Egypt is still in turmoil, but I believe the Obama Administration has made a horrible foreign policy decision. In the early days of this unrest, President Obama called for Mubarek to step down He was very critical of this long-time ally.
In the last couple of days he has backed off his rhetoric and has softened his stance. Telling Mubarek to "listen to the Egyptian people" is a more tempered statement. No matter what you think of Mubarek or if he should step down or not, he is still a trusted ally in both the War on Terror and a partner in Middle East stability. Mubarek has let down the Egyptian people, but did not let down the United States. He has stood with with us for many years and how do we repay this friendship? We pull the rug out from under him!
Our alliance with Egypt can be traced to the Cold War. I feel many don't understand that the remnants of the Cold War is still with us as seen with our alliance with Egypt. If we have an alliance and friendship with this leader why would be turn our backs on him? If Mubarek's government falls it falls, but the president should not be pushing him off the cliff!
How does this decision hurt our foreign policy? As we see, many of the Arab countries are worried about the events in Egypt. They worry that the citizens within their countries may take a cue from the Egyptians. Seeing how Mr. Obama sold out Mubarek, how can the Jordanian or Saudi Kings trust us? If we turn our backs on Egypt why not turn our backs on them too? Didn't Mr. Obama go to Cairo University and tell the Muslim world that we are partners in peace? He spoke a good game, but didn't follow through.
We have nurtured these alliances for years and now they can quickly fall into the hands of extremists. I love democracy but should be be selling our friend down the road? Especially ones we give 1.3 billion dollars to each year! Don't worry Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan...we have your back!
So you are saying that we should stick with a person and a system that is against everything this country was founded on? We should stick to a dictator as the tide of history washes him away? And as that tide rolls it will lead to a country that will slide toward radical Islam without proper democratic guidance. And when that move toward radical Islam inflames the rest of the Middle East, it will eventually lead to a war with Israel that will irradiate a sizable amount of the world's oil supply? But hey, we stick by our friends...all the way to the end of Western civilization. Do you think that is a prudent idea Mr. Lassen.
ReplyDeleteIsn't this similar to what happened in Iran after the Shah? Do the Iranians have a more democratic government today? or is this a more radical islamic country? I don't know anything about politics...just a thought.
ReplyDeleteAna
Hi Ana...The events happening in Egypt are very smilar. A powerful and corrupt dictator supported by the United Sates. There are difference such as an exiled leader returning to the country (Ayotollah Khomeini.)
ReplyDeleteIran has a authoritive government. To put a label on it, it is a Theocratic Islamic Republic. Essentially, the Koran is their "constitution." They now very close to having nuclear weapons and they despise the United States. I guess we all will be watching to see if the Egyptians learned anything from what happened in Iran so many years ago. Thanks for commenting on my blog!
Mr. Celantano I enjoyed your comments, but what signal does it give to our other allies? Please read today's NYTimes to see the grumblings in the other Middle East countries. I feel the Obama administration needs to tread lightly and we only hope that the next transitional government will be prudent in their decisions and keep Egypt a secular government. We don't want Egypt to become the next Iran. Now we will see the face of Islam. The masses will speak and tell the world...do we turn toward radicalism or do we turn towards Democracy...should be interesting to watch over the next few weeks. Thanks Rocco for commenting on my blog.
ReplyDeleteIf Obama backs Mubarek, he is looking at one of two scenarios. Either the the people's revolution succeeds and now he looks bad in the eyes of the new government. Conversely say Mubarek's army puts down the rebellion with force and now Obama looks like he supports a tyrant on the world stage. I am sure that Obama would much rather have Mubarek stay in power so he doesn't have to worry about preening to a government (who most likely will hate us) but I think he is really stuck between a rock and a hard place on this. You say yourself governments are like people, well if your buddy and his girlfriend are fighting you should know your best bet is to not be involved.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the president is in a difficult situaion. His comments in the beginning of the of the unrest was very amatuerish showing you that he doesn't understand geopolitics of the region. He has since tempered his comments. This is an old Cold War issue that is biting us in the ass!...Thanks for commenting on my blog.
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