Revolution in the Arab World - Observation of a lost soul Blog

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foreign policy • revolution in the arab world • barack obama Introduction RIP, Engagement By James Traub The New Arab World Order By Robert D. Kaplan Welcome to the Real World, Mr. Obama By Gary Sick Blogging Egypt: Marc Lynch on Obama’s Challenge Returning Freedom to the Agenda By Elliott Abrams The Right Way to Engage By Zalmay Khalilzad Policy Fit for a Bumper Sticker By Stephen Sestanovich Cairo Wasn’t Obama’s to Lose By Aaron David Miller 166
foreign policy • revolution in the arab world • barack obama Introduction In August 2010, months before a streetcar vendor’s cri de coeur lit the flame of revolution in Tunisia, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered a secret report on the potential for instability in the Arab world. What, he wanted to know, might push these regimes over the edge And yet, there were few signs that the Obama administration saw the Arab revolt coming. Not only did the State Department say little at high levels about the grossly rigged Egyptian parliamentary elections of November 2010, but U.S. officials continued to insist—against all evidence to the contrary—that quiet diplomacy was bearing fruit. And once the first inklings of revolutionary fervor hit the streets of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, the United States was slow to realize what was happening. At a democracy conference in Doha, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton turned heads merely by pointing out the obvious: that Arab regimes were “sinking into the sand.” Still, it was not until Jan. 14, 2011—the day Tunisia’s strong-man President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali fled to Jeddah—that President Obama issued a statement on the month-long uprising in Tunisia. In Egypt, the Obama team may deserve credit for mostly getting out of the way of a process it was powerless to stop, but its comments betrayed confusion and internal division more than clear purpose. Throughout the crisis, the United States was slow to side fully with the protesters—beginning with Clinton’s assessment that Egypt was “stable,” continuing through Vice President Joseph Biden’s refusal to call Mubarak a “dictator” and the statements of Frank Wisner, the White House envoy—later disavowed— who said it was “crucial” that the Egyptian leader stay in power. U.S. officials did consistently, and with increasing impatience, condemn 167
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