian court ruling was against the entire group on the basis of incriminating evidence of collaboration for terror between the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers and Al Qaeda-linked Sinai terrorists. Hamas condemned the verdict as “shocking and dangerous.” Recordings were presented to the court of Hamas leaders congratulating each other on the success of attacks they and Al Qaeda had conducted against the Egyptian army in northern Sinai.

When people bemoan the difficulty of fighting ISIS and declare that they do not know what can possibly be done, they can look to the example set by the new Egyptian president.

But, naturally, this is difficult when the Obama administration has engaged a fight against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, a man who apparently threatens the administration’s unseemly lust for a deal with the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. 

It is worth emphasizing that the Obama administration has always been in conflict with Israel. Its decision to be even-handed when Hamas attacked Israel and to support Hamas demands was certainly not the gesture of a friend.

As everyone knows, the election of President el-Sisi has ushered in more cooperation between Egypt and Israel.

Considering that the Obama administration favored the election of former president, now convicted criminal Mohamed Morsi, leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, one is not surprised to see him working to have the Muslim Brotherhood, a designated terrorist organization, brought into the Egyptian government.

Obviously, there is something wrong with this picture.

[Addendum: A Kuwaiti newspaper is reporting that the Netanyahu government was about to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities last year. It aborted the mission when the Obama administration threatened to shoot the Israeli jets down.

And you were wondering why Netanyahu does not feel beholden to respect Barack Obama.

I am sure that the American Jews who voted for Barack Obama are reassured to know that he has Iran’s best interests at heart.]