By Michael J. Parker In his recent address during a summit on terrorism, President Obama refused to equate or even connect Islam with terrorism, or to paint the atrocities by ISIL and Al-Qaida as Islamic. Obama prefers to refer to the atrocities in the Middle East as a sort of ...read more
On Monday the White House announced the deployment of 275 American soldiers to Iraq to protect the American embassy in Baghdad, a city currently in the crosshairs of the militant group, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). That group, which was repudiated by al Qaeda in ...read more
Abla Fahita is the latest terror suspect in Egypt, The Washington Post reported yesterday. She's also likely the first one crafted from felt and yarn. In her story for The Washington Post, Erin Cunningham wrote: “Fahita — a Muppet-style character who regularly appears on ...read more
By Paul R. Pillar It hasn’t taken long since Wednesday’s bloodletting in Cairo for the regime there to make clear that it will rely heavily, as a rationale for its actions, on the idea that it is holding a line against international terrorism. “Egypt is facing terrorist acts ...read more
If the translation is right, this must be the most articulate and politically astute 12-Year-Old anywhere in the world. Amazing. ...read more
David Brooks, the man the New York Times drafted in to flatter the upper middle classes has a habit of putting his foot in it. Behind the elegantly crafted sentences that include words like 'invocations', 'accoutrements' and 'cloying' (all in one breath), is a pretty nasty guy ...read more
Happy Wednesday Banter readers! Here's what you should be talking about today: 1.God Save Us All: Tony Blair Wants to Help Bring Democracy to Egypt Apparently, Tony Blair has forgotten what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan, and wants the West to get more involved with the ...read more
I had to read this twice to make sure this was real. Here's a snippet from the 'narrative' of the crisis in Egypt in Jurassic Park GIFs, created by BuzzFeed staff writer Benny Johnson: This made many in the international community nervous. Via: dinosaursfourever.tumblr.com A ...read more
"It’s not that Egypt doesn’t have a recipe for a democratic transition. It seems to lack even the basic mental ingredients." - New York Times columnist David Brooks on Egyptians supposed mental deficiencies. Yes, David Brooks has done it again - written a monstrously offensive ...read more
A day after deposing President Mohammed Morsi, the Egyptian military has moved against the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood and is seeking to arrest hundreds of members. Here's what you need to know: From the BBC: Mr Morsi is in detention, as well as senior figures in the ...read more
The Daily Banter Headline Grab. From AP: CAIRO -- Faced with an unprecedented strike by the courts and massive opposition protests, Egypt's Islamist president is not backing down in the showdown over decrees granting him near-absolute powers. Activists warn that his actions ...read more
The Daily Banter Headline Grab (from Reuters): Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to a ceasefire brokered by Egypt on the eighth day of intensive Israeli fire on the Gaza Strip and militant rocket attacks out of the enclave, Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian sources said. ...read more
By Ben Cohen "The goal of the operation is to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages. Only then will Israel be calm for forty years," - Eli Yishai, Israel's Interior Minister The continued Israeli assault on the Gaza strip that now counts 96 Palestinians dead, 50 of them ...read more
By Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett: We begin by noting our sadness over the deaths of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and the others who were killed at the consulate in Benghazi. Hillary knew and worked with Chris Stevens during her service in the State Department; he ...read more
The Daily Banter Headline Grab. From the Reuters: DUBAI (Reuters) - Western embassies across the Muslim world remained on high alert on Sunday and the United States urged vigilance after days of anti-American violence provoked by a video mocking the Prophet Mohammad. The ...read more
The Daily Banter Headline Grab. From the ABC OTUS News: In our interview today, Mitt Romney did not back down from his belief that the Obama Administration's first response to the Cairo protest demonstrated "sympathy" for the attackers, but he also made it clear that he was ...read more
By Bob Cesca: This week, Vanity Fair published a beautifully written article about the president by Michael Lewis who happened to use the American involvement with the NATO military action in Libya as a through-line. It's possibly the best insider piece on the president since ...read more
By Chez Pazienza: If you're one of those people who's always dreamed of going back in time, I've got some terrific travel advice for you today: plan your next vacation to the Middle East; it's still the second century over there in some areas, or at least 1979. Stop me if ...read more
From the BBC: The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Mursi has called for national unity following his victory in Egypt's presidential elections. Mr Mursi, an Islamist and Egypt's first democratically elected leader, said he would be president for all Egyptians. He won 51.73% of ...read more
From the BBC: Egypt's supreme court has caused widespread alarm by calling for the dissolution of the lower house of parliament and for fresh elections. Two days before Egyptians choose a new president, it has declared last year's parliamentary vote unconstitutional. Muslim ...read more
Matt Osborne has done a brilliant analysis of the Libyan crisis that is definitely worth reading in full. His conclusion: Two myths should be put to rest. First, the idea that Libya’s war originated as anything but a native conflict is nothing but paranoid speculation. ...read more
Congrats to the protesters in Egypt, who followed in the morally superior tradition of non-violent protest. President Hosni Mubarak left the Egyptian capital for his resort home in Sharm el-Sheik on Friday and was expected to make a statement, state television said, amid ...read more
This just keeps getting crazier. Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak looked likely to step aside on Thursday after the military high command took control of the nation in what some called a military coup after two weeks of unprecedented protests. Al Arabiya television, citing what ...read more
NBC's sources are reporting that Hosni Mubarak may be stepping down soon, handing over power to VP Omar Suleiman. ...read more
For a few days now, conservative media figures have pushed the idea that the spectre of the Muslim Brotherhood - despite considerable evidence to the contrary - was somehow behind the continued uprising in Egypt. Now there seems to be some evidence that when they promoted this ...read more
Does the right have a serious policy difference with President Obama in Egypt? Apparently not, instead they are claiming that he's in league with the Muslim Brotherhood in some sort of Secret Muslim plot to take over the world. Take them seriously! They have stuff to say! ...read more
For Immediate Release February 2, 2011 Statement from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on violence in Egypt The United States deplores and condemns the violence that is taking place in Egypt, and we are deeply concerned about attacks on the media and peaceful ...read more
People's opinions on Egyptian-American relations seem to be all over the place. On one hand, conservatives are in spots complaining that Obama is not doing enough (as if he takes vacations like Bush) or that he's part of a secret plot to support the Muslim brotherhood (no, ...read more
Statement by the Press Secretary on Egypt As we monitor the situation in Egypt, we urge all parties to refrain from using violence, and expect the Egyptian authorities to respond to any protests peacefully. We support the universal rights of the Egyptian people, including the ...read more
