Israel shocked by Obamas betrayal of Mubarak Reuters
While many Egyptians are rallying against the USA for its historical support for Hosni Mubarak, many in Israel and other nations believe that Barack Obama has betrayed a long-time ally:
Israel shocked by Obamas betrayal of Mubarak
Reuters - Jan 31, 2011
If Egypts President Hosni Mubarak is toppled, Israel will lose one of its very few friends in a hostile neighborhood and President Barack Obama will bear a large share of the blame, Israeli pundits said on Monday.Political commentators expressed shock at how the United States as well as its major European allies appeared to be ready to dump a staunch strategic ally of three decades, simply to conform to the current ideology of political correctness
One comment by Aviad Pohoryles in the daily Maariv was entitled A Bullet in the Back from Uncle Sam.
Who is advising them, he asked, to fuel the mob raging in the streets of Egypt and to demand the head of the person who five minutes ago was the bold ally of the president an almost lone voice of sanity in a Middle East?
Obama on Sunday called for an orderly transition to democracy in Egypt, stopping short of calling on Mubarak to step down, but signaling that his days may be numbered. [nN30161335]
Jordan and Saudi Arabia see the reactions in the West, how everyone is abandoning Mubarak, and this will have very serious implications, Haaretz daily quoted one official as saying
Writing in Haaretz, Ari Shavit said Obama had betrayed a moderate Egyptian president who remained loyal to the United States, promoted stability and encouraged moderation.
To win popular Arab opinion, Obama was risking Americas status as a superpower and reliable ally.
Throughout Asia, Africa and South America, leaders are now looking at what is going on between Washington and Cairo.
Everyone grasps the message: Americas word is worthless America has lost it.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/us-egypt-israel-usa-idUSTRE70U53720110131
The USA President is in a tough spot. At minimum, US President Obama is trying to publicly distance himself from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. On the one hand, Egyptians on the street are blaming the USA and him for supporting the Mubarak regime for so long. On the other hand, Hosni Mubarak is a long-time supporter of certain aspects of American policy in the region. Many act like the Obama Administration is confused and/or has flip-flopped on this:
On Thursday, Vice President Biden proclaimed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to be a friend of the United States and rejected the suggestions that Mubarak should step down or was a dictator. On Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sounded a little tougher, telling Mubarak not to use violence against his countrys protestors and to restore Internet communications that he had cut off. But, alas, democracy did not pass her lips. (The closest she came: As President Obama said yesterday, reform is absolutely critical to the well-being of Egypt.) Throughout the day, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley tweeted missives, such as, We hope they choose a path of dialogue and reform.By late in the day, it was safe to say no one quite understood what the Obama administrations position was. So the president sallied forth with yet another statement. He assured us that he was monitoring the situation and called upon the Egyptian authorities to refrain from any violence against peaceful protesters.
I would add one more suggestion: find a new foreign policy team; Obamas current one is egregiously inept.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-turn/2011/01/on_egypt_obama_offers_too_litt.html
While many in Israel seem to act like President Obama is now betraying Hosni Mubarak, other sources suggest that that Barack Obama was dissatisfied with what was going on in Egypt for a long time and wanted the type of change that many in Egypt now seem to be publicly asking for.
Yet, what it appears (to me at least) is that the USA President suspects that he will do best politically by publicly switching to the side/objectives of the protesters. And while this is likely to be more consistent with Barack Obamas internal views, it certainly does send a message to world leaders that even if they take very tough and unpopular steps in their own countries which agree with USA interests that the USA will not support them if the going seems a little tough for the USA.
And more people are wondering about that. This strongly suggests that the USA is losing more of whatever moral authority it has had diplomatically and that it will face unprecedented crises in the future when its allies decide to distance themselves from it.
Without national repentance, the days of the USA are numbered, irrespective of what happens with Hosni Mubarak.