Sunday, January 30, 2011

The president who lost Egypt

The consensus is forming and it doesn't look good for Obama. Worse, it doesn't look good for America

Compared to Jimmy Carter
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.

The indecisiveness, the ambiguity and lackadaisical wait and see approach. The bottom line, Obama has been instrumental in influencing what is now happening in Egypt and the main reason he has done nothing is that he wants Egypt to collapse and cease to be America's Allie.

This has been in the works since the day he took office and now he is sitting quietly and watching the fruit bear forth.

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