Sunday, April 3, 2011

Egypt's ElBaradei Reportedly Threatens War with Israel

So-called Egyptian moderate Mohamed ElBaradei, the former IAEA chief and a potential presidential candidate in Egypt's upcoming elections, is reportedly threatening war with Israel over Gaza. According to the Tehran Times (http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=237890):

“'If Israel attacked Gaza we would declare war against the Zionist regime,' former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was quoted as saying by the Donya Al-Watan website, who interviewed ElBaradei on Thursday.

'In case of any future Israeli attack on Gaza, he (ElBaradei) -- as the next president of Egypt -- will open Rafah border crossing and will consider different ways to implement the joint Arab defense agreement, ElBaradei said.

'Israel controls the Palestinian soil and there has been no tangible breakthrough in the process of reconciliation because of the imbalance of power in the region and the situation there is a kind of one way peace,' he added."

As IAEA chief, ElBaradei never sought to rein in Iran. Now, as part of his presidential election strategy, he appears ready to stoke regional tension.

Incidentally, this report from the Tehran Times comes at a time when Egypt's new foreign minister, Nabil al-Arabi, has announced that his country is ready to open "a new page with Iran" (http://www.presstv.ir/detail/172209.html).

Under current circumstances, should the U.S. continue to provide Egypt with military aid of over $1.3 billion annually?

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