Sisi vs. ISIS: Dictatorship vs. Mob Rule

Written by Frank Li

Sisi vs. ISIS – are they just reversed in spelling? No! They are also reversed in content! Sisi is a dictator, who has been very good for Egypt over the past two years. ISIS, on the other hand, is mob rule, which has been devastating the region over the past two years, at least.

1. Who is Sisi?

Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Abdel Fattah el-Sisi:

Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi (Arabic: عبد الفتاح سعيد حسين خليل السيسي ‘Abdu l-Fattāḥ Sa’īd Ḥusayn Khalīl as-Sīsī, IPA: [ʕaebdel.faetˈtaeːħ saeˈʕiːd ħeˈseːn xaeˈliːl esˈsiːsi]; born 19 November 1954) is the sixth and current President of Egypt, in office since 2014.

2. Who is ISIS?

Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia – ISIL:

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL /ˈaɪsəl/; Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام), also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS /ˈaɪsɪs/),[23] or “Islamic State”[24] is an Islamic extremist rebel group controlling territory in Iraq and Syria, and also has operations in eastern Libya, the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, and other areas of the Middle East,[25] North Africa, South Asia,[26] and Southeast Asia.[26][27]

3. What happened in the Middle East?

The Middle East has been one of the most troubled regions on earth throughout our two-millennium-old calendar, at least. It is a conglomeration of many of the most difficult issues of humanity: religion, race, ethnicity, and worst of all, poverty! For more, read: People.

Two big recent events have made the region even more troublesome:

1. The Iraq War.
2. The Arab Spring.

America’s thoughtless and yes, reckless, foreign policy is directly responsible for both events. Two informative readings:

1. What’s The Real Cost of The Iraq War? In short, America destroyed Saddam’s regime without a reasonable replacement. History shows that a bad government is often better than no government. For more on Iraq, watch this video: Losing Iraq.
2. American Autumn vs. Arab Spring. In short, President Obama Speech to Muslim World in Cairo (2009) decisively incited the Arab Spring, throwing the entire region into further chaos.

More specifically, two American Presidents must be held directly accountable for the creation and growth of ISIS as follows:

1. George W. Bush: He recklessly launched the Iraq War in 2003. Many ISIS fighters are displaced Sunni minorities in Iraq. For more, read: Wikipedia – Shia-Sunni relations.
2. Barack Obama: He recklessly withdrew all American troops from Iraq in 2011 for one main purpose: his re-election in 2012! As a result, we have to go back recently and will be present there for years to come, certainly well beyond the Obama presidency. For more, read: President Obama and War.

4. More on Sisi

Here is what happened in Egypt after President Obama’s speech in 2009:

1. The Arab Spring erupted, which brought down a long-time dictator, Hosni Mubarak.
2. Muslim Brotherhood won power through the first democratic election in Egypt.
3. Mohamed Morsi, the first democratically elected president in Egypt, ruled as always in a “typical” democracy: he suppressed the minority using the majority, exactly as Thomas Jefferson prescribed some 200 years ago (see image below)!

Fortunately for Egypt, Sisi was still there with the military. He staged a coup, took control, jailed many of his opponents, including President Morsi, held a mock election, and became the “democratically elected” President in 2014.

End result in Egypt: Mubarak, a dictator, was replaced by another dictator Sisi, with the Arab Spring and President Morsi in between as a total disaster!

So far, President Sisi has been very good for Egypt! Two messages:

1. Democracy has quickly failed in Egypt.
2. Not all dictators are bad. The best dictator in human history is perhaps China’s Deng Xiaoping. For more, read: Mikhail Gorbachev vs. Deng Xiaoping.

5. More on ISIS

What is ISIS doing over there? Grabbing power and land, with massive killings, often in the name of Islam! More specifically, here is a recent story:

Here are two messages I got out of this video:

1. Iraq’s Christians had a peaceful life under Saddam.
2. Iraq’s Christians were devastated by two major blows: the U.S. invasion in 2003 and the U.S. total withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. As a result, ISIS was born and a brutal Christian persecution ensued.

What is America’s response to ISIS, a new enemy largely created by America? More of the same – More military involvement with additional costs of American lives and treasure! What is the purpose? “Destroying ISIS”, a new goal even more unobtainable than the previously failed goal of destroying Al-Qaeda!

Worse yet, America may well fall into ISIS’s trap of getting involved in a religious war, especially worrisome if the neo-cons get their way in America!

Worse still, America’s war on ISIS will inevitably be brought to America.

Worst of all, it will further bankrupt America, both economically and morally.

6. Discussion

Democracy – what a myth!

Democracy was an experiment in Ancient Greece more than 2000 years ago, without success. But it has become fashionable again in the West over the past 100 years, at least. Three facts:

1. Capitalism is the foundation of prosperity in the West (Human History: the West vs. the East). Everything else, including democracy, is built on the solid foundation of capitalism. Unfortunately for the West, democracy has been severely eroding that foundation for several decades. For more, read: Pyramid Theory I, Version 3.
2. Democracy is failing in America today for the same reason it failed in Ancient Greece 2,000 years ago: Debts, thanks to Democratic Socialism. Yet, America has been recklessly exporting it, thanks to Democratic Imperialism. Apparently, failure always seeks additional victims.
3. No 3rd-world country has achieved prosperity via democracy, without robust capitalism first! Two recent examples: Egypt and Ukraine!

Fortunately for Egypt, President Sisi has reversed its course on democracy – It is back to a dictatorship now, with order and hope for prosperity!

Unfortunately for Ukraine, it is stuck between Russia and America. Because of that, Ukraine may well become the site for another proxy war between the two biggest nuclear powers on earth, with nothing to gain but everything to lose!

What about ISIS? It is mob rule, even worse than democracy in Egypt under the former President Mohamed Morsi!

7. Closing

Sisi vs ISIS – they are totally opposite not only in name, but also in content!

ISIS is pursuing a proletarian revolution under the name of Islam. So it will be just as destructive as its predecessors under a different name: communism – been there, seen that!

I wish the best for President Sisi and Egypt. Here is a working example for President Sisi to emulate: China! For more, read: The Role of Government.