Well, That Is Putting It Mildly About the Brotherhood, Obama

I will admit right upfront that I did (could) not watch the Bill O'Reilly pre-Super Bowl interview with President Obama. I am not a big fan of either one of them (now I know THAT comes as a shocker, especially about Obama). I mean, come on already, the Puppy (and Kitten) Bowl was on Animal Planet!

But I have seen a number of clips (I couldn't help it - they would just start showing them!), including one which included this exchange between O'Reilly and Obama about the Muslim Brotherhood:

[snip] "O'REILLY: Are they a threat?

"OBAMA: But they are well-organized and there are strains of their ideology that are anti-U.S. There's no doubt about it...[snip] (Click here to read the rest.)

Talk about your classic understatement about the Muslim Brotherhood and "strains of their ideology." Wow.

Now, I know I have been discussing this issue a lot recently, but hey - blame Obama. He is the one who insisted that this outlaw group have a place at the table in Egypt. Oh, yeah - and he is the one who invited not one, but TEN members of the Muslim Brotherhood to attend his big ol' Cairo speech in June of 2009. Yep - because THAT wasn't a slap in the face of Egypt and its laws. But hey - he's Obama, so he is above all of that law stuff.

But wait until you see what this Atlantic article from 2009 says about this organization:

[snip] The brotherhood is a Salafist/ Islamist party with branches in many countries, and it does not have a reputation for liberalism and has supported violent campaigns against Israel (and Egypt's own government). It has deep roots in the region and traces its intellectual lineage to Sayyid Qutb, a top American-educated Islamic intellectual who was executed -- or martyred -- by the Egyptian government in 1966. The Brotherhood has direct links with Sunni groups like Hamas in the Palestinian territories. Its standing in Egypt has suffered as of late because of a crackdown by the Egyptian government and a growing frustration that it is too conservative (anti-women's rights, the whole gamut) for a modern Middle East. Still, it's the largest Sunni opposition party in the world, and it's clear that the Obama administration wants to engage the Sunnis -- even the less moderate Sunnis -- in his "Mutual Respect" tour. [snip] (Click here to read the rest.)

Well, then, one can easily see why Obama would want to extend "mutual respect" to this organization that is anti-Israel, anti-women, anti-US, and pro-Hamas, can't you? Yeah, me neither. Bear in mind, that little snippet of history is from The Atlantic, and the author is none other than Marc Ambinder, one of the JournoListers. That explains some of the attempt at minimizing for what the Brotherhood stands.

So let's turn to an organization that has been following the Muslim Brotherhood in light of Obama's understatement that there are "strains of their ideology that are anti-US," the Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report. I wish I could tell you who the editors of this site are, but for a disconcerting reason, I cannot:

[snip] The editors of the site choose to remain anonymous because of the “extraordinary lengths that the global Muslim Brotherhood would go to harass, defame, or slander its critics.”

“We saw this happen to others, including venerable university presses and leading news organizations and with the recent controversy over the resignation of the Obama campaign’s Muslim outreach director,” the site explains. “Hence we made the decision to let the information, often originating from the Brotherhood and its affiliates, and backed by public records, speak for itself, and not get lost in the distraction created by Brotherhood harassment. [snip]

Holy crappydoo. That gives you a bit of a glimpse into the modus operandi of the Brotherhood, but that is really just the beginning. In this article, "10 Questions With The Editors Of The Global Muslim Brotherhood Report," their response to the very first question should give one pause, and highlight the duplicity of Obama's response to O'Reilly:

[snip] 1. What are the goals of the Muslim Brotherhood?

It must be remembered that at its heart, the Muslim Brotherhood is a covert organization albeit with a public face and there is discordance between its public and private positions. Although the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, along with the whole of the Global Muslim Brotherhood network, proclaims it support for democracy, the motto of the organization remains as it always has been:

- Allah is our objective.

- The Prophet is our leader.

- Qur’an is our law.

- Jihad is our way.

- Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.

In practical terms, the Brotherhood attempts to gain as much influence for itself as it is able, presumably in the service of its long term vision. Its ability to gain power and influence varies from country to country according to the conditions “on the ground.” That said, its has already been noted that the Global Muslim Brotherhood is a covert organization at its heart and much remains to be learned about its true nature. For example, a secret document unearthed in a U.S. terrorism trial revealed the thinking of a senior Global Muslim Brotherhood leader close to Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi, the most important leader in the global Muslim Brotherhood network who lives in Qatar, and which said:

The Ikhwan must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.(Emphasis mine.)

[snip] (Click here to read the rest of this article.)

I think a "Grand Jihad" to destroy Western Civilization might be construed as "anti-U.S.," especially considering the whole "eliminating" thing and "sabotaging" from within. Yep, I think I would surely classify that as the Muslim Brotherhood having just a bit of animosity toward the United States. So, thanks Obama, for insisting on giving this organization more legitimacy and power in Egypt. I mean, really, how can that possibly come back to bite us here, right? Right?

Is it just me, or does it also freak you out a bit that our president is being so cavalier about this organization which he seems to be courting, or at least supporting, to get more power? Just wondering...