President Morsi Introduces Himself to the American People

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is not all wrong in his eye-opening interview with the New York Times in which he seeks to introduce himself to the American people and to modify our view of the Middle East and behavior toward it.

Yes, we must continue to work toward the establishment of a homeland for the Palestinian people (while assuring ally Israel’s security, of course), and yes, we have throughout history propped up Middle Eastern dictatorships that have oppressed their people, cases in point being our long, unholy alliance with former Egyptian tyrant Hosni Mubarak and our support for and camaraderie with Iraq’s late Saddam Hussein as the lesser of evils throughout his war with Iran.

Notwithstanding the valid points made by President Morsi, it is outrageous that he seeks to dictate the terms of association with Egypt, given that he is not one with clean hands.

Morsi has failed to renounce his questioning of who was responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on our nation, calling for further “investigation” of it as he has asserted that airplanes could not have brought down the World Trade Center Towers.

Morsi was slow to denounce and condemn the savage attacks in Libya which killed the U. S. Ambassador and three other Americans, and when he finally did, his response was tepid so as not to offend extremist elements within Egypt.

Morsi told the Times that he considers the United States neither ally nor enemy, an odd position for one who seeks an extraordinary amount of foreign aid dollars to prop up his nation. Appropriately, President Obama has declined to classify Morsi’s Egypt as an ally as well. Perhaps today’s Egypt is as much an ally of the United States as is duplicitous, “talking out of both sides of its mouth” Pakistan.

Perhaps those who live in glass houses, with their own fatal flaws, should not throw stones at benefactors upon whom they are dependent for their survival.