A
youth carries a lit flare as supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood
gather in the El-Mataria neighborhood of Cairo, Egypt on Friday, April
24, 2015 / AP
Washington Times, by Bill Gertz, June 3, 2015:
President Obama and his administration continue to support the global
Islamist militant group known the
Muslim Brotherhood. A White House strategy document regards the group as a moderate alternative to more violent
Islamist groups like
al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
The policy of backing the
Muslim Brotherhood
is outlined in a secret directive called Presidential Study
Directive-11, or PSD-11. The directive was produced in 2011 and outlines
administration support for political reform in the Middle East and
North Africa, according to officials familiar with the classified study.
Efforts to force the administration to release the directive
or portions of it under the Freedom of Information Act have been
unsuccessful.
White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan declined to comment on PSD-11. “We have nothing for you on this,” she said.
The directive outlines why the administration has chosen the
Muslim Brotherhood, which last year was labeled a terrorist organization by the governments of Saudi Arabia,
Egypt and the
United Arab Emirates
as a key vehicle of U.S. backing for so-called political reform in the
Middle East. Saudi Arabia in recent months appears to be moderating its
opposition to the
Brotherhood in a bid to gain more regional support against pro-Iran rebels in Yemen.
The
UAE government also has labeled two U.S. affiliates of the
Muslim Brotherhood,
the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim American
Society, as terrorist support groups. Both groups denied the
UAE claims.
Egypt is considering imposing a death sentence on
Mohamed Morsi, the
Muslim Brotherhood-backed former president who was ousted in military coup in July 2013.
Critics of the administration’s strategy say the
Brotherhood masks its goals and objectives despite advocating an extremist ideology similar to those espoused by
al Qaeda
and the Islamic State, but with less violence. The group’s motto
includes the phrase “jihad is our way.” Jihad means holy war and is the
Islamist battle cry.
Counterterrorism analyst
Patrick Poole said the
Brotherhood in recent weeks has stepped up its use of violent attacks in
Egypt.
“The failed Obama Doctrine that so-called ‘moderate
Islamists’ were going to usher in a glorious era of peace and democracy
in the Middle East was adopted by the administration because that’s what
the foreign policy establishment going back to the George W. Bush administration proclaimed as gospel,” Mr. Poole said.
“And now we see as a result
Egypt fighting a terror campaign by the ‘moderate’
Muslim Brotherhood;
we have a failed state in Libya; and we see NATO ally Turkey turning
from secular democracy to religious totalitarianism under Obama’s pal
[Turkish President
Recep Tayyip] Erdogan.
“This dangerous foreign policy was launched by PSD-11 and the administration’s open embrace of the
Muslim Brotherhood, and now we can see its catastrophic effect,” Mr. Poole added.
Frank Gaffney, head of the Center for Security Policy, extensively documented
Muslim Brotherhood subversion efforts, both in the United States and abroad.
Mr. Gaffney has said the
Muslim Brotherhood is the most dangerous group promoting the totalitarian and
Islamist
supremacist doctrine of Shariah. Several Muslim Brotherhood supporters
have been identified as key advisers to Mr. Obama, according to Mr.
Gaffney.
Egyptian press reports after the ouster of Mr. Morsi have revealed extensive cooperation between the CIA and the
Muslim Brotherhood during Mr. Morsi’s presidency.
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