Egypt, Again

[eyebiter]

The Erdogan government in Turkey is concerned their Islamic allies in Egypt were thrown out of office.

http://www.salon.com/2013/07/04/turkey_slams_morsis_military_ouster/

[Toonces]

This, and Syria, have been getting a lot of air time lately.

I'm not being smart here- can somebody explain to me why we are so interested in what happens in Egypt and Syria?

I've heard talk of the U.S. "getting involved" in Syria.  Why would we even consider that?

[Windigo]

My wife and I are soooooo glad that we got to visit Cairo, the Egyptian Museum and Instanbul prior to the fall of Mubarak and the current protests in Turkey.

Yeah. It's not likely to become a good tourist attraction until after we let the neutron bombs fly.

why oh why neutron bombs?

[Staggerwing]

So there will still be stuff left over for the tourists to look at.

[Windigo]

So there will still be stuff left over for the tourists to look at.

molten sand/glass is cool

[TheCommandTent]

This, and Syria, have been getting a lot of air time lately.

I'm not being smart here- can somebody explain to me why we are so interested in what happens in Egypt and Syria?

I've heard talk of the U.S. "getting involved" in Syria.  Why would we even consider that?

All the military aid we give Egypt is one of the reasons

At stake for Egypt is $1.5 billion in annual U.S. aid, mostly directed toward the country's military.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued a stern warning to the military on Wednesday about that money.

"Our law is clear: U.S. aid is cut off when a democratically elected government is deposed by military coup or decree. As we work on the new budget, my committee also will review future aid to the Egyptian government as we wait for a clearer picture," he said.

Still, many Republicans -- despite their deep-rooted skepticism toward foreign aid -- praised the military after the takeover, indicating the U.S. should not abandon the institution.

"The Egyptian military has long been a key partner of the United States and a stabilizing force in the region, and is perhaps the only trusted national institution in Egypt today," House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the administration to "look at the regional picture with our vital national security interests in mind" as it reviews U.S. aid.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/07/04/obama-hedges-on-morsi-ouster-faces-gop-pressure-to-keep-aid-to-egypt-military/#ixzz2Y6w0hNXY

[Windigo]

at the very base of it is that real life makes hypocrits of us all

[LongBlade]

This, and Syria, have been getting a lot of air time lately.

I'm not being smart here- can somebody explain to me why we are so interested in what happens in Egypt and Syria?

I've heard talk of the U.S. "getting involved" in Syria.  Why would we even consider that?

It's highly unlikely we'll "get involved" in Syria.

Why it's important? Several of our enemies have vested interests in seeing an Assad regime in Syria survive. Ergo, it's in our interest to ensure he does not.

Egypt is important for numerous reasons, but I'll list one and it's maybe not even the best reason: Suez Canal.

[TheCommandTent]

Also both countries border Israel, our one steadfast ally in the region.

[GDS_Starfury]

screw Syria.  I wish the best for Egypt.

[Windigo]

I think it's just the army preemptively kicking the Muslim brotherhood in the ass over the economic disaster they couldn't give a shit about

[bayonetbrant]

pictures from yesterday's "peaceful" protest

h/t Doctrine man

[LongBlade]

Are we sure those aren't Israeli sharks?

[Windigo]

With the Muslim Brotherhood involved you can be sure that the peaceful protestors had many just agitating for a fight. The security forces eviction action was just the tripwire for violence from those folks.

[GDS_Starfury]

Are we sure those aren't Israeli sharks?

no head mounted lasers.