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| Africa North |
| ŽAxis of evil tried to overthrow regimeŽ |
| 2009-04-19 |
| [Jerusalem Post Front Page] An axis with "evil goals" that includes Iran, Syria, Qatar and Hamas has attempted to destabilize Egypt and ultimately engineer a coup against the government, the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram alleged on Saturday. In a strongly worded article, the paper stated that the Hizbullah cell recently uncovered by Egyptian authorities was not only planning to carry out terror attacks in the country, but was also set up as a basis for a larger conspiracy, one that sought to overthrow and replace the Egyptian regime. The paper pointed fingers at various Arab states and organizations which it claimed were partners to the plot that was "planned years ago", including Iran, Syria, Qatar, Al-Jazeera TV, Hamas and Egypt's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. "It was the beginning of a revolution and unrest that was part of a big plot against Egypt that was carefully planned and mal-intentioned to breach the security situation inside the country and to create an atmosphere of chaos, confusion and the implementation of their evil goals," the paper stated. During Israel's Operation Cast Lead, Egypt was the subject of intense criticism by all of these states and players for not fully opening the Rafah-Gaza border crossing to Palestinians. In a fiery speech in January, Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah called on Egyptians to take to the streets and to open the crossing with their bare hands, a call which infuriated Cairo. Based on all the evidence collected by Egyptian security forces following the cell's apprehension, Al-Ahram stated, it was becoming clear that these organizations and nations had conspired against Egypt, using various means to undermine Egyptian rule and create chaos in the country. The plot began with Hamas's violation of the cease-fire with Israel in December - a decision that was dictated by Iran and its allies, the paper said. "In the period leading up to the Israeli invasion of Gaza, it was decided that Hamas would surprisingly announce it was no longer obligated to the cease-fire, and indeed, [the organization] began firing rockets in a manner no one understood," the article claimed. Then, when Israel retaliated, members of the 'axis' accused Egypt of having conspired with the US and Israel against Hamas, using Qatar's Al-Jazeera television network to further delegitimize Cairo in the eyes of the Arab world. The "media trumpet which abandoned its neutrality as usual" was used to turn the general Egyptian and Arab opinion against Egypt, the paper said. The paper also claims that Qatar - which the article refers to as a minuscule state - attempted to sabotage Egyptian, Turkish and European efforts in the region by hosting a summit for the "axis" states. It was referring to January's summit in Doha over Operation Cast Lead, which was attended by leaders of hard-line states such as Iran and Syria, and boycotted by Western-backed states such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The article blamed Iran for its role in aiding Hamas militarily and for "directing the call for Qatar to organize" the Arab summit in Doha. It accused Syria of attacking Egypt through declarations it has made via its officials and the media, and for embracing the Hamas leadership, such as Khaled Mashaal who is based in Damascus. Finally, the article also lashed out at the Muslim Brotherhood, which it claimed had been planning to exert its influence to organize protests, encourage chaos and bring about a regime change. It also has tried to pressure Cairo into opening the Rafah crossing and agreeing to demands which would bring about the annulment of Egypt's peace accords with Israel and ignite a new war. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #9 The Islamist destabilization of EGYPT is important now for the Somali Pirates - iff they do intend to wage "active defense" agz world Navies in defense of thier activities, IMO they will attempt to fall back towards the defensive LR MILITARY + HOPEFULLY NUKULAR UMBRELLAS OF IRAN + OTHER PRO-ISLAMIST NATIONS [read, 2010-2012/2016]. MORE IMPETUS FOR IRAN + RADICAL ISLAM TO NUCLEARIZE ASAP AMAP. * The "SOMALI MAIN" leads back towards IRAN + PROTO-ISLAMIST SOUTH ASIA. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-04-19 23:06 |
| #8 Andthere are no Sov U. anymore. That means weapons cost money. Russia will do what it has always done: whatever is favorable to Russia's interest. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-04-19 18:45 |
| #7 And Russia sells to Iran in hopes that Iran will start an armed conflict that will result in closer of the straits of Hormuz or otherwise raise the price of oil. Being able to close the Suez Canal would also be economically beneficial. Russia produces 4.4 million barrels of oil a day. 70% of it is exported. Increacing the price of oil from $ 50/bbl to $ 120/bbl (which is a very conservative estimate of what I think the price increace would be) would be worth... $ 70.00 * .7 * 4400000 = 215 MILLION dollars a day. Which means they could give Egyptian Hezbollah three billion dollars a month in free weapons and still come out three billion dollars a month AHEAD. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-04-19 12:49 |
| #6 Iran buys weapons for Hizb with petrodollars. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-04-19 12:19 |
| #5 It has the same people running it now as were running it back when it was the Soviet Union. And somehow I doubt Hezbollah was paying retail for all the East-Bloc artillery rockets they have an endless supply of. And Russia can make a lot of money giving weapons away to the Syrian/Iranian axis to start a war in the Middle East and therefore making money off of the resulting rise in oil prices. Providing free weapons to a Brotherhood--run Egyptian regime would pay for itself if the result was a shutdown of the Suez Canal at just the right moment. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-04-19 12:02 |
| #4 A Brotherhood Egypt won't get weapons from USA, lotp. And there are no Sov U. anymore. That means weapons cost money. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-04-19 10:47 |
| #3 The Qatar-Muslim Brotherhood relationship has been cemented by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Ikhwan's spiritual mentor and Egyptian exile who operates from Doha. |
| Posted by: balthazar 2009-04-19 10:28 |
| #2 Maybe, g(r)omgoru. But what often happens when wolves fight is that a more powerful alpha emerges, leading a bigger tougher pack. Egypt's current leadership is awful. The Brotherhood in power would be worse, I suspect. But no good outcomes are likely in any case. |
| Posted by: lotp 2009-04-19 09:35 |
| #1 If the wolves fight among them, the farmer should be happy. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-04-19 03:18 |