The protests in Egypt have put the U.S. government between a rock and a hard place. It's easy to see the irony in the American government's predicament. President Mubarak has been an important U.S. ally in the Middle East, and Egypt is the largest recipient of American foreign aid behind Israel. But President Mubarak is also a dictator who hides behind a transparent guise of democracy. His 30 years in power recently have been marked with obviously fraudulent elections and a citizenry completely dissatisfied with his rule. The American government now--more openly and uncomfortably than ever--has to negotiate its position between promoting principles of democracy and protecting its interests in the Middle East. Surprisingly--and luckily for the U.S. government--the most powerful political force in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, is not the driving force behind the recent protests. But if the Mubarak regime were toppled, it is likely that the Muslim Brotherhood could fill the resulting power vacuum. This would not bode well for U.S. interests in the region given the anti-American alignment of the Brotherhood.
I am glad that the Obama Administration has chosen not to come out in strong support of the Mubarak regime in face of the popular uprising. I can only imagine the intense conversations between President Obama and his advisers concerning how to respond to the chaos. I hope that Obama will fully support the popular will of the Egyptian people in this time, recognizing that the U.S. has talked the talk, but now needs to walk the walk of being a beacon of democracy. This moment is undoubtedly an important one for Egypt, the Arab world, and America...it will be interesting to watch how these events continue to unfold.
Americans in Los Anegeles stand in solidarity with Egyptian protestershttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/29
