The New York Times Gulf Leaders Back Qatar in Its Feud With Egypt The oil-rich Persian Gulf monarchies hinted on Thursday that they had rebalanced their allegiances as their regional umbrella group admonished Egypt, their client, for criticizing Qatar, previously ostracized by its gulf neighbors for its criticism of Egypt. On Thursday, the regional Gulf Cooperation Council came to Qatar's defense after an Egyptian official accused Qatar of supporting terrorism in a dispute over this week's airstrikes by Egyptian warplanes in Libya. The reversal appeared to reflect efforts by Saudi Arabia, which dominates the council, to mend the dispute to unite all the Sunni Arab states against what they see as the dual threats of the Islamic State terrorist group and the influence of Shiite Iran. Egypt and Qatar, which hosts a United States military base, are both participants in the American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/world/middleeast/gulf-cooperation-council-backs-qatar-in-dispute-with-egypt.html?_r=0 Pravda Why USA can and Egypt can't? The ISIS beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts on a beach in Libya has generated rage and disdain among the international community, as well as in the Arab world and a strong reaction from Cairo. The Egyptian and Emirates Air Force attacks on several sites of the group's stronghold in Derna, killed over 50 jihadists and destroyed a good part of their infrastructure. In addition, on Wednsday, Egyptian special forces raided Derna and captured a vast number of ISIS members. The Obama Administration immediately condemned the Egyptian and Emirate attacks in retaliation for the slaughter of the Christian Copts. According to Pentagon spokesman Navy Rear Admiral John Kirby, the U.S. believes the crisis in Libya must be solved politically and without outside interference. explanation that makes no sense since the Obama administration has been constantly targeting objectives in various countries such as Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, but going beyond Kirby's poor justification, it is more than obvious that Obama and his entourage have two major reasons to object Egypt's intervention againstISIS: 1. In the first place Obama cannot digest the recent deal between Russia and Egypt. In fact it is essential to recall that Abdelfattah al-Sisi has recently received in CairoRussian President Vladimir Putin and the two countries signed an agreement for military and economic cooperation. 2. The reason why Egypt slipped out of the United States' hands also must be attributed to Obama and his stubborn alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood. In fact it is important to recall that during the July 2013 protests in Egypt, when the people, led by the Tamarrod movement, took the streets to ask for the resignations of the Muslim Brotherhood government led by Mohamed Morsy, the Obama administration refused to recognize the popular demands and supported the Islamist government until the last minute. Read more: http://english.pravda.ru/world/africa/19-02-2015/129869-usa_egypt_libya_isis-0/ Russia Today Egypt is calling the West's bluff over its phony war on ISIS Sisi's call for the military support of the West in his intervention has effectively been rejected, as he very likely expected it to be. A joint statement by the US and Britain and their allies on Tuesday poured cold water on the idea, and no wonder – they did not go to all the bother of turning Libya into the centre of their regional destabilisation strategy only to then try to stabilise it just when it is starting to bear fruit. However, by forcing them to come out with such a statement, Sisi has called the West's bluff. The US and Britain claim to be committed to the destruction of ISIS, a formation which is the product of the insurgency they have sponsored in Syria for the past four years, and Sisi is asking them to put their money where their mouth is. They have refused to do so. In the end, the Egyptian resolution to the UN Security Council on Wednesday made no mention of calling for military intervention by other powers, and limited itself to calling for an end to the one-sided international arms embargo which prevents the arming of the elected government but does not seem to deter NATO's regional partners from openly equipping the ‘Libya Dawn' militias. Sisi has effectively forced the West to show its hand: their rejection of his proposal to support the intervention makes it clear to the world the two-faced nature of their supposed commitment to the destruction of ISIS. Read more: http://rt.com/op-edge/233787-egypt-west-isis-mideast-libya/ Los Angeles Times Islamic State's horrible healing power in Egypt This week, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Sisi responded to the beheadings with acts that unequivocally recognized the Copts as "innocent victims" and true sons of Egypt. He declared a week of national mourning, dispatched envoys to appeal to the United Nations and ordered air force bombers to "deliver swift justice in retribution." Sisi's visit to St. Mark's Cathedral to offer condolences to Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo, was another welcome gesture of solidarity. Whatever the strategic value of Sisi's moves, his display of respect is precisely what Copts have been yearning for. Read more: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0220-shea-islamic-state-coptic-deaths-20150220-25-story.html
