Free Republic

Someone once said that whenever the savages fight the civilized, the savages always win. The same can be said when professionals face off against amateurs: the professionals win hands down, leaving the amateurs with egg all over their faces. The current situation in the Middle East offers a clear example. Hamas, a terror group that is always for sale to the highest bidder (whether it be Shiite Iran or Sunni Egypt), did Egypt’s bidding by rocketing Israel. The reaction from Israel was predictable and absolutely necessary: defend its citizens at any cost from the deluge of Gaza bombs. Hence we...

The White House expressed "significant and serious" concerns on Monday about Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's shock power grab last week. But press secretary Jay Carney carefully avoided offering any criticism of a leader who just one week ago seemed to be on President Barack Obama's speed dial as they worked on a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Carney repeatedly addressed the political crisis in Egypt in relatively dry and mild diplo-speak, while emphasizing that Morsi "played an important role" in crafting the cease-fire and deserved "credit" for that. There was no "we strongly condemn" and no "we denounce," and even...

White House officials remained silent during the extended Thanksgiving weekend, as Egypt’s pro-democracy groups called on President Barack Obama to condemn Thursday’s power grab by their country’s Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi. Morsi decreed Nov. 22 that his pronouncements and edicts were beyond the reach of judicial review. The announcement was met by resistance from the nation’s top judges, who said they would fight Morsi’s unusual self-elevation to near-dictator status. “I am waiting to see, I hope soon, a very strong statement of condemnation by the U.S., by Europe and by everybody who really cares about human dignity,” declared Mohamed ElBaradei,...