Beyond rhetoric, the White House did nothing.

The aid is theoretically non-military, but everyone understands that it allows the Egyptian government to transfer a similar amount to the army. Indeed, the Egyptian delegation is formed mostly of army officials.

On one hand, the US cannot refuse Egypt the aid it needs without greatly alienating the country. On the other hand, the aid would now clearly be used to bolster the armed forces of a radical Muslim state. Even the Iranian parliament now has more secular members than its Egyptian counterpart.

The Americans’ intentions are transparent. We have seen this before in Israeli relations with Hamas, and previously with Hezbollah. The idea was to nurture a small ultra-radical offshoot, which would counter a major terrorist organization (Fatah and Amal, respectively) without a chance of growing big precisely because it is too radical to attract mainstream supporters. That reasoning has proved wrong repeatedly, and has resulted in the creation of Al Qaeda.

Now the White House is gambling that the Salafists will curtail the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose 49% win came as a surprise to no one but Washington officials. Salafists will agree to cooperate with the Americans precisely because they advocate the most radical form of Islam, which sanctions any deceit in pursuit of its goals.

In any conflict with the MB, the Salafists would win. Though the MB theoretically enjoys broader support, much of this support comes from urbanized liberals who care about their mortgages more than political ends. The Salafists can bring a much more militant crowd into the streets.

We’ve been saying for years that such a move was inevitable, and we predicted that the West would do nothing, just as it did when Germany re-militarized the Rhineland, because it’s a nation’s right to set its troops anywhere on its territory.

Allowing the Re-militarization of the Sinai under the peace treaty is worse than denouncing the peace treaty altogether. In the absence of peace, Israel can strike Egyptian army installations within dangerous range of our borders; but peace shields the Egyptians from our reprisals, allowing them to set up SAM defenses along the border just as they did in 1972 under the ceasefire that Kissinger shoved down our throat.

Baradei’s move leaves two presidential options. So far, Amr Moussa seems the likely candidate. He is vehemently anti-Israel, but relatively secular, and thus probably amenable to US pressure. But Moussa is 75, so he is not likely to live out his presidential term. Thus he will be replaced by an Islamist before the next elections. In any case, lacking his own power base, he will be so weak than the parliament’s Islamist majority will control him. Another leading presidential contender is a top figure in the Muslim Brotherhood.

Such a development may happen even before the presidential elections if, as expected, the junta steps down immediately after convening the parliament, whose speaker will then assume presidential powers.

More importantly, the MB will have to deal with a country in chaos, and with strong liberal forces who will oppose religious dictates in parliament. The Brotherhood, therefore, will have to crack down on secular opposition and rely on religious activists to maintain order in Egypt, which is now being overrun by criminal gangs.

Because the Muslim Brotherhood views religion as more important that political freedoms, it will hold its grip on power by any means necessary, and is not going to let it go in the next elections. Egypt is drifting down the Khomeinist road.

Though his words were for local consumption, and the United States would never allow Egypt to abandon the Camp David treaties, they certainly set the tone for our future relations with Egypt, all the way down to the eventual denunciation of the peace treaties.

Meanwhile, the US will continue to provide massive economic aid to the wildly anti-Israeli regime in Egypt.

The peace treaty has become counterproductive, and rather than saving it, Israel must prompt the MB to cancel it. That would allow us to immediately start operations in the Sinai against Arab terrorists and African illegals, and to bomb the Egyptian reactors. Otherwise, under the cover of the peace treaty, Egypt will continue building up its armed forces, develop nuclear bombs, and support Hamas.

Thus it is not unthinkable to carry out operations in the Sinai.

Compared to Salafis, the Brotherhood are a club of exemplary liberals.