From Debkafile:
Middle East sources report that the army chiefs led by Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi rejected the American proposal.
Obama promised to back steps taken by President Morsi to show he is “responsive to the opposition’s concerns,” while Gen. Dempsey asked Egyptian generals to moderate their stand against the Muslim Brotherhood. The underlying message was that if they failed to do so, Washington might reconsider its $1.3 billion annual military assistance package which is the main source of income for the armed forces.
Heartened by the US president’s vote of support, Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamic allies, rejected the army’s ultimatum for resolving the country’s deadly crisis, saying it would sow confusion and ran contrary to the Egyptian constitution.
From Foreign Policy:
The tip of the spear for U.S.-Egypt diplomacy, Patterson's June 18 speech discouraging street protests has come to symbolize the administration's inability to recognize the potency of Egypt's liberal opposition. "Some say that street action will produce better results than elections," Patterson said. "To be honest, my government and I are deeply skeptical."
It is hard to understand why the administration supported the Muslim Brotherhood's rule in Egypt (it certainly doesn't support Christian rule in America) when so many Egyptians of all stripes were opposed to it. And if one googles Egyptian protest signs, there were a number of anti-Obama signs appearing in the streets of Cairo. But I am afraid the worse is to come.
It is interesting that Wednesday's coverage on CNN ignored the situation until noon and Al-Jazeera ignored events until 1 PM. This was a significant international crisis. Fox was on it.
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