Thread by @adeladawy

Important thread with facts that will help us understand Joe Biden’s support for Muslim Brotherhood (#MB) political agent @soltanlife. It all goes back to President Obama’s Mideast strategy & #Egypt policy with the embrace of the Brotherhood according to PSD-11 & PPD-13. 1/

The 2011 upheaval in #Egypt initiated a shift in U.S. strategy from support for Mubarak to intensive engagement with the Islamist opposition groups. This change in U.S. strategy derived out of Presidential Study Directive (#PSD)-11 issued by president Obama in August 2010. 2/

The comprehensive policy review of U.S. strategy in #MENA region by the Obama administration led to the conclusion & acceptance of #MB as a legitimate, peaceful & moderate Islamist political opposition in #Egypt with whom they could work. @brhodes said this to me in West wing. 3/

After the policy review, President Obama issued Presidential Policy Directive (PPD)- 13 as a new directive for the U.S. government policy concerning “political and economic reform in the Middle East and North Africa region.” 4/

In the case of #Egypt, it meant the U.S. government sought to engage the Muslim Brotherhood who at the time were the main Islamist opposition group on the ground. The following weeks & months saw the Obama administration aggressively reach out to the Brotherhood. 5/

In accordance to Obama’s PPD-13, Secretary Hillary Clinton publically declared that it was willing to work with the Muslim Brotherhood in her now infamous June 30, 2011, remarks in Budapest. 6/

A few weeks later, in October 2011, President Obama secretly sent National Security Council official, Prem Kumar, to meet with senior Muslim Brotherhood figures in Cairo, as a public gesture of U.S. government recognition & embracement of the group. 7/

Although, U.S. government officials were meeting with many opposition figures, the overwhelming & exclusive focus was on reaching out to the Muslim Brotherhood. U.S. officials made a real effort to build trust & fully embrace them. 8/

U.S. lawmakers & officials would also publicly praise the Brotherhood. It was a big surprise when even the late Republican Senator John McCain expressed encouragement & even some optimism of working with the #MB after their alleged constructive role in the 2012 #NGO crisis. 9/

The Muslim Brotherhood also sent an official delegation in 2012 to Washington D.C. to meet with high-level U.S. administration officials, engage with policymakers & opinion leaders. They were warmly welcomed & embraced across town. 10/

The U.S. government also provided political assistance to various political forces in #Egypt through American NGOs, by “picking sides” as to who benefited from these U.S. government funds to advance American interests. 11/

According to a former senior American NGO worker at Chemonics International in Cairo, Ambassador Anne Patterson directed them to focus their political training and assistance on the Muslim Brotherhood and their political allies. 12/

According to Obama’s Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, the change in U.S. policy in the MENA region towards the support of Islamist opposition movements, “offered an ‘alternative narrative’ to the version of Islamic revolution put forward by Iran and al-Qaeda.” 13/

The U.S. government believed the embrace of Islamist groups, like the Muslim Brotherhood who wanted to be part of the democratic political process would reduce threats against the United States from more extremists groups who preferred violent tactics to reach power. 14/

This logic was widely accepted across the U.S. intelligence community, as the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper clearly explained in January 2012: “Al-Qa’ida probably will find it difficult to compete for local support with groups like the Muslim Brotherhood.” 15/

Also, former CIA Deputy Michael Morell acknowledged in his book that the intelligence community informed decision-makers in Washington D.C. that the wave of protests across the region “would damage al Qa‘ida by undermining the group’s narrative.” 16/

President Obama’s confidant and influential adviser, Denis McDonough, was one of the main internal U.S. government advocates for the reach out effort to the Muslim Brotherhood. 17/

At the time, it made pragmatic sense for the Obama administration to strengthen its ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, who were the strongest & most well organized opposition political force on the ground in post-Mubarak Egypt. 18/

Thus, one can regard U.S. government embrace of the Brotherhood in post-Mubarak Egypt as a conscious strategic decision aimed to advance U.S. interests in the region. 19/

The U.S. government was aware of the Muslim Brotherhood’s extremists views & long history of political violence that countered core U.S. values. But again U.S. interests triumphed values. Also, democrats were convinced that the burden of powers would moderate the MB. 20/

But the Obama White House worried whether the #MB would maintain the peace treaty with Israel? In January 2012, the U.S. gov’t received a signed pledge from the #MB that they would preserve the peace treaty. Something that was welcomed in DC & intensified US support for #MB. 21/

There are many reasons why the U.S. gov’t did not mind the rise the Brotherhood. Some U.S. officials were very concerned by more extreme Islamist groups in #Egypt. Thus, they saw the #MB as the best option in a turbulent #Egypt that would secure U.S. key interests. 22/

Intensive U.S. engagement was interpreted by Muslim Brotherhood as a quasi carte blanche to advance its domestic political ambitions without international opposition, which led to a more aggressive Brotherhood political strategy to consolidate power in #Egypt. 23/

The June 30 Revolution that overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood regime undermined PPD-13 & Obama’s entire #MENA region strategy. Thus, it was strongly opposed & Obama even suspended military aid to #Egypt. 24/

The Obama administration could not accept the new realities in #Egypt & some key figures in the administration took the events in Egypt very personal. Some of these officials are now advisers in the Biden campaign & explains the Biden tweet. 25/

A possible Biden administration would continue Obama’s failed Mideast strategy that alienated key U.S. allies like Egypt, Saudi Arabia & even Israel. This would be disastrous for the entire Middle East. 26/

If Biden wins, he needs to accept the June 30 reality that symbolized the death sentence of the Muslim Brotherhood as a political force in
Egypt & work closely with President El-Sisi. Biden needs to distance himself from the Muslim Brotherhood. 27/

As the strategic competition between U.S. & China intensifies, the decades long special U.S. relationship with #Egypt becomes even more important to preserve. I hope Joe Biden keeps his promise of working to strengthen #US-#Egypt ties. •END•