Thursday, September 13, 2012

Quote of the Day: Richard Engel on Egypt


"It makes one wonder, well, was it worth it?  Was it worth supporting the Arab Spring, supporting the demonstrations here in Tahrir Square, when now in Tahrir Square there are clashes going on behind me right in front of the US embassy?"

2 comments:

Eric said...

The 9/11/12 attacks will only reinforce Engel's view of the Arab Spring and the price of Obama's hands-off approach.

Last week, Engel wrote a thumbnail sketch of the anti-liberal course of the Middle East since the Arab Spring. He concludes, "What happens if the [sic] Washington continues to watch from afar?"

To contrast with our hands-off approach in the Arab Spring, Engel highlights our tactical success against al Qaeda in Iraq to illustrate his broader observation that wherever the US has been directly engaged, we have had tactical success against al Qaeda. Engel warns of the dangers of alienating Sunnis (as has happened in Iraq since we left) and al Qaeda's intelligent 'shifting antigen' adaptive capability. He argues the trend is local American commitment has hurt al Qaeda, while American absence has allowed openings for al Qaeda to make inroads with anti-government forces, such as the reformed tactics al Qaeda is now employing in Syria.

Where's President Bush and his Freedom Agenda when we need them? That's right - the American people rejected both in the 2008 election. We got what we paid for with our votes.

Mad Minerva said...

Indeed. This is what "leading from behind" gets you, coupled with a whole bunch of wishful thinking plus a total lack of strategic vision. The 3 AM call came, and the president is in Vegas.