Germany Takes Stand As Egypt Slips Into Dictatorship (Obama Helpfully Sends Morsi F-16's)

Egypt's new government is assuming the responsibility and leadership that has long made this country a cornerstone for regional stability and peace.
Hillary Clinton, November 21, 2012, quoted in Haaretz, As Egyptians protest Morsi's new powers, U.S. expresses concern

Hillary Clinton, like the Obama administration as a whole, has been whitewashing the the Muslim Brotherhood-backed leadership of Mohammed Morsi from the get go. In fact, while the White House has expressed concern about the violence that has broken out in Egypt, it has not expressed a strong concern about the threat to Democracy in Egypt, let alone done anything about it.

In contrast, it is being reported that Germany delays Egypt debt relief amid dictatorship fears

Germany said Monday it has postponed debt relief for Egypt due to concerns about Cairo's commitment to democracy, as a minister expressed fears the country could be heading back to dictatorship.

A spokesman for the overseas development ministry said that a plan to forgive up to 240 million euros ($316 million) of Cairo's debt had been delayed indefinitely.

"It is true that the planned partial debt relief will not come for now," he told a regular government news briefing. "That does not mean it has been cancelled for good."

The remarks came after Development Minister Dirk Niebel said that he had serious reservations about the policies of President Mohamed Mursi.

"There is the danger that the dictatorial system of ousted president (Hosni) Mubarak is returning," he told the daily Berliner Zeitung.

Niebel told the newspaper that the German government had cancelled talks on development aid scheduled for mid-December and that future assistance was dependent on Egypt's progress toward democracy and the rule of law.

The US of course is in a similar position to exert pressure on Egypt and make known its disapproval in a meaningful way that goes beyond mere words.

But instead of using its its influence with Egypt in order to its slide into an Islamist dictatorship, the Obama administration is taking the opposite approach, as it was reported last week: US sending 20 more F-16s to Egypt, despite turmoil in Cairo:

Instability in Egypt, where a newly-elected Islamic government teeters over an angry population, isn't enough to stop the U.S. from sending more than 20 F-16 fighter jets, as part of a $1 billion foreign aid package.

The first four jets are to be delivered to Egypt beginning Jan. 22, a source at the naval air base in Fort Worth, where the planes have been undergoing testing, told FoxNews.com. The North African nation already has a fleet of more than 200 of the planes and the latest shipment merely fulfills an order placed two years ago. But given the uncertainty in Cairo, some critics wonder if it is wise to be sending more top gun planes.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, (R-Fla.), who chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, recently criticized U.S. military aid to Egypt:

“The Obama administration wants to simply throw money at an Egyptian government that the president cannot even clearly state is an ally of the United States,” Rep. Ros-Lehtinen said.

Such concerns appear not to be an issue to the White House.

Indeed, while the Obama administration has no compunction about lecturing -- and pressuring -- democracies such as Israel and Honduras how they should run their internal affairs, dictatorships seem to be given a much longer leash.

I don't recall Sharansky saying that was one of the differences between democracies and dictatorships.

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