The American Spectator

Print Email

Text Size

The Spectacle Blog

Ayman Nour, who has just declared his candidacy for the Egyptian presidency, went on Lebanese TV yesterday to declare the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel are over. (H/T to John McCormack of The Weekly Standard.)

Oh goody!!!

Consider what I wrote a couple of weeks ago in my article "Why Israel Worries About a Post-Mubarak Egypt?":

Of course, there are the likes of Stephen Walt, the noted anti-Israel academic, who naturally downplays the adverse consequences of a sudden change of government in Egypt for Israel:

For starters, a post-Mubarak government is unlikely to tear up the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, because such a move would put it immediately at odds with the United States and Europe and bring Cairo few tangible benefits. Although ordinary Egyptians do feel strong sympathy for the Palestinians, the primary concern of those now marching in the streets is domestic affairs, not foreign policy.

I am not sure what makes Walt think a post-Mubarak Egypt, especially one where the Muslim Brotherhood plays a role, will give a damn about what the Obama Administration or the EU might think of its actions any more than Iran does. Besides, what happens if a new regime in Egypt, whether led by ElBaradei or someone else, cannot redress the primary concerns of those now marching in the streets any better than Mubarak?  By Walt's own admission, ordinary Egyptians do feel strong sympathy for the Palestinians. Should a new Egyptian government be unable to address the domestic concerns of it populace, what card is it likely to play? Well, Muhammad Ghannem, a leading spokesperson for the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.K., says the people of Egypt "should be prepared for war against Israel."

Well, the post-Mubarak Egypt has begun and it doesn't even look like Nour is going to even try to solve its economic woes. Keep in mind that Nour is probably the closest thing Egypt has to a Western liberal. But if Nour thinks that talk about tearing up Camp David as the surest path to Egypt's presidency then heaven help us all.