"Obama and his staff have made a complete mess of the situation in Egypt."
"Obama will go down in history as the president who lost Egypt." http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/obama-will-go-down-in-history-as-the-president-who-lost-egypt-1.340057
O'REILLY FACTOR: Obama Has Screwed Up Egypt, And Is Not Likable Enough To Save His Presidency." http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-oreilly-egypt-obama-interview-smoking-video-2011-2
These are a few headlines I found declaring President Obama "screwed up," "lost," or "made a complete mess" of Egypt. This type of attitude expresses the height of American arrogance when it comes to an understanding of foreign policy and the role of the U.S. in the world. Yes, the U.S. is a superpower, yes we have interests all over the world, particularly in the Middle East, but since when is Egypt ours to lose? Have they been a U.S. colony since Sadat signed the Camp David Accords? Maybe since the one quote is from Haaretz, one of the main Israeli papers, the answer would be "yes."
Listening to the US media as they report what happened in Egypt and across the Middle East has irritated me. Arguments over whether it was President Bush's speech and efforts to promote democracy, or whether it was President Obama's Cairo speech which prompted the protests seem highly irrelevant. For that matter discussions about the role of facebook, twitter, and other social media somehow overlook that the Egyptian people may finally just be pissed enough to protest.
Last summer I spent a month in Poland. A number of Poles would ask, "when did World War II start?" They were pleased when I answered, "1939" because they said most Americans answer with "1941." From there the quiz would turn to the end of the Cold War. I finally asked one questioner, "You want me to say, communism collapsed when President Reagen said, 'Tear down this wall.'" His response was, "Isn't that what all Americans think?" He went on to express his frustration at reading histories of the collapse of the Cold War, which somehow ignored or overlooked the work of Solidarity, the Catholic Church and the many average Poles, who along with the East Germans, Czechs and others, got irritated enough to stand up at the risk of their lives, and to say, we don't want to live like this anymore. As the Polish guy said, "You Americans think you are responsible for everything." Unfortunately many of us do.
Personally, Obama did the best he could dealing with some uncharted waters. If anything, it was a victory that Egyptians were not burning U.S. flags, even though the tear gas canisters fired at them said, "Made in U.S.A." or the F-15's flying overhead, and the tanks patrolling the streets were gifts of the U.S., sure to make us beloved among the Egyptian populace.
Finally,if you are going to promote democracy and free elections you better damn well be ready to live with the consequences. Traveling in the West Bank, Palestinians were quick to tell me they understood American democracy. "You pushed for elections, so we held elections. Then when Hamas won, you said,"we won't recognize a government led by Hamas." With smiles on their faces they would ask, "So, do you believe in democracy or don't you, because to us, your government is a hypocrite."
As protests spread across the Middle East and north Africa perhaps a little humility from the U.S. would be the best response. Daring to acknowledge that perhaps we don't know what is best for the Egyptians, the Libyans, or the Tunisians would be a first good step. The Egyptians, Tunisians, Lybian's, Iranians and other folks may just be able to figure it out for themselves.
