Thomas Friedman, "Morsi’s Moment": Delusional

Since Thursday, when Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi decreed that his decisions are no longer subject to judicial review, violent protests have swept Cairo, Alexandria and Suez. On Saturday, Egypt's Supreme Judicial Council declared that Morsi's determination was "an unprecedented attack on the independence of the judiciary and its rulings" (see: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Nov-24/196079-top-judicial-body-slams-mursis-unprecedented-attack.ashx#axzz2D5H2fjjj).

Yet none of this seems to have had any effect upon Thomas Friedman, who, in his latest New York Times op-ed entitled "Morsi’s Moment" (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/opinion/sunday/friedman-morsis-moment.html), writes:

"It is impossible not to be tantalized by how much leverage Morsi could wield in the peace process, if he ever chose to engage Israel. Precisely because he represents the Muslim Brotherhood, the vanguard of Arab Islam, and precisely because he was democratically elected, if Morsi threw his weight behind an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, it would be so much more valuable to Israel than the cold peace that Sadat delivered and Hosni Mubarak maintained. Sadat offered Israelis peace with the Egyptian state. Morsi could offer Israel peace with the Egyptian people and, through them, with the Muslim world beyond."

Yeah, Morsi will surely want to aggressively advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians at a time when 87 percent of Egyptians believe that Egypt should have its own nuclear bomb and 74 percent favor a break in diplomatic ties with Israel (see: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/161145). Not so incidentally, 82 percent of Egyptians believe that people who commit adultery should be stoned, and 84 percent believe that those who abandon Islam should be sentenced to death (see: http://www.pewglobal.org/2010/12/02/muslims-around-the-world-divided-on-hamas-and-hezbollah/).

Friedman continues:

"So, as you can see, the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the future of Egyptian democracy and the U.S.-Israel-Arab struggle with Iran and Syria are now all intertwined. Smart, courageous leadership today could defuse the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, advance Egyptian democracy and isolate the Iranian, Syrian and Hamas regimes. Weak or reckless leadership will empower all three. This is a big moment."

Friedman is seeking "smart, courageous leadership" from Morsi in order to advance Egyptian democracy? This is Morsi's "big moment"? Keep dreaming, Tom.