President Morsi: Man of the moment

"The biggest winner from this hard-fought agreement is Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's new president. The Islamist leader has deftly juggled sympathy for Hamas with Egypt's strategic national interests and helped to produce a breakthrough that, for the moment, can only enhance his role as a key regional player – and underline the difference between him and the overthrown Hosni Mubarak. Lavish praise from the US and even Israel was a mark of what looks like being one of the most substantial changes of the Arab spring."

OK< a cease-fire has been put in place between Hamas and the Israelis. There are no winners in any armed conflict, although each side has declared itself the winner. One person has shown himself to be a winner is the new Egyptian President Morsi - as the piece from The Guardian, above, suggests.

An American perspective on how a relationship was forged between the US and Egypt emerges from a piece "Egypt’s Leader Is Crucial Link in Gaza Deal" in The New York Times.

"The cease-fire brokered between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday was the official unveiling of this unlikely new geopolitical partnership, one with bracing potential if not a fair measure of risk for both men. After a rocky start to their relationship, Mr. Obama has decided to invest heavily in the leader whose election caused concern because of his ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, seeing in him an intermediary who might help make progress in the Middle East beyond the current crisis in Gaza."

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