I want to praise the president of the United States tonight for having moral and political courage. Here is his statement on today’s events in Egypt.
Office of the Press Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 2011
Statement of President Barack Obama on Egypt
The Egyptian people have been told that there was a transition of authority, but it is not yet clear that this transition is immediate, meaningful or sufficient. Too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy, and it is the responsibility of the government to speak clearly to the Egyptian people and the world. The Egyptian government must put forward a credible, concrete and unequivocal path toward genuine democracy, and they have not yet seized that opportunity.
As we have said from the beginning of this unrest, the future of Egypt will be determined by the Egyptian people. But the United States has also been clear that we stand for a set of core principles. We believe that the universal rights of the Egyptian people must be respected, and their aspirations must be met. We believe that this transition must immediately demonstrate irreversible political change, and a negotiated path to democracy. To that end, we believe that the emergency law should be lifted. We believe that meaningful negotiations with the broad opposition and Egyptian civil society should address the key questions confronting Egypt’s future: protecting the fundamental rights of all citizens; revising the Constitution and other laws to demonstrate irreversible change; and jointly developing a clear roadmap to elections that are free and fair.
We therefore urge the Egyptian government to move swiftly to explain the changes that have been made, and to spell out in clear and unambiguous language the step by step process that will lead to democracy and the representative government that the Egyptian people seek. Going forward, it will be essential that the universal rights of the Egyptian people be respected. There must be restraint by all parties. Violence must be forsaken. It is imperative that the government not respond to the aspirations of their people with repression or brutality. The voices of the Egyptian people must be heard.
The Egyptian people have made it clear that there is no going back to the way things were: Egypt has changed, and its future is in the hands of the people. Those who have exercised their right to peaceful assembly represent the greatness of the Egyptian people, and are broadly representative of Egyptian society. We have seen young and old, rich and poor, Muslim and Christian join together, and earn the respect of the world through their non-violent calls for change. In that effort, young people have been at the forefront, and a new generation has emerged. They have made it clear that Egypt must reflect their hopes, fulfill their highest aspirations, and tap their boundless potential. In these difficult times, I know that the Egyptian people will persevere, and they must know that they will continue to have a friend in the United States of America.
The president is right, Egypt has changed, but we must change with it. We cannot forget that we have sponsored Hosni Mubarak’s thirty-year reign, and we therefore have to take a degree of responsibility for Mubarak’s misrule, his oppression, his kleptomania, his torture, and his international policies that have been so immensely unpopular with the Egyptian populace. We cannot forget that the attacks of 9/11 were planned and carried out by anti-Mubarak and anti-Saud activists who were irate about our relationships with their corrupt leaders. The people on the streets of Cairo are a direct rebuke to al-Qaeda. It is not necessary to kill innocent American civilians to throw off the shackles of Mubarak’s repression. It is far preferable, and vastly more effective, to engage in civil disobedience and insist on your rights. Courageous leaders have demonstrated this in India, in South Africa, and in the American South. Salvation doesn’t come with a suicide belt. It comes like this, like we’re seeing it come on our televisions.
We have a thirty-year history with Mubarak. He continued Sadat’s policies by honoring the peace agreement with Israel and keeping Egypt out of the Soviet bloc and in our camp. We had fantastic reasons to be friendly to Mubarak. But as Israel failed to fulfill its end of the Camp David Accords with regard to establishing a Palestinian state, Mubarak’s relationship with both Israel and the United States became increasingly unpopular. As he lost legitimacy, he had to increase his repression. His greed and cronyism and a flagging economy were also major factors in his loss of popularity.
Egypt has changed. They no longer will allow their country’s policies to be distorted by a failed peace agreement that has never been honored. They want to be able to hold their leaders accountable on both domestic and foreign affairs. Since this distortion has mainly been for our perceived benefit, correcting it comes at a cost for us.
