El Baradei Continues to Equivocate On Future of Israel/Egypt Peace

As of this writing the only definite result coming out of the Egyptian protests is as that of September 2011; Hosni Mubarak will be out of office.  The choices to replace Mubarak are uncertain. The sad truth seems to be that unless Mubarak is replaced by someone from the ranks of the Egyptian Military the Brotherhood will probably control whoever is chosen to lead the government (Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak all came out of the Military).

A potential candidate to run a post-revolt Egypt is opposition leader Mohamed El Baradei.  If one is to believe the propaganda streaming from mainstream media, El Baradei is a moderate who will continue Egypt’s close ties with the United States and Israel. 

However El Baradei has never been particularly friendly to the U.S. or Israel, and lately has been making overtures to the Muslim Brotherhood by threatening the peace treaty with Israel.

Yesterday El Baradei was interviewed by Meet The Press host David Gregory and said the continuation of the Egyptian Israeli peace treaty will depend on Israeli treatment of the Palestinians. When pressed by Gregory, El Baradei backed down.

MR. GREGORY: And yes or no, should Egypt in the future always maintain the peace treaty with Israel?MR. ELBARADEI: I, I think so, but it’s not just dependent on Egypt, David, it also depends on Israel. Israel should not continue to apply a policy of force, vis-a-vis the Palestinians, should agree to what everybody knows that Palestinians have the right to establish a state similar to what the proposal of former…

MR. GREGORY: Dr. ElBaradei, I think a lot of people hearing this–Dr. ElBaradei, people hearing this will hear equivocation, and there’ll be great fear about a potential leader of Egypt saying that the peace treaty is not rock solid with Israel.

MR. ELBARADEI: Well I think, I think everybody saying it is rock solid, but, but, but everybody also saying that, at the same breath, that whether Egypt is a democracy, whether Egypt is a dictatorship everybody in Egypt, everybody in the Arab world will want to see an independent Palestinian state, David. I don’t think anybody disagree with that. That has nothing to do with the peace treaty between Egypt and, and Israel, which is, as you said, has been concluded, and I assume that Egypt will continue to respect it, you know?

 Today the German News Magazine Der Spiegel, released an interview with the "moderate" opposition leader and he continued to cast doubt on the future of the peace:

SPIEGEL: Are you now saying that a government that included participation by the Muslim Brotherhood would continue on with Mubarak's policies toward Israel?

ElBaradei: No. Something the Israelis also need to grasp is that it's impossible to make peace with a single man. At the moment, they have a peace treaty with Mubarak, but not one with the Egyptian people. The Israelis should understand that it is in their long-term interest to have a democratic Egypt as a neighbor, and that it is prudent to acknowledge the legitimate interests of the Palestinians and to grant them their own state."

 Is El Baradei equivocating to raise his stock with the Muslim Brotherhood, who as of now is participating in the negotiations with the current Egyptian Government, while El Baradei has not been invited to the table? Or does he really plan to trash the agreement, but is walking the fine line trying to appear moderate to the West? The reasons for his stance is not yet known.

But what is already public knowledge is, El Baradei spent most of his UN career doing all that he can to blunt the U.S.-led efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons even to the extent of hiding evidence that proved Iran’s intentions. In one press conference he even claimed that Israel not Iran was the real danger to peace in the Middle East  If his recent association with the Muslim Brotherhood and his continuing relationship with the radical government of Iran are any indication, El Baradei may very well intend to disrupt the peace should he ever gain power.