Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)
Posted on 09/13/2012 9:13:39 PM PDT by nickcarraway
In 1989, Egypt was officially designated as an American ally — specifically, a "Major Non-NATO Ally," a status granting it various privileges — and it has remained one ever since. That is, until yesterday, when President Obama made a surprising remark in a Telemundo interview: Jose Diaz Balart: Would you consider the current Egyptian regime an ally of the United States?
Pres. Obama: I don’t think that we would consider them an ally, but we don’t consider them an enemy. They’re a new government that is trying to find its way. They were democratically elected. I think that we are going to have to see how they respond to this incident. According to Foreign Policy, Obama had not anticipated the question but was likely trying to pressure Egypt into being a bit more cooperative amidst protests on the American embassy in Cairo, which earlier this week resulted in the American flag being burned and replaced with a black Islamist banner. But apparently Obama went a little further than he would have liked, and the inevitable walk-back soon commenced:
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor told The Cable Thursday that the administration is not signaling a change in that status.
"I think folks are reading way too much into this," Vietor said. "‘Ally' is a legal term of art. We don't have a mutual defense treaty with Egypt like we do with our NATO allies. But as the president has said, Egypt is longstanding and close partner of the United States, and we have built on that foundation by supporting Egypt's transition to democracy and working with the new government."
Meanwhile, the AP reports that the Twitter feeds of the American embassy in Cairo and the Muslim Brotherhood have been sassing each other today:
It started when Ikhwanweb, the Twitter page of the Muslim Brotherhood, retweeted a message in English from the group's deputy head, Khairat el-Shater.
"We r relieved none of (at)USEmbassyCairo staff were harmed & hope US-Eg relations will sustain turbulence of Tuesday's events."
"Thanks," the embassy replied. "By the way, have you checked out your own Arabic feeds? I hope you know we read those too."
"We understand you're under a lot of stress," came the Ikhwanweb retort, "but still it will be more helpful if you point out exactly the Arabic feed of concern." Maybe Egypt's designation should be changed to "Major Non-NATO Frenemy," after all.
It’s pretty bad when Carter has to come out and Correct Obama
WTH??????
Let's be real folks. Nothing Obama says is intended to be a factual statement.
Ob-la-di Ob-a-ma, lies go on, brah!
Lala, how the lies go on.
Definition: Lie:Was Not Intended to Be a Factual Statement
“WTH??????”
A little OJT.
For once Obambi gets something right and the State Department “walks it back”.
If you believe what I tell you then it’s not a lie. sarc
DAMN!!!! I just blew coke all over my computer screen. I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, or get drunk. Since it’s Friday, I’ll probably do all three tonight.
There, ready for well, just about any and every day of the week. Nothing hussein says can be taken as "factual."
Egypt was an ally under Mubarak. The new government is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood. So Obama was right — that government is NOT an ally.
Sorry, I’m not paying for your screen. Try Obama.
Leave the coke on the mirror where it belongs...er...so I hear ;)
Nations named as major non-NATO allies are eligible for the following benefits:
entry into cooperative research and development projects with the Department of Defense (DoD) on a shared-cost basis
participation in certain counter-terrorism initiatives purchase of depleted uranium anti-tank rounds
priority delivery of military surplus (ranging from rations to ships)
possession of War Reserve Stocks of DoD-owned equipment that are kept outside of American military bases
loans of equipment and materials for cooperative research and development projects and evaluations
permission to use American financing for the purchase or lease of certain defense equipment
reciprocal training
expedited export processing of space technology
permission for the country's corporations to bid on certain DoD contracts for the repair and maintenance of military equipment outside the United States
The following countries have been designated as major non-NATO allies of the United States (in order of their appointment):
Named by George H. W. Bush
Egypt (1989) Israel (1989) Japan (1989) South Korea (1989)
Named by Bill Clinton
Jordan (1996) New Zealand (1997) Argentina (1998)
Named by George W. Bush
Bahrain (2002) Philippines (2003) Thailand (2003) Kuwait (2004) Morocco (2004) Pakistan (2004)
Named by Barack Obama
Afghanistan
Obama got it very wrong.
At least that’s consistent with all the other statements he’s ever made.
He just wanted to see if anyone in Egypt was listening. Yeah, that’s the ticket!
MNNA status was first created in 1989 when section 2350a, otherwise known as the Nunn Amendment, was added to Title 10 (Armed Forces) of the United States Code by Congress. It stipulated that cooperative research and development agreements could be enacted with non-NATO allies by the Secretary of Defense with the concurrence of the Secretary of State. Initial MNNAs were Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, and South Korea.
In 1996 major non-NATO allies received additional military and financial benefits when section 2321k was added to Title 22 (Foreign Relations) of the U.S. Code (also known as section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961), which added MNNAs to many of the same exemptions from the Arms Export Control Act that were enjoyed by NATO members. It also authorized the President to designate a nation as an MNNA thirty days after notifying Congress. When enacted, the statute designated Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, New Zealand, and South Korea as major non-NATO allies.
Must have been intended to be a composite statement.
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