Barrack Obama in a Foreign Policy Dilema Over The Egyptian Crisis

In the wake of the political chaos created by the mass protests in Egypt, Barrack Obama finds himself in a phenomenal foreign policy dilemma. The embattled 82 year old Hosni Mubarak has for all these years been a darling of American interests in the middle east, towing American line without any contradiction-seeing him go brings in renewed fears in the American foreign policy circles because what America is weary about is to see a militant Islamic leader  emerge in the ensuing confusion. At the same time, Americans would be going counter to their ideals of democracy and the freedom of expression if they were seen to be against the popular will of the people of Egypt to associate and protest against poor governance.

At least what the Americans are doing very reluctantly is to try to prepare a stage for the exit of Hosni Mubarak. By all indications, Hosni Mubarak is being ejected from office by a determined Egyptian population. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke Sunday about an “orderly transition” to a responsive government. It’s the closest Washington has come to hinting that Mubarak who the US have been financially propping up with as much as 1 billion dollars yearly may be on his way out.

The greater fear for the Americans and Obama in particular is the possibility of the people’s insurgence that started in Tunisia spreading through out the Arab and Muslim world from Morocco to Malaysia, where for all these years, the people have been under the control undemocratic leaders who ruled their countries according their whims and not according to the wishes and aspirations of the people. A change in the Tunisian style is bound to portend profound consequences for the U.S foreign policy in the middle east and more directly, in Israel.

For instance, if Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan get embroiled in these upheavals and these governments go, America will have indeed lost valuable allies in the fight against terror because the fall of these governments will embolden U.S. foes around the world, including Islamic extremists in the Persian Gulf, North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia.

At the same time, Americans would very much be enthused to see such seeds of rebellion infiltrate countries like Syria and Iran where leaders there have openly stood against the American interests and policies in the middle East. This is where-in lies the simmering dilemma in the American camp. They have been preaching double standards in their foreign policies for far too long-they are quick to call Gbagbo of Ivory coast, Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Umar Al Bashir as undemocratic, but take a silent stance on similar undemocratic leaders like Mubarak, of Egypt, the King of Saudi Arabia and Jordan simply because they are political allies of Washington. Lets see how events in Egypt unfolds-we hope by the time it is over, nothing will have been lost in Washington.