Pro-Mubarak "cavalry" attacking demonstrators-camels???
" The warden said, 'Hey buddy, don't you be no square,
If you can't find a partner use a wooden chair.'"
-Elvis Presley-Jailhouse Rock
When the uprising in Egypt began, the White House proceeded very cautiously. The official position was that the Egyptian people would decide who their rulers would be. Yet, President Obama came out this week and announced in the same breath that the "transition" must begin now. He has also stated that the Muslim Brotherhood should play a role. Thus, the US is trying to have some influence in the outcome. Israel, which has so much at stake in that outcome, has reacted negatively.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/us-egypt-israel-usa-idUSTRE70U53720110131
Of course, the Israelis are careful not to inflame an already tense situation by making public statements. Obviously, they regard Hosni Mubarak as a ruler who has maintained the peace between their two countries.
As for Obama, it now appears that the US is trying to facilitate Mubarak's exit much as Jimmy Carter did to the Shah of Iran-with disasterous results. Obviously, he is trying to position himself to please the winning side, which he figures, probably won't be Mubarak. Talk about threading the needle.
The Shah was going to go, whether we aided the process or not. We may have saved his life, and that of his family, by helping him leave. The time for the USA to prevent Khomeini was 1953. That's when we should have kept hands off, instead of imposing the Shah on the people of Iran in the first place. Khomeini had the only effective opposition vehicle left in 1978, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteMubarak is going to go. In the words of George W. Bush, "Freedom in on the march," this time not at the point of U.S. bayonets. The question is whether we have any good will among those who send Mubarak packing. It would be better if we can arrange some.