Morsi & Obama, Two Peas in a Pod

Dear Mr. President,

Mohammed Morsi’s not as sneaky as you. He’s more open about what he’s doing—declaring himself all-powerful, above the law, unrestricted by judiciary or parliament. You’re more subtle with secret memos and legislation signed without pomp or ceremony that gives you all-powerful rights to suspend habeas corpus and declare anyone you choose a terrorist, an imminent threat to national security, and to detain them indefinitely without trial or legal recourse. Both of you now above the law and without oversight. Two peas in a pod, you and Mohammed, brothers under the skin, and I can’t help but wonder at the timing of all this. Heralded as the great diplomat, the broker of a truce between Israel and Hamas, Morsi convinced Hamas to stop the rockets if we could pressure Israel to stop its murderous assault on Gaza. But then you read these lines buried deep in yesterday’s New York Times: “Tellingly, neither Israel nor Hamas was represented in the final talks or the announcement, leaving it in the hands of a singular partnership between their proxies, the United States and Egypt.” No change of conditions which caused the hatred and violence, neither side’s demands met and it’s clear that the truce is an illusion, that nothing has changed; injustice, violence and oppression on one side, futile attempts at retaliation and revenge on the other. Because of the timing of Morsi’s power grab and the negotiations between Egypt and the U.S., however, I can’t help but think that you and Morsi made a deal: hard cash and weapons continue to flow to Egypt in exchange for keeping Hamas in check and the status quo in Palestine, maybe a little help with Iran thrown in, in exchange for not interfering in his takeover of Egypt, the end of any chance for real democracy there and the ascension of a new autocrat, Morsi, to replace the old autocrat, Mubarak. Unlimited power is never given up voluntarily and so, the revolution in Egypt is not over and protesters are back in Tahrir Square, Alexandria, Port Said and other cities, while Morsi replicates the old tyrant’s method of bussing in pro-Morsi supporters for a counter-rally. What did you give up for Israel’s cooperation? Not much. A show of support for Bibi’s re-election in a few months and “an undisclosed agreement with Mr. Obama to ‘work together against the smuggling of weapons to Palestinian militants, for which Mr. Netanyahu blamed Iran.” Nothing’s changed. The Show’s over. We can all go back to sleep for awhile.