U.S. Envoy to Egypt: Mubarak 'Must Stay' for Now (Obama Humiliated by Special Envoy)

The Hill ^ | Saturday, February 5, 2011 | Bridget Johnson

[kristinn]

Amid calls for President Hosni Mubarak to not wait until the end of his term to step down, the U.S. special envoy to Egypt told the Munich Security Conference that the 30-year ruler needs to stick around fro now.

Frank Wisner, a former ambassador to Egypt deployed there this past week to apparently urge Mubarak to hand over the reins, said Saturday that the transition "is an ideal moment for him to show the way forward."

Wisner spoke to the conference via video link from New York.

"We need to get a national consensus around the pre-conditions for the next step forward. The president must stay in office to steer those changes," he said.

"I believe that President Mubarak's continued leadership is critical -- it's his chance to write his own legacy," Wisner added, according to reports.

President Obama also referred to Mubarak's legacy Friday in appealing for him to make "the right decision" and "make a judgment about a pathway forward that is orderly but also meaningful and serious."

Wisner said caution should be exercised in the transition because "this is a very volatile and dangerous time."

"The more Egyptians hear from the outside world that the president's got to go, and this has got to happen, that's got to happen, we create a negative force inside of Egypt itself," he said in arguing that rhetoric shouldn't get out of control.

[kristinn]

Response via AFP: U.S.: Frank Wisner wasn't speaking on behalf of gov't

[edpc]

If he wasn’t going to be speaking for the US government, they shouldn’t have sent them. The gang that couldn’t shoot straight.

[RichInOC]

Sit! Stay! No, stay!...Good autocrat.

[Pan_Yan]

It's very difficult to keep the diplomats talking the official line when there either there is no official line or the directions from the top are so abhorrent that the minions can't voice them in public.

[CynicalBear]

Administration shoots self in foot?

[popdonnelly]

If we can’t figure out what the Administration’s position is, how can the rest of the World?

Forget it, World, it’s only the Obama Administration talking.

[Walkingfeather]

and why isnt hillarys head not on a paltter?

[Brass Lamp]

and why isnt hillarys head not on a paltter?

'Cause it's not as funny as letting her be the one to make that call to Hussein at 3 o'clock in the morning. She's worth keeping around just for that.

[milwguy]

How long before this guy gets thrown under Barry’s bus?

[hinckley buzzard]

Indeed. This is what a "leadership vacuum" looks like. Reminiscent of the vacillation and wishy-wash during the oil spill last summer.

Obama may be a clever campaigner but he is no leader. The world is getting closer to being out of control, and he has not a clue.

[edpc]

Well, saying he’s not speaking for the admin shows they’re at least getting a good grip for the throw...

[pissant]

Good grief. This is embarrassing, even by OBama standards.

[Richard Kimball]

The Bamster is at best a puppet. This is about as deeply as he thinks. He cannot really do anything, cause there ARE people who know about his background, and can blow him out of the water in one day. There are people who know his true history. They know why he has multiple Social Security numbers. There are people who have his financial aid records, probably showing he got into college as a foreign student. There are people who know what his real name is. He does what he's told and takes a lot of vacations. If it's more complicated than eating ice cream, Obama can't handle it.

Currently, there is no Administration position on Egypt, cause Obama hasn't been told what his position on Egypt is, yet.

[rbmillerjr]

These people have no idea what they are doing.

[curiosity]

I've come to the conclusion that it's dangerous and impossible to attempt to democratize a country in which a significant portion of the population subscribes to a fundamentally totalitarian ideology, such as Islamism (the same would hold for Facism, Communism, and the like).

Even if the majortiy rejects the ideology, a large enough, well-organized minority that is willing to use violence and intimindation will ultimately prevail and impose it on the nation. We need look no futher than Germany, Lebanon, and Gaza for proof of this proposition.

For this reason, we should NOT support open democracy in Egypt or any other country that has a sizeable Islamist presence. Period.

In other words, we need an Arab Attaturk.

[livius]

Because she’s not in charge of her department and never has been.

I have never liked her or her ideas, but I thought she actually did have some backbone and was not an idiot. I guess I was wrong on both counts.

Hillary made her career by being married to an important guy (he may have been a corrupt idiot, but that doesn’t matter - he was politically adept) and supporting him no matter what.

Once Bambi appointed her as SOS, she knew that it was time for her to shut up and wait for direction. That never came, and when it did come, I think it was so anti-American that not even Hillary’s odious husband could accept it.

So I think the Wisner event may actually not be a simple matter of miscommunication or confusion, but that the worm may actually have turned.

I could definitely be wrong - the worm may go back to ground and Bambi’s irrationality may rule the day - but this was an encouraging sign of disruption in Bambi’s agenda.

[Presbyterian Reporter]

“”US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley: “We have great respect for Frank Wisner and we were deeply appreciative of his willingness to travel to Egypt last week. He has not continued in any official capacity following the trip. The views he expressed today are his own. He did not coordinate his comments with the U.S. government.”””

____

Not good when State Department has to denounce Obama’s envoy.

That does not play well, even the leftist MSM will take notice of Obama’s incompetence.

[Shelayne]

Just let him eat his waffle cone.

[Third Person]

Currently, there is no Administration position on Egypt, cause Obama hasn't been told what his position on Egypt is, yet.

He's waiting for The Teleprompter to fill him in...