|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114367/egypts-muslim-brotherhood-islamist-insurgency
The Islamic Insurgency that Could Soon Hit Egypt
(New Republic) Eric Trager - While the old generals who sacked Mubarak (and were subsequently sacked by Morsi) saw the Muslim Brotherhood win elections, the new generals called protests against the "terrorist" Brotherhood and, after resisting international pressure for negotiations, attacked and defeated it. Yet the military's victory may prove to be pyrrhic. The generals struck first and focused on a strategy of decapitation, in which top Brotherhood leaders have been targeted for arrest, thereby demonstrating that they understand the Brotherhood cannot function effectively once its top leaders have been apprehended. However, this prevents the Brotherhood from re-entering the political process. Even worse, these moves may turn hundreds of thousands of deeply ideological Muslim Brothers into free radicals, many of whom are willing to die for Islamism, and possibly willing to fight for it as well. The writer is a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.