MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Does crow taste good, Jimmy Carter? Was this one of the “many shared interests” you had in mind, Barack Obama? …

Update: Morsi denies interview …

AFP – “TEHRAN: Egypt’s Islamist president-elect, Mohamed Morsi, wants to ‘reconsider’ the peace deal with Israel and build ties with Iran to ‘create a strategic balance’ in the Middle East, according to an interview published by Iran’s Fars news agency on Monday.

The stated goals are certain to alarm Israel and its ally the United States as they adapt to the new direction Egypt will chart with Morsi at the helm.

They could also boost Iran’s influence in the Middle East at a time of heightened tensions between Tehran and the West.

‘We will reconsider the Camp David Accord’ that, in 1979, forged a peace deal between Egypt and Israel that has held for more than three decades, Morsi was quoted as telling a Fars reporter in Cairo on Sunday, just before his election triumph was announced.

He said the issue of Palestinian refugees returning to homes their families abandoned in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and the 1967 Six-Day War ‘is very important’.

Morsi added though that ‘all these issues will be carried out through cabinet and governmental bodies because I will not take any decision on my own.’

Morsi also said he was ready to improve ties with Iran. The Islamic republic broke off diplomatic relations with Egypt in 1980, a year after Cairo signed the peace deal with the Jewish state.

‘Part of my agenda is the development of ties between Iran and Egypt that will create a strategic balance in the region,’ Morsi was quoted as saying.

Although Morsi resigned from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood to take the top job, Israel is wary of his election, fearing his Islamist record could jeopardise the chilly peace it has long enjoyed with its huge neighbour.

Iran’s foreign ministry on Sunday welcomed Morsi’s triumph.” Read more.

Flashback: Muslim Brotherhood Will Not Recognize the ‘Occupying Criminal Enemy’ Israel Under ANY Circumstances, Vows to Cancel the ‘Zionist’ Peace Treaty – “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood will not recognize Israel ‘under any circumstance,’ the party’s deputy leader Dr Rashad Bayoumi told Arabic daily al-Hayat in an interview publish Sunday… When asked whether it is a requirement for the government in Egypt to recognize Israel, Bayoumi responded by saying: ‘This is not an option, whatever the circumstances, we do not recognize Israel at all. Its [Israel] an occupying criminal enemy.’” Read more.

Flashback: Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Vows to Never Speak or Meet With Israeli Officials – “The Muslim Brotherhood will not speak or meet with Israeli officials and its stance on Israel is not up for discussion, group spokesperson Mahmoud Ghezlan told London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. ‘It’s illogical to have dialogue, any dialogue, in light of the Israeli practices against the Arab peoples,’ the paper quoted him as saying in an article published Wednesday. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yigal Palmor told Israeli radio that Israel has not ruled out talks.” Read more.

The Express Tribune (Pakistan) – “The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has announced to an already-stricken population of Pakistan that it beheaded the seven Pakistani security personnel that it had kidnapped on June 21 in Laddah, South Waziristan. Its spokesman has proclaimed that ‘the heads of the slain soldiers would soon be produced before the media’. He also denied the army claim that it had killed 10 terrorists; he said only two had actually died. The TTP also enriched itself with the weapons captured from the army personnel.

The tragedy of South Waziristan goes on. This was the place where we made our first mistakes. We are now more focused on the villainies of the US and the Nato, whom we are denying passage into Afghanistan, and are busy ‘reinterpreting’ the Taliban as paid killers of the US, while sheltering some of them as they cross the Durand Line and kill Americans getting ready to depart the region after being defeated. If this is a victory, it is killing us. We are appeasing our tormentors by making ‘adjustments’ at all levels — judicial, political, economic and military.

In March 2004, militants ambushed an army convoy near the village of Sarwakai, close to Wana in South Waziristan. A dozen soldiers were found at the site and the decapitated bodies of a number of others who had been taken prisoner by the assailants were found near the area days later. The army went in to take the killers to task. Zahid Hussain, in his book, The Scorpion’s Tail, writes:

‘The clerics of the powerful Lal Masjid mosque in Islamabad issued a fatwa declaring the resistance in Waziristan a jihad and called on the people to not give Islamic burials to the soldiers killed while fighting the tribesmen. In obedience to the clerics, many parents of the soldiers refused to receive the bodies of their sons. Public opinion in the region turned more hostile toward the military. The operation also angered some individuals within the officer corps and several Pashtun officers were court-martialled for refusing to fight’.” Read more.

