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Old 01-31-2011, 01:41 AM   #1
ruforumczspam

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Default Opinion: Obama will go down in history as the president who lost Egypt
Yes, he will. He's also lost many other things...like America.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition...egypt-1.340057

Obama will go down in history as the president who lost Egypt

The street revolts in Tunisia and Egypt show that the United States can do very little to save its friends from the wrath of their citizens.


By Aluf Benn

Jimmy Carter will go down in American history as "the president who lost Iran," which during his term went from being a major strategic ally of the United States to being the revolutionary Islamic Republic. Barack Obama will be remembered as the president who "lost" Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt, and during whose tenure America's alliances in the Middle East crumbled.

The superficial circumstances are similar. In both cases, a United States in financial crisis and after failed wars loses global influence under a leftist president whose good intentions are interpreted abroad as expressions of weakness. The results are reflected in the fall of regimes that were dependent on their relationship with Washington for survival, or in a change in their orientation, as with Ankara.

America's general weakness clearly affects its friends. But unlike Carter, who preached human rights even when it hurt allies, Obama sat on the fence and exercised caution. He neither embraced despised leaders nor evangelized for political freedom, for fear of undermining stability.
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Old 01-31-2011, 01:48 AM   #2
Natashasuw

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I still see this as part of the wave started by Bush. He was all about fostering democracy, and the people of Egypt now want it. Funny how now you see democracy as a bad thing...
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Old 01-31-2011, 02:11 AM   #3
HonjUopu

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Egypt wasn't Obama's to lose.

As for Carter "losing" Iran, that was probably an inevitability, given the extreme unpopularity of the Shah, who was truly a puppet of the West. Mubarak has received huge amounts of aid from the US, but he could, and would have looked elsewhere had he not received it from us. Not so with the Shah, who was utterly dependent on us to prop up his regime.
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