Egyptian Leadership Seemingly Quarrels With U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Twitter...Again

International diplomacy is sometimes pettier than we think.  While many envision stately halls and world-changing dinners, in this day and age, nations sometimes communicate just like the rest of us -- on Twitter.

Not for the first time, the social media site has seemingly captured a quarrel between the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and the ruling party in Egypt.

Roughly 10 hours ago, the U.S. Embassy posted a clip in which the American comedian Jon Stewart "destroys" President Mohammed Morsi for targeting and arresting his Egyptian counterpart, popular television comedian Bassem Youssef.

Youssef has been accused of "belittling" the president and insulting Islam.

"Video: @TheDailyShow with Jon Stewart on @DrBassemYoussef..." the embassy tweeted, along with a link to the video.

The Twitter account of the "Egyptian presidency" responded: "@USEmbassyCairo @TheDailyShow @DrBassemYoussef It's inappropriate for a diplomatic mission to engage in such negative political propaganda."

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/USEmbassyCairo/status/319002302868516864"]

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/EgyPresidency/status/319135360586244097"]

It should be noted that it is unclear who is tweeting from the @EgyPresidency page, and the tweet has been deleted.  However, Al Ahram and Egypt Independent describe the responses as coming from the presidency, and not a third party describing its actions.

Regardless, the Muslim Brotherhood retweeted the post from its verified Twitter account, and released a similar message of its own.  The Muslim Brotherhood also explicitly defines retweets as endorsements, adding that their tweets represent "official Muslim [Brotherhood] opinions."

"Another undiplomatic & unwise move by @USEmbassyCairo, taking sides in an ongoing investigation & disregarding Egyptian law & culture," it warned.

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/Ikhwanweb/status/319124145256415233"]

The Freedom and Justice Party, the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, also released a statement condemning U.S. State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland for weighing in on the case:

The U.S. spokeswoman’s injudicious statements show extreme and imprudent boldness and urgency. Her comments constitute a hasty, blatant interference in Egypt’s internal affairs regarding a legal complaint that is still under investigation, being dealt with in the necessary legal process and by official legal means. These remarks raise major question-marks about the U.S. administration’s position and discourse.

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Related:

• Watch Jon Stewart Eviscerate Morsi for Targeting & Arresting His Egyptian Counterpart
• U.S. Cairo Embassy Gets Into Twitter Feud With Muslim Brotherhood
• New Report Shows President Morsi Harassing Journalists Four Times More Than Mubarak