When he was head of the Egyptian armed forces in 2013, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi orchestrated a coup that overthrew his countrys first democratically elected government. After he succeeded in ripping President Mohamed Morsi and his allies out of power, Sisi promptly launched a merciless spree of violence and intimidation against the Muslim Brotherhood (the Islamist organization of which Morsi was a member) and any other group the new regime regarded as a threat. This campaign culminated in the Rabaa massacre in August 2013 a sustained military assault on pro-Morsi protesters who had set up a camp in eastern Cairo and demonstrated there for a month and a half.

According to Human Rights Watch, heavily armed Egyptian forces including helicopters, armored personnel carriers, bulldozers and snipers arrived in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square at 6:30 a.m. Aug. 14, 2013. They almost immediately opened fire on the protesters. Men, women and children were gunned down indiscriminately HRW reports that army troops and police were inside and alongside APCs firing their weaponry on large crowds of protesters. Dozens of witnesses also said they saw snipers fire from helicopters over Rabaa Square. It didnt matter if protesters were throwing rocks or frantically trying to escape the square everyone was a target. Snipers even shot people who were running toward a nearby hospital (which was later seized by security forces who ordered doctors to abandon their patients, many of whom had gunshot wounds and other serious injuries). Some of the protesters were captured, tortured and executed. The onslaught lasted for 12 hours and left more than 800 people dead.

Sisi is one of the top officials responsible for the Rabaa massacre he was Egypts defense minister at the time, and he was intimately involved in the planning of the dispersals that took place in July and August.

But never mind all that: President Trump thinks Sisi is a fantastic guy with whom he has good chemistry. In fact, not only is he a fantastic guy, but hes also done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation. Granted, its easy to see where Trump is coming from being a brutal general-turned-autocrat must be exhausting. There are so many demonstrators to kill and journalists to arrest. There are so many elections to undermine, political rivals to purge and supporters to install in Parliament. And there are so many traditions to uphold: Sisi has proven that hes committed to the longstanding Egyptian practices of arbitrary detention (in notoriously hideous prisons), artificial trials, torture, suppression of free speech, religious persecution and denial of civil liberties. He also treats democracy as more of a nuisance than a source of legitimacy again, he ousted Egypts first democratically elected president at gunpoint (this point really cant be made often enough), suspended the Constitution and received 97 percent of the vote in a sham election held three years ago.

Trump couldnt care less about the corpses in Rabaa or the dissidents trapped in the bowels of the Egyptian prison system. Hes more interested in frolicking across the great vistas of common ground he shares with his new pal: We agree on so many things, he recently said with Sisi sitting next to him at the White House. (One wonders what things he had in mind.) He also dispelled any doubt that we are very much behind President el-Sisi and made sure to dirty up the rest of us with this oily pledge of support: I just want to say to you, Mr. President, that you have a great friend and ally in the United States and in me.

This goes beyond the typical self-interested willingness to shake hands with a despot who puts bullets in protesters heads, imprisons inconvenient activists and strangles any semblance of civil society in his country. While its true that the U.S. often adopts an attitude of moral neutrality (or worse) toward authoritarian regimes, why does Trump think this entails an invite to the White House and such a gross display of adulation? The $1.3 billion we send Egypt every year is bad enough do we really need to broadcast our shame? Its not as if Sisi will suddenly drop his opposition to the Islamic State in the Sinai or his hatred of jihadism if Trump snubs him these arent positions he needs to be cajoled into with flattery and handshakes in the Oval Office.

When pundits recoiled from the fantastic chemistry on display at Sisis White House reception, Glenn Greenwald saw an opportunity to do two of his favorite things: attack U.S. foreign policy and taunt mainstream propagandists like Paul Krugman. When Krugman tweeted a Politico article about Trumps meeting with Sisi, saying, Another morning in Trumps America, Greenwalds venom glands started secreting: Anyone who depicts any of this as something new or aberrational for the U.S. is either ignorant or dishonest. He then detailed the longstanding American support for dictators in Egypt (Hillary Clinton once called Hosni Mubarak and his wife friends of my family) and explained that the Obama administration had resumed arms deliveries to Sisi even as his human rights abuses intensified. According to Greenwald, Krugman was only upset because Trump refuses to prettify American behavior: What Trump is violating is not any Washington principles or ethics but Washington propaganda tactics.

While Greenwald was right about the cruel hypocrisy of our actions in Egypt, his other comments betrayed a simplistic, fragmentary view of U.S. foreign policy.

Does he really think Trumps approach to Egypt is interchangeable with Obamas? Does he think perceptions make no difference in international affairs? Does he think members of eviscerated Egyptian opposition groups dont notice when the president of the United States warmly embraces the man who has been murdering and torturing them? Did other tyrants feel threatened or reassured when they heard Trumps obsequious praise for a fellow strongman? Were international norms of human rights strengthened or diminished when Trumps disgraceful meeting with Sisi was announced? Although the Muslim Brotherhoods popularity varies throughout the Islamic world, how do Muslims feel about Trumps fawning support for a man whos committed to destroying the religious opposition in his country?

By the way, Obamas refusal to meet with Sisi and his imposition of a two-year arms embargo on Egypt should tell you something. Yes, the embargo was lifted before he left office. Yes, he still supported the same repressive regime as Trump. And yes, his administration refused to call Sisis theft of power a coup because that would have made it illegal for the U.S. to continue providing aid. But at least Obama was conflicted about maintaining our relationship with Egypt. Trump is different. He admires the ruthless exercise of illegitimate power. Thats why he applauds Vladimir Putin for his very strong control over his country. Its why he compliments Saddam Hussein for killing terrorists so good (never mind the fact that Iraq was one of the worlds largest state sponsors of terror). Its why he thinks we would be so much better off if Qaddafi were in charge (of Libya) right now. Its why he marveled at Kim Jong-uns amazing, incredible ability to maintain his power: You have to give him credit.

Of course, none of this is surprising. After the Rabaa massacre, Trump wasnt horrified he was impressed with how Sisi took control of Egypt. And he really took control of it. He sure did.

Contact Matt Johnson at (785) 295-1282 or @mattjj89 on Twitter.

View original post here:
Matt Johnson: 'Good chemistry' with a very bad guy - Topeka Capital Journal