Moon of Alabama On Why The Egyptian Military Threw Out Morsi

Below is an excerpt from, “Where Egypt Might Go” by ‘b’ of Moon of Alabama, published on August 22:

“There are all kinds of conspiracy theories around this issue. The Saudis bought off the military because they hate the Brotherhood. The U.S. wanted the military to take over. If you believe the more and more erratic Turkish premier Erdogan it was the Israelis that were behind the coup.

I doubt all these theories. They all deny agency to the Egyptian military. Are we to believe that the generals in Cairo, who see themselves in the tradition of Gamal Abdel Nasser, can simply be bought off? The generals likely had their very own interests in launching the coup and those were not their economic ones. Sure, the army and the generals own a lot of factories and land and profit from that. But those economic privileges were securely protected in the Morsi supported constitution.

But Morsi showed lenience towards takfiri jihadists in the Sinai and belligerence towards Syria and Shiite in general. He stood next to jihad preachers when they called for Egyptians to join the takfiris in Syria. The Egyptian military has for years fought, with quite some losses, against takfiri minded sectarian terrorists within central Egypt and in the Sinai. When Morsi openly supported those forces he practically incited the army’s longtime enemy against it.

Hardly any military in the world would condone such a situation. This point, rather then some foreign influence, was what launched the military’s move. “

For further analysis on Egypt, check out: “Historian Webster G. Tarpley: “Egypt Is Asserting National Independence For The First Time In Decades” as well as, “Tarpley On Why The Muslim Brotherhood Failed In Egypt – Part II.”

I’m generally in favour of seeing the USraeli hand behind every dubious event in the Middle East. It’s a pattern that can’t be denied. I’m like a kid at the candy store when it comes to conspiracy theories, the more the better.

But there is a limit.

Conspiracy theories and candy are both sweet and enjoyable. Some are sour, of course, but they’re not bad if you consume them with caution. But just as candy rots your mouth if you take too much of it, conspiracy theories can rot your brain if you consume without thinking.

Without knowledge of Egypt’s post-colonial history, the interests of the various actors involved, the political agenda of different media stations, and the role of public opinion in encouraging the generals to act boldly against Morsi, then you can never understand the coup completely. The Israelis, the Americans, and the Saudis are not dictating events in Egypt. Anyone who believes that must have a very low opinion of Egypt’s political and military elite.    

Erodgan is rotting the brains of Muslims when he espouses the nonsensical conspiracy theory that Israel was behind the coup in Egypt. This is the belief of a political pimp who is afraid of the Muslim Brotherhood’s declining popularity across the Muslim world. It’s not the opinion of an objective, disinterested, and cautious investigative reporter or a global, civic-minded citizen researcher who cares more about the truth than the opinions of an electorate.