If true, this will be yet another seismic event, and one that will this time be the catalyst to ferment the chaos of Cairo.  If the seeds of yet another revolution begin to sprout it’ll be interesting to see how Egypt’s military responds, not to mention what America’s pro-Islamist Obama Administration and Islamic states such as Turkey and Iran have to say …

Isaiah 19:2-3a, “‘I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian–brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing …’”

By Elad Benari, INN – “Egypt’s electoral body is set to announce Ahmed Shafiq as the country’s new president on Sunday, local government sources claimed on Friday.

According to a report on the website of the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, Western diplomats in Cairo also said they have heard similar predictions from Cabinet members over the last three days.

A source in the current government told the newspaper that Shafiq will be declared the winner with 50.7 percent of the vote.

Sources at the Presidential Electoral Commission would not confirm to the claims of a Shafiq win.

Shafiq, who was deposed President Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister, repeated on Thursday his claim of victory in weekend runoff elections.

He accused the Muslim Brotherhood, whose candidate ran against him, of ‘playing games’ to put pressure on election authorities before announcement of the official results. He also accused the group of striking ‘backdoor deals’ with outside powers to sway the results and urged world capitals not to interfere.

The Brotherhood also declared soon after the election that its candidate, Mohammed Morsi, had won.” Read more.

Egypt’s Ruling Military Warns Muslim Brotherhood – “The stand-off between Egypt’s military and the Muslim Brotherhood escalated on Friday as the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces accused the country’s largest political party of raising tensions by claiming victory in last week’s presidential election ahead of the official result, which is still pending. In a televised statement issued as tens of thousands of Brotherhood protesters poured into Tahrir Square in central Cairo, SCAF warned that the military and police would respond ‘firmly’ to attempts to ‘harm public and private interests’. The Muslim Brotherhood is convinced that its candidate, Mohamed Morsi, won but fear that the military intends to hand victory to his rival, Ahmed Shafiq …” Read more.

Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Issues Warning To Generals, ‘We Won’t Accept This Any More’ – “The Muslim Brotherhood has vowed to face down Egypt’s ruling generals in a ‘life or death’ struggle over the country’s political future, after declaring that its candidate had won the presidential election and would refuse to accept the junta’s last-ditch attempts to engineer a constitutional coup… the Brotherhood deployed its harshest language yet against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf), promising to bring millions of Egyptians back on to the streets if attempts to rebuild the old regime continued. ‘Over the past 18 months we were very keen to avoid any clashes or confrontations with other components of Egypt’s political system because we felt that it would have negative consequences for the democratic system and for society as a whole,’ said Fatema AbouZeid …” Read more.

By Bill Gertz, The Washington Free Beacon – “U.S. intelligence agencies are closely watching Israel’s military for signs it will conduct strikes on Syria’s stockpiles of chemical weapons, amid concerns the deadly nerve agents could fall under the control of Hezbollah or al Qaeda terrorists, U.S. officials said.

Syria’s arsenal remains vulnerable as the result of the internal conflict currently underway in Syria between government forces and opposition rebels, one official said.

‘Everyone suspects Syria maintains an active chemical weapons program; and it would be dangerous not to plan accordingly,’ the official said.

As for concerns the weapons will be captured or transferred, the official said: ‘Most countries that have CW stocks view it as a strategic, not tactical, tool—and strategic tools are usually pretty well protected and aren’t given away lightly.’

However, other U.S. officials said special operations forces are prepared to take action inside Syria in the event the regime falls and the country spirals further into chaos. The teams would seek to secure or destroy stockpiles of chemical arms to keep them from being taken over by terrorists. Hezbollah has been very active in Syria, and there are reports that al Qaeda terrorists have moved into Syria during the current crisis.

The exact size of the Syrian chemical arsenal is not known. The Center for Strategic and International Studies reported several years ago that Syria has stockpiled 500 to 1,000 metric tons of chemical agents. The weapons are said to include long-lasting VX nerve agent and less-persistent Sarin nerve agent, as well as mustard blister agents.

Most but not all of the weapons stockpiles are known to U.S. intelligence agencies.

The New York Times reported Thursday that CIA operatives are working in southern Turkey to coordinate foreign assistance to Syrian rebel forces.

Recent statements by senior Israeli military officials prompted U.S. concerns over an Israeli strike on Syria.

Senior officials in Israel told the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that if Syria’s army gave chemical weapons to Hezbollah or other terrorists an Israeli attack would be needed.

The newspaper reported May 31 that Israel failed to prevent Syria’s transfer of M-600 rockets to Hezbollah and the weapons can now threaten central Israel. One military source was quoted as saying that mistake would not be repeated.” Read more.