I blame this misunderstanding entirely on the French.

First it shows that Middle East despots are looking over their shoulder, concerned about a US-led regime change. THIS IS A GOOD THING.

Second, he first says the fact that Israel blames al Qaeda and not the Palestinians is proof that Israel is behind the attack. Then he says that Israel will use this as justification to attack Palestinians outside of Israel. Lunatic, but sadly not fringe.

As Eurabian Times posts:

http://www.eurabiantimes.com/archives/2004/10/let_us_put_troo_1.php

“Let us put troops into buffer zone, Egyptians urge”

in which he comments on a Telegraph story.

How stupid it is to provide the Egyptians with an excuse to have tanks up on the border again.

Especially after the frigid peace they entered into for all these years.

Egypt will militarize the Sinai, and then Gaza as the Israelis withdraw. Not to confront Israel, but to cover its back when Israel simultaneously moves the IDF into the Bekka, and possibly southern Syria (depending on Assad’s moves), while the Israeli AF takes out the Iranian nuclear weapons sites.

Timing would be after the January election in Iraq. The two things to watch for that would keep this crazy idea alive would be the buildup of Egyptian troops in the Sinai with no corresponding Israeli response, and the movement of multiple US carrier battle groups to the Persian Gulf area before the end of the year. The Islamists will counter with assassination attempts on Mubarak’s successor-son. Assad is in the game if he withdraws the bulk of Syrian forces from Lebanon to just over the border in Syria where they would block Hizbu’allah/Al Qaeda escape routes.

Both Egypt and Syria have had love-hate relationships with the Muslim Brotherhood (Al Qaeda, Hamas, Islamic Jihad). Mubarak wants to pass power to his son. Assad wants to stay in power. They both must be feeling a bigger threat from the Muslim Brotherhood than the Cowboy.

Jamie, I don’t think that just overthrowing autocrats will do it. The longer I look at the practice of the central tenets of Islam the less likely I think it possible that representative democracy can flourish. Why has India been stable (more or less) since the British withdrawal and Pakistan has been unable to achieve stability? Turkey is the only Islamic democracy extant today and even there the militants make continuing secular government problematic. I’m very leary of the projection aspect of this from our side as well as from theirs.

No, the important thing is for Dr. Rashwan and the other talking heads blathering on Egyptian state television NOT to blame the bombings on the Egyptian government, or mention lax security, corrupt officials, non-existent emergency planning, and general incompetence.

Exactly. This is why the Arabs will go nowhere until these autocracies are overthrown.

Jamie Irons

The main goals of this operation are as follows: First, to convince the world that Egypt is not a stable country …

Second, [the attack] gives Sharon a green light not only to strike the Palestinians in the occupied territories under the pretext of fighting terrorism, but also a legitimate justification for striking the Palestinians abroad because Israeli citizens were attacked abroad.

This is pretty much boilerplate buck-passing as practiced in the autocratic Middle East. The important thing in these interviews is not whether the viewers actually believe that the Israeli government would kill Israeli men, women, and children. No, the important thing is for Dr. Rashwan and the other talking heads blathering on Egyptian state television NOT to blame the bombings on the Egyptian government, or mention lax security, corrupt officials, non-existent emergency planning, and general incompetence.

Considering the consequences, for Rashwan to be honest and blame the Egyptian security services for the attack would be unthinkable.

Mr. Steyn courageously posted the op-ed piece at his website. A hard-hitting, biting bit of prose that tries to knock some sense into the somnambulant British commentariat. Shades of 1938, I think. They have eyes, but cannot see.

I have no idea how MEMRI selects which articles to translate.

In any case, if you want to find out how crazy many in the media in the middle east are, or their rulers want them to be, MEMRI is a great resource.