Embassy attack

It is helpful to think of the Muslims as not adhering to normal civilized practices, such as honoring treaties, attacking embassies or believing absurd rumors. Thus, they break treaties when they decide it is convenient for them, following the example of Mohammed, or they attack embassies, such as the current attack on the Israeli Embassy in Cairo or the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979, or they believe that the 9/11 attacks that were perpetrated by a group of Muslims were carried out by a Jewish-Zionist-American conspiracy. Although the Egyptian forces held back while the mob was attacking our Embassy in Cairo they were eventually mobilized and are now protecting the building. However, our flag was once before taken down from the building and they allowed it to happen again. Just as they allowed a group of terrorists to pass thru their guarded border to attack Israel and kill civilians, but then complain when their guards were killed in the crossfire. Perhaps the Egyptian mob doesn't understand that they are not capable of mounting any kind of attack on Israel, but hopefully the Egyptian military itself does understand and has internalized that painful lesson.

During the attack the phone calls between PM Netanyahu, Pres. Obama and Gen Tantawi, the Head of the Interim Governing Council in Egypt avoided a catastrophe. Although Israel Ambassador Levanon and 80 of his staff were not in the Embassy and were flown to safety in Israel, six guards were trapped inside a sealed room in the Embassy with a strengthesed metal door. They were in constant touch with the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem and a call from Netanyahu to Obama to Tantawi did the trick. A team of Egyptian security men dressed in normal garb got into the Embassy and rescued the guards, who were also then flown to safety in Israel. Meanwhile the Embassy was ransacked and destroyed by the mob.

This attack resulted in many foreign leaders criticizing Egypt for not adhering to international norms to protect foreign embassies, after all this could happen to other embassies if they didn't respond. So they responded, and the Egyptian Minister of the Interior apologized to Israel, while they put a huge cordon of troops around teh building, too late, but better than nothing. PM Netanyahu gave a speech in which he said that despite the attack on the Embassy, which is sovereign Israeli territory, Israel would adhere to the peace treaty with Egypt, and he left an Ambassadorial representative in Cairo to ensure that diplomatic relations were not broken. Seemingly crisis averted. But, who knows what can happen in the future given the delicate and unpredictable situation prevailing in Egypt.