Trump finds new friend in dictator

For generations Washington has tolerated many dictatorships across the Middle East, always in hope of increasing American power and influence. The U.S. deals out a limited friendliness in return for oil rights, sites where air and naval bases can be placed and (in the case of the Palestinian Authority) many dubious and unredeemed promises of peace.

But last week President Donald Trump took a large and unprecedented step in that direction. He made it clear that he not only tolerates Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, president of Egypt, he indicated something very like affection for him.

“We agree on so many things,” Trump said warmly after his meeting with Sisi at the White House. “I just want to let everybody know in case there was any doubt that we are very much behind President elSisi. He’s done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation.”

Sisi has brought a measure of stability to Egypt, which is what Trump means by “fantastic job.” But it’s hard to see the difference between Sisi’s stability and any other dictator’s repression. His police shoot peaceful protesters, his courts send his critics to jail, and the politicians who should properly be his opposition have been frightened into silence. There are those who say privately that he’s even worse than Hosni Mubarak, whose three decades as president were ended in 2011 by protest rallies.

Mubarak was replaced by Mohamed Morsi, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, democratically elected in 2012. But a year later he was turned out, after huge protests of angry citizens denounced his performance in office.

Sisi, the head of the armed forces, saw his opportunity. He mounted a coup that ousted Morsi. He then outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, sent many of its members to jail and charged Morsi with conspiring to commit terrorist acts with foreign groups. A long list of other charges followed.

Sisi will do anything to avoid the death-by-mob strategy that unseated his two predecessors. One of his security officials told Reuters that “We have taken several measures to ensure activists don’t have breathing space. Several cafes and other meeting places have been closed. Some activists have been arrested in order to scare the rest.”

But these methods deal only with Egyptians whose opinions could challenge Sisi’s political position. Egypt has not succeeded in stopping, or even slowing down, the threat from international terrorists with determination and sophisticated arms.