Marc Lynch (ForeignPolicy.com): …This was an unprecedented victory for the Egyptian people, and at last a vindication of the Obama administration’s patient and well-crafted strategy.
There is no question that the first, second and third drivers of this Egyptian revolution were the Egyptian people. The creativity of the youth and their ability to mobilize a wide range of Egyptian society around a common demand against daunting odds are simply an inspiration. The fact that these massive crowds avoided violence under incredibly tense conditions and under great uncertainty speaks volumes.
…The Obama administration also deserves a great deal of credit, which it probably won’t receive. It understood immediately and intuitively that it should not attempt to lead a protest movement which had mobilized itself without American guidance, and consistently deferred to the Egyptian people. Despite the avalanche of criticism from protestors and pundits, in fact Obama and his key aides backed the Egyptian protest movement far more quickly than anyone should have expected.
Their steadily mounting pressure on the Mubarak regime took time to succeed, causing enormous heartburn along the way, but now can claim vindication. By working carefully and closely with the Egyptian military, it helped restrain the worst violence and prevent Tiananmen on the Tahrir - which, it is easy to forget today, could very easily have happened.
No bombs, no shock and awe, no soaring declarations of American exceptionalism, and no taking credit for a tidal wave which was entirely of the making of the Egyptian people - just the steadily mounting public and private pressure on the top of the regime which was necessary for the protestors to succeed.
The Obama administration also understood from the start, and has consistently said, that removing Mubarak would not be enough. It has rejected “faux democracy,” and pushed hard for fundamental systemic reforms….
By the way, for those keeping score in the “peacefully removing Arab dictators” game, it’s now Obama 2, Bush 0. The administration has been subjected to an enormous amount of criticism over the last two weeks for its handling of Egypt, including by people inspired by or who worked on the previous administration’s Freedom Agenda. It was also attacked sharply from the left, by activists and academics who assumed that the administration was supporting Mubarak and didn’t want democratic change. In the end, Obama’s strategy worked. Perhaps this should earn it some praise, and even some benefit of the doubt going forward….
Marc Lynch is associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University.
Full article here
White House.gov
PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS DONE A WONDERFUL JOB IN HANDLING THE EVENTS SURROUNDING THE EGYPTIAN DEMONSTRATIONS. HE DID WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO. I AM VERY HAPPY FOR EGYPT…I AM ALSO CAUTIOUS UNTIL ALL FALLS INTO PLACE.
Can I just say that I LOVE our president? In the words of VP Biden, PBO is a BFD. We should all go to white house.gov and send him an email. Well done, Mr. President. Well done.
I am so happy for the Egyptian people and very proud of the way President Obama handle this diplomatically. When a reporter on CNN asked an Egyptian celebrating how that felt about America and President Obama he said we love America and President Obama and that President Obama was a good man. Also in other good news for the President in polling done for the Presidential election in 2012 President Obama beats all GOP frontrunners. That includes Romney, Gingrich and Huckabee http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49348.html
Don’t forget the administration teaming up with others to support the Sudanese.
I hope that story begins to get some more play after being overshadowed by the Egypt story. There are so many things occurring at once across the globe, it all deserves our scrutiny and understanding.
Going forward, it is my hope some of the loudest mouths/critics in our country will open their eyes, given yet another opportunity, to recognize the abilities, gifts and direction of our President and his Administration.
Increasingly, they appear less than credible or qualified to give analysis, what with all the layers of egg they currently are wearing on their faces.
Thanks to Professor Lynch for his take on the situation, but those of us who have been studying BHO since he became POTUS were fairly certain that he was taking the correct path in dealing with the situation in Egypt. It’s not surprising to me that millions of Americans don’t understand the way that we are supposed to interact with other nations—not at the point of a gun, not with an invasion into a sovereign nation, but by using the tactics that many of us were instructed to use by our parents to solve problems: using our words, respecting the rights of others, remaining calm, and by being willing to listen to others.
WOW….and NOBODY HAD TO (lie) GO TO WAR TO OUST A DICTATOR….. DIPLOMACY what a concept!!!! Cons such as GB & RL are calling it “Community Organizing” as if that is a bad thing….LOL
What a great day!
and can I also add that i was SHOCKED that not one European “leader” took a stand against Mubarak. they all talked about the protesters but NONE of them were BRAVE enough to take a stand against a DICTATOR that stole $70 Billion dollars from his people.
PBHO Men among a bunch of boys!!!!!
FRANKLY…PRESIDENT OBAMA SHOULD NOT NEED VINDICATION…HE IS THE GREATEST PRESIDENT THIS COUNTRY WILL EVER SEE!
I wish my Govt. (UK) (under multiple PMs) had taken a moral lead. I wish your Govts (under multiple Presidents) had done so.
Condi Rice made a pretty outspoken statement, one which was (sadly condemned by the RW (IIRC).
But here and now, Damn! I was so jealous that my PM made a curt, bossy, snippy, and snidey statement.
Obama took a little extra time and his words were statesmanlike, grounded in an understanding of recent history, and acknowledged the ‘righteousness’ of the movement.
No one - unless suffering from ODS - would argue otherwise.