No doubt, Obama has received a lot of nervous advice about how stability has served us very well and that we will pay a high price if friendly dictators in the Middle East start falling like dominoes to be replaced by representatives of the people. That’s solid advice because it’s true.
Tossing Mubarak aside makes our allies nervous and less reliable as partners. And if Egypt turns into the next Iran, people will say that Obama was too soft, that he got squishy with his human rights “concern,” and that he “lost” the Middle East to Islamists.
But even if we pay a price and even if things go horribly wrong, I will still defend the president for changing America and making a clean break with Mubarak while taking an unambiguous stand with the protestors.
As far as diplomatic speak goes, this is the best we’ll get, so I’m pleased I guess.
But Hillary sounded more like she was taking her talking points from Tel Aviv.
So…nu !!!???
AG
Very nicely stated, and also a powerful rebuke to the squeamish American “pragmatists” whose panties are bunched around the prospect that the Muslim Brotherhood might no longer be an illegal organization.
“We cannot forget that…”
Booman, I’m sorry to be cynical, but this is America, we can and will forget whatever we want to. We believe it’s our prerogative to do so, and will whenever it suits us.
Yes, Obama can sure give eloquent speeches and write great letters, but unless he uses the power of the purse against Mubarak, these actions are utterly meaningless. Mubarak already said in his speech tonight he is not going to submit to pressure from foreign powers, what good does a well-written letter do?
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“You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.”
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."And if the Saudis can’t afford to backfill US aid to Egypt, China definitely would. The last thing China wants to see is another Tiananmen Square revolt but this time on the Egyptian Tahrir Square model — more broadly based.
The US leverage in this situation was squandered by George W. Bush.
Here’s the thing about not engaging in “regime change”. It means you can’t engage in “regime change”.
What I mean is that if the Obama administration is serious about changing American foreign policy from what it was under Bush, then it becomes virtually impossible for Obama to call openly for Mubarak’s resignation/overthrow, or even to threaten to cut off military aid—let alone send in US troops.
It means that the US government has to exercise its long-weakened and atrophied diplomatic “muscles” (so it’s not surprising that diplomatic mistakes get made like Wisner’s comments after his trip to Egypt).
Ultimately, as others have commented here and elsewhere, this comes down to whether the Egyptian army will fire on their own people. If they will, then it will be like China in 1989, Hungary in 1956 or Iran in 2009. If they won’t, it will be like Eastern Europe in 1989, the Philippines in 1986, or Ukraine in 2004.
P.S. What do most of the uprisings since the early 1990s have in common? They happened in countries where the dominant language is one of the languages into which Gene Sharp’s “From Dictatorship to Democracy”, a how-to handbook for using nonviolent tactics to overthrow a dictatorship, has been translated. (It’s my nomination for most influential political essay of the past 20 years.)
Obama is in a difficult situation. Three decades ago American assistance in democratic regime change would have be welcomed domestically and internationally as an about-face in the attitudes of one the world’s superpowers.
After George W. Bush and Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, both domestically and internationally the world wants the US to butt out. But those who seek democratic change want the US as the “aspirational model” of democracy to weight in to tip the balance. Those expectations are contradictory.
And part of it is a morality play. A segment of Americans wants the US to atone for its 30-year support of Mubarak’s regime by supporting the protesters. These Americans want to feel moral again about their foreign policy.
As for dominoes falling, the next which looked like Yemen, now looks like Iran. Nothing else can explain why the Iranian government is sponsoring a big rally to whomp up the celebration of the 32nd year of the Isalamic Revolution. But the dominoes in the Middle East will take a long time to fall; there is not the external power holding regimes in power that is the counterpart of the Soviet Army. The traditions of the army in each country is likely definitive. Conscripted armies make a regime vulnerable. A well-paid military class makes it less so.
People in their eighties are fiercely resistant to change. It’s important to remember there is no logic in their behavior. Perhaps an expert in dealing with geriatrics could be some help. I imagine our “health care system” could advise on how to divest the man of his billions.
I agree that the president is doing fine.