Egyptian President el-Sisi and CBS

Having watched the CBS 60 Minutes interview on Sunday evening, January 6, I was left in complete shock. As a journalist, I've met three times with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi over the past 16 months for more than five and a half hours of interviews. The last was at the Palace Hotel, the same location where 60 Minutes staged their interview. The individual described by the CBS anchor was not the person I know. The network reported having spoken with a number of Egyptians who refused to refer to Sisi as “president.” Oh really? I spoke with dozens of significant Egyptians who not only call him “president,” but love him. The president was accused of the worst human rights abuses. I wondered if they were talking about Bashar Assad of Syria, or Saddam Hussein. Not at all! There have been two elections, and Sisi won both overwhelmingly. He received almost 40 million votes. If he was so hated, why did the people not refuse to vote? On 60 Minutes Sisi was accused of massacring protesters in what was called a “peaceful protest.” Police stations all over Egypt had been set afire. What was happening in that country was exactly what happened in Syria and Libya during the Arab Spring. What Sisi had done was save Egypt. Fighting terrorism is a human right. If Egypt had been transformed into an Islamic state, as Mohamed Morsi had planned, or if it had fallen into chaos as had Libya and Syria, the war on terrorism would have been lost for decades to come. Watching 60 Minutes would have led one to believe that the Muslim Brotherhood was comprised of little George Washingtons. Did you also notice that virtually none of Sisi's interview was used? Rather, a Muslim Brotherhood leader and a Barack Obama leftist were attacking Egypt's president. The same day the show aired, Sisi inaugurated the largest Christian church in the Muslim world. It was financed by the Egyptian government, and was a gift from the president. Nothing was said about that. President Donald Trump tweeted his enthusiasm: “Excited to see our friends in Egypt opening the biggest Cathedral in the Middle East. President El-Sisi is moving his country to a more inclusive future!” Trump has referred to CBS as “fake news” and an enemy of the people. There is no doubt that what the network has done to Sisi is, indeed, fake news. Nor is there any doubt in my mind that no other world leader has more effectively won the ideological war against radical Islam. What was the motivation for the one-sided 60 Minutes interview? It is obvious that the only incentive was to slander the president of Egypt. As I watched the show, my mind returned to another 60 Minutes broadcast. That was the interview with the shah of Iran in 1976. Precisely the same thing was done to him – accusing him of arresting what was called “political prisoners.” It was a full-court press by the liberal Left media and American president to undermine the shah, America's strongest Muslim ally. In fact, they succeeded. Empress Farah, wife of the late shah, told me in an interview that on the Persian new year, Carter advised Pahlavi to release political prisoners, and institute freedom of press and religion. Carter reiterated that if he did not, the shah would receive no replacement parts for helicopters and planes. After the Carters left the celebration, Pahlavi told his wife that if he did as ordered, the Russians would invade Afghanistan, Iraq would go to war against Iran and an Islamic revolution would take place in Iran. Asadollah Alam, appointed prime minister by the shah in July 1962, was Pahlavi's personal confidant. Alam, in his autobiography, wrote of Pahlavi's concerns over the election of Carter. The shah opined: “Who knows what sort of calamity he [Carter] may unleash on the world?” There is no question that 9/11 happened because of what a liberal Left media and president did to a Muslim ally. Sisi was also accused of being the worst ever Egyptian president. That is a total fabrication. There has been no Egyptian president who has been a stronger supporter of Israel than he. At this moment, he and Israel are battling ISIS in the Sinai. Every time he and I have met, Sisi has mentioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a favorable way. And, there has never been an Egyptian president who has better supported the United States. Sisi has created stability and security in the country. Winning an ideological war is not an easy task to accomplish. The United States tried in Afghanistan and Iraq, but with all of Israel's amazing successes, has not won an ideological war. Egypt has both waged and won such a war. The world needs to listen to and heed President el-Sisi. I'm not entirely sure anyone comprehends exactly how such wars are fueled and fed. His success plan needs to be implemented throughout the entire Middle East, and in fact, globally. The same godless liberal Left moral relativists who forced the shah out of power are still operating today, and are hard at work to depose Sisi. Sadly, those liberals have a difficult time seeing moral issues clearly. These humanists reject absolute standards of good and evil, right and wrong. While it is true that terrorists kill the body; God-hating, humanist, liberal Leftists kill the soul. They see jihadists not as terrorists, but as freedom fighters – little George Washington types who simply need tolerance and support. Those with moral clarity are cast aside onto the scrap heap of history while the world continues its downward spiral toward destruction. The writer is a No. 1 New York Times bestselling author with 89 published books and is the founder of Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem, of which the late President Shimon Peres, Israel's ninth president, was the chair. He also serves on the Trump Evangelical Faith Initiative.

Egyptian President el-Sisi and CBS

There have been two elections, and Sisi won both overwhelmingly. He received almost 40 million votes. If he was so hated, why did the people not refuse to vote?

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Egyptian President el-Sisi and CBS

There have been two elections, and Sisi won both overwhelmingly. He received almost 40 million votes. If he was so hated, why did the people not refuse to vote?

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