IsraPundit


Egypt: Out of the Frying Pan into the Frying Pan  

By Barry Rubin
We don’t know what shape Egypt’s political direction will take. One bargaining process that’s going on is negotiations between the United States and Egypt in which Washington is the patron of the Muslim Brotherhood, Put roughly the U.S. proposal is that American aid and recognition will be given the military takeover in exchange for the release of Muslim Brotherhood and other prisoners of the army, a chance for the  Brotherhood to participate in fair elections and in a coalition government.
Is this good for Egypt? Of course not. Such a government would be inoperable and would daily increase the tensions.
(Read more…)

Senior Israeli Source: Attack on Iran is Off the Table  

The option of an Israeli military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has essentially off the agenda, according to a senior diplomatic source cited Monday by the Ma’ariv daily. According to the source, Israel’s military and political leadership is not determined enough to lead such a bold move. He added that the defense establishment has not proposed plans that would enable military containment of Iran’s nuclear development program.
The report comes less than a day after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that Israel might have to act against Iran before the United States does, noting that the Islamic Republic could “jump” the red line of having a nuclear weapon in a matter of weeks.

Obama unabashed in his support of the MB in Egypt  

 
In all the welter of words about the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, very little has been written in the mainstream media about the extraordinary contortions of the Obama administration, which did so much to put the Brothers into power there in the first place.The administration’s first reaction was to threaten to cut off US aid to Egypt in order to punish the military for unseating the Muslim Brother President, Mohamed Morsi.  Then a State Department official vouchsafed that Morsi had been ‘undemocratic’, and the administration backed away from outright confrontation.Nevertheless, reports persist that the US continues to support the Brothers against the Egyptian military.  As Raymond Ibrahim reports, the US ambassador to Egypt, Anne Patterson, has come to be seen as a Brotherhood stooge: 
 

US outraged after Israel backs out of terror suit  

Congress, White House angry at Israel for decision to back out of trial against Bank of China for involvement in laundering of money for Hamas, Islamic Jihad. The reason: China conditioned Netanyahu’s state visit on Israeli promise not to testify in trial. Now, US threatening to subpoena Ambassador Oren
Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren was called back to Israel to take part in an emergency meeting convened this weekend by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu so that Oren could pass on messages sent by the US administration and Congress in the wake of tensions between the two countries.
The tensions and lightening visit stem from the US’s outrage at Israel’s decision to back out of their commitment to a terror prosecution involving a Chinese bank allegedly laundering monies for Hamas so that Netanyahu and his family could embark on their State visit to the country last May. (Read more…)


Secrets and missiles  

Op-ed: Pentagon officials selling Israeli secrets know they are jeopardizing clear Israeli interests
Alex Fishman, YNET
Something is not right in the relationship of trust between Israel and the United States. It’s illogical and unforgivable that in such an intimate relationship – as it is known to us, at least – between two defense establishments, the secrets of one side will be given away by the other side’s mouth.
Those sources in the Pentagon who are selling the Israeli secrets for cheap to the American media know that they are jeopardizing clear Israeli interests in the region and putting the lives of Israel’s citizens in danger, as bad as it may sound.
(Read more…)

Egypt and Israel are acting alone. US pissed off  

The Obama administration is signifying its strong disapproval of Israel and Egypt taking matters in their own hands in the last two weeks, DEBKAfile’s military and Washington sources report: Israel was accused of independent military action against Syria, and the Egyptian army of persecuting the Muslim Brotherhood after deposing President Mohamed Morsi.
Washington is also highly displeased with the campaign the Egyptian army launched after the coup, with Israel’s active support, to root out the Islamist terror blighting the Sinai Peninsula. US warships and marines are now parked off Egypt’s Red sea coast as a deterrent to the generals in Cairo.
For whipping Israeli into line, the administration used another method, i.e., Pentagon leaks naming Israeli air strikes as responsible for the explosions at the Syrian weapons depot outside the port town of Latakia on July 5, which demolished a fresh stock of Russian Yakhont (NATO codenamed SS-N-26) shore-to-ship missiles along with their advanced radar.
(Read more…)
 


Ted Belman
Jerusalem, Israel