Israel is incapable of understanding the reservations that the United States has when confronting the ferocious civil war in Egypt. This is glaringly obvious, and can be seen in a series of disdainful questions asked by the Israeli media: “What’s the matter with those self-righteous Americans?” or “How can the administration even consider imposing sanctions against the acting regime in Egypt, which is doing all the dirty work for it?” Questions such as these came up again and again in TV studios and newspapers alike.
“What does [President Barack] Obama even know about the Middle East? How can the US not cheer on the Egyptian army, which is taking resolute action against a movement that operates a terrorist branch that gave rise to Osama bin Laden and his supporters?” Yes, this was said by news commentators, but the question marks were inserted into the discussion by senior figures in the political and security establishment. They could not say publicly what they really felt about how the Obama administration’s stance would impact events in Egypt and Israel’s security situation.