- There is a strong held belief in Egypt that the US is against the June 30th alliance and government, and is waging war against it for the sake of MB....
- There really isn’t a global conspiracy against us....That being said, Turkey and Qatar are truly against us..., so you are not being completely paranoid here....
- The perception that international opinion provides excessive support for the MB, which develops at times to the belief that the international media is in the MB’s pockets....
- [The idea that this is a war on terror.] What is your counter idea to Islamism/MB ideology? Whoever does not agree with you is a traitor and should be killed? ("4 common Misconceptions Egyptians have," August 18, 2013, The Sandmonkey)
But if the explanatory power of the story coming out of Cairo is weak, that coming from The Washington Post is equally so. Note only is this chart missing a number of obvious links, it suggests that any time one is not sending tanks or bullets, one doesn't have a clue.
(Max Fisher, “The Middle East, Explained in One (sort of Terrifying) Chart,” Washington Post, August 26, 2013). Of course, if we are discussing "no clue" in terms of the American public and not the American government, we are on somewhat safer ground: half of ["the American public"] could not find Syria on a map, as surveyed by the Pew Research Centre." ("These 'Syria for idiots' pieces are getting a bit much: Where will it end?," Oliver Williams, New Statesman, 04 September 2013)