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| Egypt And The Success Of Obama's Reasoned Approach |
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| Benny B:
Yesterday was a huge day in Egypt, as that country’s President/dictator for the past 30 years ceded power in the face of massive peaceful protests by his people. While much work remains to be done to ensure that real democracy takes hold in Egypt, we should celebrate the amazing victory by and for the Egyptian people. It was truly a day for progressives and other supporters of democracy and peaceful protest to savor. Mubarak’s departure is also, however, a victory for the Obama Administration’s patient and reasoned approach to promoting democracy in Egypt and other countries. This approach started with President Obama’s stellar June 2009 speech in Cairo that signaled that the peoples of Egypt and other countries would have to choose democracy, but we would be there to support them if they made moves to achieve it peacefully. And it has continued over the past 18 days of protests, as President Obama has taken a measured approach of private diplomacy with Mubarak, Egypt’s military, and other Egyptian leaders, combined with slowly increasing public pressure that focused on supporting the will of the Egyptian people. As yesterday’s developments show, President Obama’s approach is working. Throughout the protests, many on the left and from the Bush Administration have harshly criticized President Obama for not being more publicly vocal about the need for Mubarak to leave and in support of the protesters. Apparently these folks wanted President Obama to try to lead the protest movement, demand democracy and regime change immediately, and/or engage in the type of loud public saber rattling that marred our foreign policy under the Bush Administration. Such an approach (which, notably, did not lead to the peaceful toppling of any leaders in the Middle East under Bush) would have been misguided for a number of reasons. * First, the publicly vocal approach that the critics wanted President Obama to take would have made the protesters look like tools of the U.S., which would undermine their credibility at home. * Second, such an approach would have limited President Obama’s ability to work privately to make the protests successful by making sure that Mubarak or the Egyptian military did not overreact and have the situation devolve into chaos. It is remarkable that a thirty year dictator did not violently crush the protests and stepped down with hardly a shot fired, and the Obama Administration’s private diplomacy is likely a large reason why such violence did not occur. * Third, the critics’ approach ignores the fact that democracy has to come from the people of Egypt, not outside pressure from the U.S. That is not to say that we had no role in how things turn out in Egypt, but the thought that we could essentially dictate the results in Egypt reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how politics and foreign policy works, as both leaders and citizens of countries do not react well to outsiders publicly meddling in their affairs. Peacefully toppling a dictatorial regime is a difficult thing to achieve. It requires more than just protests from a country’s citizens and demands of “regime change” from other world leaders. Instead, it requires patient and reasoned diplomacy focused on moving the dictator out of power and supporting the will of the people that a protesting. This is the approach that the Obama Administration has taken so far and now, as a result, we are in a position to help the people of Egypt establish a path to a peaceful transition to democracy. As progressives, it is important that we help spread the word of the success of the Obama Administration’s approach to Egypt for at least two reasons. First, it helps counteract the misconception that the Administration is not being successful. Second, and more importantly, it helps build support for the more reasoned approach of this Administration and helps push back on the supporters of the loud saber rattling that led our foreign policy so far astray under the Bush Administration. So, we urge you to write a letter to your local newspaper editor celebrating the events in Egypt, and highlighting the importance of the Obama Administration’s approach to enabling those events to occur. |
| Soul Crusher:
Lmao. Which approach was that? |
| headhuntersix:
Stickie this thread so when the Muslim Brotherhood takes over and things go south Benny can look like the leftist douchbag he is. Barry had no idea what he was doing.....if the economy was better that would get hell of alot more air play. |
| Soul Crusher:
I was laughing so hard at this article. Bama taking a victory lap already? Ha ha ha. |
| George Whorewell:
Benny I know you don't know how to read so I can't get angry at you for being a moron. Did you pay attention to anything that happened this week that didn't involve picking lice out of your baby momma's weave? Obama's reasoned approach so far has amounted to having every member of his cabinet make contradictory statements that make the United States look totally incompetent. Obama has handled Egypt the way he has handled America; Like an affirmative action imbecile who was given the job because of his skin color and is utterly overmatched by his day to day responsibilities. I wouldn't be surprised if the secret service has to dress him in the morning, wipe his ass and fuck his hideous aardvark looking wife because he's busy playing solitaire on his PC. |
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