MEMRI - Since Egyptian president Muhammad Mursi's removal from power, the Egyptian public and media – both pro- and anti-Mursi – have been fiercely attacking the U.S.[1] This trend is part of continually escalating anti-U.S. and, more specifically, anti-President Obama attacks on the part of supporters of Egyptian Defense Minister Al-Sisi, who deposed Mursi. Apparently, the reasons for this include: President Obama's condemnation of the violent August 14 dispersal of the Mursi supporters' weeks-long sit-ins at Raba'a Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda Square; the U.S.'s July 24 cancellation of its delivery to Egypt of four F-16 aircraft; the U.S.'s August 15 cancellation of the joint U.S.-Egypt military exercise, scheduled for this month; and discussions in the U.S. about the possibility that it would halt its aid to Egypt – measures that were perceived both by the pro-Al-Sisi camp and by opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as expressions of American support for the MB.
Al-Sisi's anti-U.S. onslaught has taken the form of declarations by senior Egyptian government officials, articles in newspapers identified with the regime and the army, and political and popular campaigns in social media and on the street. One prominent example of this was Al-Sisi's direct appeal to the American administration in his August 3 interview with The Washington Post, where he stated: 'You left the Egyptians. You turned your back on the Egyptians, and they won't forget that…'[2] Another example is Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem Al-Beblawi's reminder, in an interview with the ABC network, that Egypt had received military aid from Russia for decades,[3]and his insistence that the Egyptian army would survive the cessation of American aid to Egypt, and that, if this caused any damage, the damage would last for a limited time only.[4]
The Egyptian pro-regime and -army press published articles notable in their vilification of President Obama himself – insulting his mother, calling him mentally deficient and his administration "the Adolf Obama Reich," and even going so far as to offer a prayer that he would die in agony. Many articles contended that Obama and his administration supported terror by virtue of their support for the MB; columnists also opposed U.S. intervention in Egypt's internal affairs, and, in response to American threats to cut off aid, argued that Egypt was better off without it.
At the same time, political and popular campaigns against continued U.S. aid to Egypt were launched, with the leading campaign organized by the Tamarrud and April 6 movements; these movements had played a major role in the protests that led to Mursi's ouster. Another campaign called for the regime to reject American aid so as to maintain Egypt's independence and to protect it from foreign interference.
Furthermore, many articles dealt with the decline of American influence in the Middle East, particularly in Egypt, in Russia's favor; they called for inviting President Vladimir Putin to Cairo, with a lavish reception held in his honor. Billboards with Putin's photo, captioned "Bye-bye America" were even put up at a pro-Al-Sisi demonstration in Alexandria.
This report will review some of the many articles in the pro-Egyptian regime and pro-Egyptian army press condemning the U.S., and will also review the campaigns against U.S. aid to Egypt.
Anti-American Articles In The Pro-Regime And Pro-Army Egyptian Press
Obama Supports The MB In Egypt, Which Is The Source Of Global Terror
Many articles accused Obama of allying with the MB, which they claim is a radical terror movement.
Obama, Friend Of The MB – Which Is The Source Of All Terror Organizations In The World
In an article titled "The MB and Obama's Filthy Alliance [With It] Against the Egyptian People," Egyptian writer 'Abd Al-Fatah 'Abd Al-Mun'im wrote: "Does the American administration and its president, Mr. Obama, an enemy of the Egyptian people and a friend of the MB, know that the Al-Qaeda organization and all the terrorist organizations that kill and slaughter American soldiers in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and everyplace else in the world, [trace their] origins, roots and first affiliation to the MB movement… [?] Without the radicalism of the MB's ideology, these terror organizations, by which the American people have been burned, would never have emerged. More PTG
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