Friday, January 28, 2011

What Should President Obama do as turmoil hits the middle east?

The turmoil in Middle East also is generating chaos in Washington, where foreign policy experts in and out of the Obama administration are trying determine how America should respond.

The New York Times reported Friday that an analysis of WikiLeaks cables shows that U.S.-Egypt relations warmed up after President Barack Obama took office because he backed off of the Bush administration’s push for spreading democracy and human
rights in the Middle East. While the Obama administration continued to push Mubarak to make reforms behind the scenes, it toned down the public pressure regarding human rights. One cable, for example, told a visiting Gen. David H. Petraeus that the United States was seeking to avoid “the public confrontations that had become routine over the past several years.”

Now, there are indications the administration’s effort to play global politics to its advantage by soft-pedaling Egypt's abuses could be backfiring. The Times story notes: “This balancing of private pressure with strong public support for Mr. Mubarak has become increasingly tenuous in recent days.”
Read full Newsmax article HERE.
The Obama administration needs to “seize the moment” to grapple with the wave of anti-government protests sweeping through Egypt and other parts of the Middle East, several foreign policy scholars urged on Wednesday.

“My impression is that the administration has been basically closing its eyes and praying that it all works out, because anything else seems too hard and too risky,” said Robert Kagan, a foreign policy scholar at the Brookings Institution and co-chairman of a bipartisan Egypt working group of former officials that has been urging the Obama administration to prepare for what comes after the regime of Egypt’s octogenarian ruler Hosni Mubarak.
Read the full Politico article HERE.
The revolution may have started in Tunisia where ongoing protests forced the country's foreign minister to step down Thursday. It then spread to Egypt on Tuesday, taking aim at the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak.
And now it has migrated to Yemen, where tens of thousands of anti-government protesters demanded Thursday that another U.S. ally step down: Yemen's president, who has held power for 32 years.
Read the full Fox News Article HERE.

What should the President do? Should he do anything?

8 comments:

TexasConservative said...

Great Post Bosman.

Hopefully Obama is hunkering down with top foreign analysts from both sides of the aisle and reviewing their suggestions.

Anonymous said...

Over his head.
Zaloom

Revolution 2012 said...

The footage on TV today of the rioting in Egypt is showing that the violence is really picking up.

I'm not sure where I stand on this. The problem with a change from Mubarak is, What do you get instead??

OhioJOE said...

Not to be a smart alec, but say hello to $6 a gallon gas.

BOSMAN said...

Michael,

It's to bad for America, but I believe you are right.

WAY over his head!

ConMan said...

He should use our intelligence and figure out WHO is behind the rioting.

If it's goal is religious (install Islamic leader)I would say, MYOB!

I would rather Mubarak than some Imam running that country.

kelly said...

Conman,

You are correct. Hannity is talking the same way. It seems a group called the Islamic Brotherhood that is backing these riots.

It's looking like Iran all over again.

Mubarak is beginning to look good.

Ann said...

Those videos on TV are horrible. It looks as if Egyptian government will fall at any time now. What will replace it?