Mercy for Mursi? Obama wants Muslim Brother freed

Anti-Mursi protesters in Egypt have been accusing Barack Obama and U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson of supporting terrorists there. Despite these protesters having plenty of facts on their side, Obama insisted this week that his administration was not taking sides. That is, until today, when the State Department spokesman called on Egypt’s military to release one of those terrorists from jail.

Via the New York Times:

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian Islamists and other supporters of Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first freely elected president who was ousted and detained by the military last week, filled public squares in Cairo and other cities on Friday in an intensified campaign aimed at returning him to power. The United States also dialed up its criticism, calling on Egypt’s interim authorities to release Mr. Morsi.

The size of the protests underlined both the large section of society that has rejected the military intervention on July 3 that deposed Mr. Morsi after millions protested against him, and the continued split over the country’s direction.

In Washington, the State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said the United States concurred with an assertion made earlier in the day by Germany that Mr. Morsi should be released. Asked about Germany’s position at a daily briefing, she said, “We do agree.”

Ms. Psaki declined to specify whether the United States still recognized Mr. Morsi as the president of Egypt. But her response about his detention appeared to reflect growing concern by the Obama administration over the interim government’s promises to move toward new elections and an inclusive democratic system.

Though the news is the State Department calling for Mursi’s release despite the administration’s insistence that it will not take sides, the author of the aforementioned New York Times piece – which is decidedly pro-Muslim Brotherhood – is none other than Ben Hubbard, who whined via twitter this week.

Egyptian Military makes Propagandist cry

Egyptian Military makes Propagandist cry

In his article about Psaki calling for Mursi’s release, Hubbard comes across like a boxing coach encouraging his tired, underdog fighter:

With many of Mr. Morsi’s Islamist supporters finding new motivation during the holy month of Ramadan, which started on Wednesday, the largest pro-Morsi sit-in, in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City, swelled to take on an increasing air of durability.

Speakers attached to lampposts blasted the voices of speakers, singers and Koran readers on a central stage. Hundreds of tents have been erected on traffic islands and on side streets, where protesters fasting during the midday heat sleep on blankets, sheets of cardboard or asphalt streets.

The sit-in also serves as a safe zone of sorts for Muslim Brotherhood leaders and other members who are among the hundreds who have been put on wanted lists by the authorities since Mr. Morsi’s ouster.

During his time as president, Mursi made it a personal mission to get the U.S. to release Omar Abdel-Rahman, the “Blind Sheikh” convicted to life in prison for his role in the first World Trade Center attack. Why would the U.S. call for the release of such a man?

Let’s go back to those Egyptian protesters who charge that Obama supports terrorists:

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