Posted on 02/14/2011 10:54:43 AM PST by Racehorse
On Sunday, a statement issued by the White House called for an "orderly transition" in Egypt to a government that better reflects the aspirations of the Egyptian people. He also spoke on the phone with Middle East and world leaders about the ongoing struggle in Egypt.
On Tuesday, the President took a harder line with Egypt: "It is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful and it must begin now," he said. On Wednesday, the White House said the violence caught Obama by surprise. It is unclear if there will be a further statement from him on the subject today.
(Excerpt) Read more at voices.washingtonpost.com ...
A Chicago community organizer or a Texas cowboy?
The cowboy already has been proven true.
R.
According to a Newsweek article written by Niall Ferguson he completely blew it. I t has been posted here numerous times so no need to link it again but it’s a devastating critique of the Obama response. The phone rang at 3 AM and he didn’t pick up.
This linked to an incoherent opinion piece, that left Bush out of the equation entirely highlighting the superior work of the Niall Ferguson nail on head column.
It needs to be pointed out that Hillary is getting to skate away on her own incompetence. No one, but no one, was preventing the “smartest woman” in the world from recognizing the Facebook revolution.
Turns out she missed the 3:00 AM call herself!
Community Organizing/Grassroots Youth Movement is chic-talk for "hidden funding of extremists to incite mush-headed youths, to take control of a government".
A professor at the University of Michigan wrote a blog post with his thoughts on the potential conflict areas going into 2011. He posted it January 1, 2011 and item number one was Egypt. To wit:
‘ Egypt, after decades of being unproblematic for the US, may be on the verge of being a foreign policy challenge of some magnitude. President Hosni Mubarak is advanced in age and could pass from the scene soon. He is grooming his son, Jamal, to be his successor, but the wikileaks cables suggest that the powerful Egyptian military intelligence chief is not happy with this idea of dynastic succession. On the other hand, US cables also suggest that the Egyptian military is declining in power and modernity. Although the government successfully repressed its radicals during the past two decades, they are back in the streets again, as with today’s car-bombing of a Christian church in Alexandria, which killed 21. More serious challenges come from the Muslim Brotherhood,, which could do well in an election that was not rigged against them. Likewise, Egypt’s labor and middle class movements have shown themselves capable of mounting significant campaigns in recent years, deploying new communications tools such as facebook. A more democratic Egypt, like a more democratic Turkey, may not be willing to be complicit with Israeli oppression of the Palestinians. Obama should not take Egypt for granted, but rather should have some subtle and culturally informed contingency plans if its politics abruptly opens up. Above all, the US must not stand in the way of democratization, even if that means greater Muslim fundamentalist influence in the state. ‘
www.juancole.com/2011/02/foreseeing-egypts-unrest.html
How does some history professor at the U of M manage to foresee what the giant intellects in the Obama administration couldn't? Bearing in mind as Ferguson noted that the NY Times reported an administration source told them that this administration has never gamed or planned for potential unrest in Egypt.
BTW, the professor's politics are not palatable.
Which professor do you mean? Ferguson is also a professor.
I was referring to the guy at the University of Michigan. I keep reading claims that “no one could foresee” the events in Egypt, but this obscure history professor flagged Egypt as a potential crisis on January 1.
I figured he was the one. Ferguson is a professor at Harvard though so I wasn’t sure. I’m sure there are more examples of analysts forseeing Egyptian events before they occurred. Obama’s failure in this regard is that he has no input from anyone outside his immediate circle. That’s Valerie Jarrett and Michelle.
Thanks Racehorse.
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