Egypt, Iran and the Requirement of a New Foreign Policy

Posted by Mark Noonan 

Not at all a good sign – from the Wall Street Journal:

Iran and Egypt’s new government signaled Monday they were moving quickly to thaw decades of frosty relations, worrying the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia that the overtures could upset the Mideast’s fragile balance of power.

Iran said it appointed an ambassador to Egypt for the first time since the two sides froze diplomatic relations more than three decades ago, the website of the Iranian government’s official English-language channel, Press TV, reported late Monday.

Also Monday, officials at Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that new foreign minister Nabil Elaraby is considering a visit to the Gaza Strip—an area controlled by Hamas, a militant Palestinian Islamist group backed by Tehran and until now shunned by Cairo…

And now the folly of dealing with tyrannical regimes is completely laid bare. All our agreements and arrangements in the middle east were predicated upon a friendly regime in Cairo. It is why we helped work out the deal whereby Israel would surrender the Sinai and control of the Suez Canal. It is why we agreed to the creation of an independent Palestine. We sold some of our most advanced weaponry to the Egyptians because we figured it would never be used against us or an ally. Well, guess what? The tyrant at the center of all this is gone – and is now replaced by people who don’t seem to want a cozy relationship with us. As of this moment, it would be better if the Israeli Army was still installed on the Suez and that Egypt was armed with obsolete Soviet military equipment and the West Bank and Gaza were still occupied by Israel.

As we go forward and try to repair the damage, our goal must be freedom. We should talk peace with any government out there, just so long as it is a government acceptable to American ideals. If it isn’t ruled by consent of the governed, then we shouldn’t bother. True enough, a free and fair election might result in a terrorist republic…so be it; they won’t ask for peace negotiations and if they want to try war, then that is what will be…and we’ll crush them and then see if they want to talk peace. And, of course, it just might prove that a free and fair election results in a popular government willing to make actual peace between peoples…not the peace between a people on one hand, and an un-elected tyrant on the other. No matter what results, it won’t be any worse than we’ve got now, and could be much better.