Ezra Levant weighs into Egypt discussion for some reason
The last time we checked in with Ezra Levant, he was in a dispute over suggesting a billionaire was a Nazi. The writer then got a lot of press for his new book about the tar sands. Now he’s decided he has an opinion about the demonstrations in Egypt, and specifically about Mohamed ElBaradei, one of the prominent members of the opposition.
From his column in the Toronto Sun:
What was ElBaradei doing outside of the country? Working for the United Nations, mostly. He ran the International Atomic Energy Agency, the weapons inspectors.
The IAEA takes instructions from the UN. But ElBaradei flipped that around, arguing against liberating Iraq from Saddam Hussein — an unprecedented politicization of the IAEA civil service.
That was just a dress rehearsal for ElBaradei’s biggest achievement: Stalling the nuclear inspection of Iran. He doesn’t hide his contempt for the West. Though his assignment was Iran, ElBaradei says Israel is “the number one threat to the Middle East,” and attacks America and Israel for the “civilian carnage” they cause.
Levant’s column doesn’t really work, since it’s probably dangerous for any pundit to claim to have a good idea of what’s happening in Egypt right now, much less what’s going to happen in the future. And besides, is it really that shocking that a potential leader opposed the Iraq War? And who knew that skepticism about Iran’s progress on its nuclear program made a person dangerous? Quick, someone tell the CIA that they are run by Islamists.
The reaction to Levant’s column among other national writers has been pretty amusing. Maclean’s columnist Paul Wells tweeted “Scoop! Ezra Levant interviews his own ass and decides the crowds in Egypt don’t exist. It’s a Muslim plot!” and “Has anyone ever told Ezra that Vaclav Havel became Czechoslovakia’s president before its first free elections?” Norman Spector, who we’d last paid attention to during this unpleasantness, objected to the comparison and was dismissed by Wells in a way that’s got to be read to be believed.
Levant may be frequently sued and have a grasp of the facts that could best be called slippery, but at least his columns are always a recipe for entertainment. The fact that he’s being put forward as one of Sun TV News’ tent-pole personalities almost makes us want to subscribe.
