Obama's Weakness On Iran Turns Egypt Against Israel

Eric Trager has an interesting post on how Obama's weak response to Iran is undercutting Israel with those Arab countries that normally--and in the past--would ally themselves with her.

Egypt is also planning for the likelihood that the administration won’t inhibit Iran’s nuclear ambitions.  In a statement released on Sunday, a spokesperson for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced that, “With regard to attempts to say Iran is a common danger, President Mubarak’s and Egypt’s priority is on the Palestinian issue.”  Egypt’s strategic thinking is clear: if Iran is to become a nuclear state, its best option is to ensure that Israel is significantly weakened via the peace process, and thereby prevented from engaging Iran in armed (and perhaps nuclear) conflict.  Or, to put it another way, Egypt is shrewdly calculating that its interests are better protected with one regional power than with two - and it has noticed that the Obama administration is more eager to take a hard line with Israel than with Iran, despite Cairo’s own distaste for the latter.

Read the whole thing.

Kind of makes you wonder: what is the bigger threat to stability in the Middle East--

Israel or Obama?

Of course, you can also make the case that Israel's failure to follow through with Operation Cast Lead and deal a significant blow to Hamas--on the heels of the failure of the war with Hizbollah--has given Egypt, who backed the Gaza war, pause on Israel's military ability and commitment.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Egypt and Iran.