As Egyptian belly dancer’s video op-ed on President Obama’s seeming support of the Muslim Brotherhood goes viral, Cecil College student Atarah Golden also weighs in on the subject:

…Now, fast forward to the second revolution.  State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki stated that the U.S. will not take sides, that we are remaining neutral.  Yet, days before, when the Egyptian military gave Morsi a 48-hour ultimatum, President Obama warned the military against overthrowing Morsi.  (Wait, isn’t that taking a position?)

The Muslim Brotherhood rejected the military’s ultimatum, and President Obama subsequently announced that his administration is reviewing the continuation of U.S. aid to Egypt.  (What was that about not taking sides again?)  When the Egyptian military forcefully removed Morsi from office and suspended the constitution, Obama expressed how “deeply concerned” he was with the military’s actions.  I would imagine so, considering his unrelenting push to get rid of Mubarak and his close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

As a matter of fact, President Obama’s history with the Muslim Brotherhood came long before the 2011 revolution which ended Mubarak’s presidency.  In the beginning of 2009, the Egyptian daily newspaper reported that Obama quietly met with members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Washington, D.C. (President Obama and members of the Muslim Brotherhood have continued to meet since then.)  Keep in mind that the Muslim Brotherhood was banned in Egypt for terrorism until the Arab Spring revolution, which took place in 2011.

It is apparent that President Obama was heavily invested in a Muslim Brotherhood-run Egypt.  And so were your tax dollars.  Our president was going to continue to provide $1.5 billion in aid annually, in addition to gifting the Brotherhood with over two dozen F-16s (to add to Egypt’s ready-made collection of 200 F-16s), so long as the Muslim Brotherhood was in power.  Now he suddenly wants his gifts back.

It is as if it is 2011 all over again.  With Morsi out of office, the military has once again assumed control.  A military-run country is not ideal, but
until the next election, instability is to be expected.  The Obama administration clearly chose the wrong side of history.  Egyptian protesters not only blamed President Obama for enabling former President Morsi, they noticed that he sided with the revolutionaries in 2011, but sided with the dictator in 2013.  Resultantly, our alliance with Egypt will remain one of uncertainty until the next elect takes his place in office.  This also means that Israel’s 34-year peace treaty with Egypt, which has been threatened since Mubarak’s removal, will hang in the balance until it is reaffirmed.  If it is reaffirmed.

Two years, two revolutions and two presidents later, the obvious question is this: what is next for Egypt?