'Egypt's Jon Stewart' Bassem Youssef tells Jon Stewart that America should quit the Middle East (sort of)

Egypt&#039;s Jon Stewart has some opinions on American foreign policy

(Image credit: The Daily Show)

published 10 February 2015

The Middle East is a mess, and to help untangle what's going on, Jon Stewart invited Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef — often called "Egypt's Jon Stewart" because of his now-banned TV program — onto Monday night's Daily Show. "What should America do about this?" Stewart asked Youssef. His reply — "Well, how about nothing?" — got a big cheer from the audience.

Youssef went on to explain a world in which the U.S. props up dictators in return for oil and bases, the dictators publicly blame America for all their woes, and everybody wins — except the people. He used a Best Buy analogy, sang "Let It Go" — "I thought drones were the worst thing we exported to that region," Stewart quipped about Frozen — and likened the U.S. to a dog who won't stop licking a sore. If that sounds like a big blame-America-fest, Stewart actually turned the tables on Youssef, and wrung out a concession: Egypt still wants U.S. aid, so ideally America would "f--k gradually off." Well, that's one foreign policy slogan you won't see very often. —Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.