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Israel's Message on Egypt: Keep Cairo from Falling Apart, Then Worry about Democracy

(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - Israel's message to Washington and key European capitals regarding Egypt is that the military should be supported to help get the country back on track, an Israeli official said. "The name of the game right now is not democracy," the official said Sunday. "The name of the game is that there needs to be a functioning state. After you put Egypt back on track, then talk about restarting the democratic process there." The official said that in the present reality the only actor that can assert authority in Egypt and keep it from descending into chaos is the military. "Like it or not, no one else can run the country right now." Unlike the U.S. or the European countries, Israel neighbors Egypt and will be impacted directly by developments there. Sitting on Egypt's border, Israel faces the prospect of a critically important neighboring country descending into anarchy. "You can scold [Gen.] Sisi all you wish, but at the end of the day, you want a functional government to rule the country." Otherwise, he said, the country would risk falling into an anarchy that would be exploited by local and global jihad forces.
2013-08-19 00:00:00
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