This is how Mohamed Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood lost the chance of ruling the Egypt.
By Ahmed Qureshi
1. US supported Morsi's party, Muslim Brotherhood, which had a good relationship with Washington, backed the call for jihad and war against Syria's Assad, and maintained good working relationship with Israel.
2. Morsi was not planning to implement Sharia and made no statements to that effect. So, the question of tensions over this point are exaggerated. In fact, Morsi was very accommodating. He signed a law to allow cabarets, clubs and bars to continue to operate, for example. He didn't invoke Sharia at all.
3. While Morsi's relationship with US was good, his ties with Gulf states and especially with Saudi Arabia were bad. Morsi and his party were very close to Qatar and received political support and funding. Saudis and UAE accused Morsi of sending them private messages demanding huge financial aid and warning if this didn't happen Egypt will accept Iranian aid offers. This, the Saudis and UAE said, amounted to blackmail.
3. Saudi Arabia was very angry with US for abandoning Mubarak and supporting change in Egypt and supporting Morsi's govt.
4. There is no evidence that US played any role in Egypt after Mubarak, beyond strengthening ties to Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. [By the way, Anne W. Patterson, is the current American ambassador in Cairo. Judging by her performance in Islamabad under similar conditions, I can safely say she did little beyond digging up a bunker inside the US embassy building and focusing more on covert work by CIA operatives instead of focusing on her prime job as a diplomat.
5. Morsi's biggest opposition came from the Gulf states, which felt vulnerable because Mubarak was a strong ally. Gulf states always relied on Egypt to balance Syria, Iraq and Iran. Gulf states felt US messed things up first by delivering Iraq to Iran, and now by abandoning Mubarak and allowing Egypt to come under the rule of a group known to have historically planned coups against the monarchies of the Gulf like it did to the monarchy in Egypt.
6. Last, and the most important point, is that no one toppled Morsi but him. He wasted a golden opportunity for Muslim Brotherhood to show good governance and link up to all Egyptians. He failed to build trust with the military. He acted in haste, amassing powers and alienating other branches of the govt. He alienated Egypt's crucial Gulf allies, who in turn distanced themselves from Egypt and started sending signals they would start expelling Egyptian workers from the Gulf if Muslim Brotherhood continued planning covert coups in the Gulf states. He allowed the youth and the unemployed to unite against him, create street chaos which allowed the military to intervene.
By Ahmed Qureshi
1. US supported Morsi's party, Muslim Brotherhood, which had a good relationship with Washington, backed the call for jihad and war against Syria's Assad, and maintained good working relationship with Israel.
2. Morsi was not planning to implement Sharia and made no statements to that effect. So, the question of tensions over this point are exaggerated. In fact, Morsi was very accommodating. He signed a law to allow cabarets, clubs and bars to continue to operate, for example. He didn't invoke Sharia at all.
3. While Morsi's relationship with US was good, his ties with Gulf states and especially with Saudi Arabia were bad. Morsi and his party were very close to Qatar and received political support and funding. Saudis and UAE accused Morsi of sending them private messages demanding huge financial aid and warning if this didn't happen Egypt will accept Iranian aid offers. This, the Saudis and UAE said, amounted to blackmail.
3. Saudi Arabia was very angry with US for abandoning Mubarak and supporting change in Egypt and supporting Morsi's govt.
4. There is no evidence that US played any role in Egypt after Mubarak, beyond strengthening ties to Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. [By the way, Anne W. Patterson, is the current American ambassador in Cairo. Judging by her performance in Islamabad under similar conditions, I can safely say she did little beyond digging up a bunker inside the US embassy building and focusing more on covert work by CIA operatives instead of focusing on her prime job as a diplomat.
5. Morsi's biggest opposition came from the Gulf states, which felt vulnerable because Mubarak was a strong ally. Gulf states always relied on Egypt to balance Syria, Iraq and Iran. Gulf states felt US messed things up first by delivering Iraq to Iran, and now by abandoning Mubarak and allowing Egypt to come under the rule of a group known to have historically planned coups against the monarchies of the Gulf like it did to the monarchy in Egypt.
6. Last, and the most important point, is that no one toppled Morsi but him. He wasted a golden opportunity for Muslim Brotherhood to show good governance and link up to all Egyptians. He failed to build trust with the military. He acted in haste, amassing powers and alienating other branches of the govt. He alienated Egypt's crucial Gulf allies, who in turn distanced themselves from Egypt and started sending signals they would start expelling Egyptian workers from the Gulf if Muslim Brotherhood continued planning covert coups in the Gulf states. He allowed the youth and the unemployed to unite against him, create street chaos which allowed the military to intervene.