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Subscribe to RSSFor the first time, the United States has acknowledged speaking with opposition leader Mohammed ElBaradei.
The notice came in a tweet this morning from P.J. Crowley, the chief spokesman for the State Department:
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The New York Times reports that the United States is trying to determine whether ElBaradei, who won the Nobel Peace Prize as head of the U.N. nuclear agency, is someone it can work with:
Mr. ElBaradei, 68, had a fractious relationship with the Bush administration, one so hostile that Bush officials tried to get him removed from his post at the atomic watchdog agency. But as Egypt’s powerful Muslim Brotherhood and the secular opposition on the streets of Cairo have increasingly coalesced around Mr. ElBaradei to negotiate on their behalf, the Obama administration is scrambling to figure out whether he is someone with whom the United States can deal.
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If the Muslim Brotherhood and the secular opposition is willing to support Elbaradei, for now, the United States should be very leery about sending any support to help prop a new government up. The Muslim Brotherhood has only one thing in mind and that is an extremist Islamic government in control of Egypt. The main concern for the United States is to insure Egypt agrees to keep the peace treaty with Israel.
Some balancing act....Damn if you do and damn if you don't. Either support the current government or support the MB takeover, the latter is scary.
What country is going to be next in line ??? This tactic is going to be repeated over and over again until the extremists have complete control of the area.
All other tactics to disrupt the World's economy, etc., have failed but this one seems to have gained momentum. Identify weak nations, use "economic conditions" to satisfy the movement ideology, then topple the government. What is the current tactic ? ....bottom up....inside out....and top down (repeated comment by Van Jones) ? And who is really behind these "revolutions" ?
Think our commodity prices are high now, just wait. Oil is going to shoot through the roof along with everything else since the "squeeze" on the Suez canal is just around the corner.
This whole region of the world is about to erupt, we need to get all our folks home and prepare to defend our ports of entries and borders. We must realize that people of different cultures and religious beliefs are not willing to accept the American way of governing.
I think, that ElBaradei knows enough about atomic weapons, to have Egypt's bomb up and running in no time!
I though the world was going to end in 2012...looks like we're heading for some dark times in 2011 instead...
Here's hoping that cooler heads prevail.
While the Muslim Brotherhood is certainly not a group we want having any influence, El Baradei is probably about a moderate a potential leader as exists, and I think he's more likely to be a secular leader than religious leader. The U.S. has a fine line to walk, but it's looking increasingly clear that Mubarak is done. This is not (and should not be) a case of the U.S. trying to control or shape a new Egyptian government...it's a case of us trying to be on the winning side so we can work with whoever ends up leading the country.
Remember our country is in debt and there is no money to be made in peace time!
It blows my mind how long it takes any administration to learn that not talking to whatever faction does more harm than good. No one is saying not to classify a group as extreme or not. Regardless of how we feel about an organization we have to have one-on-one lines of communication. This would include Hezbollah in Lebanon who are now running the show over there, and Hamas in Palestine. WE HAVE TO talk to El Baradei and the Muslim Brotherhood and keep those lines open. It will do more good than harm.
PS: Some things we learn in kindergarten....like it is rude not to talk to people. Do we have to take successive administrations back to school before they take office so they can get re-educated on the basics?
My government is "tweeting" this? That is just weak.
It's to ElBaradei's everlasting credit that he didn't go along with the Bush administration's fabrications for war in Iraq. Neither did other nuke experts, for that matter, so what's the big deal about that. No, he's got the makings of a decent caretaking leader. Mubarak and his thugs are reading the writing on the wall and it's a moment when we have to take a stand on the right side of history, just as Reagan was willing to help usher Marcos out in 1986. Yeah, we prop em up but when they start falling we have to give a push, too. Otherwise you can kiss Egypt goodbye. This is as secular an uprising as you will get in Egypt and we need to work with that and recognize the opportunities for the people of Egypt and for the region and yes, for the U.S. of A.
we flip-flop back and forth like a fish on land,watch out israel.
Please remember that you need a brain to post here. Thanks.
It looks like you're insinuating one needs an alphabet after their name to post here, rather than a brain. To me, it looks like people are merely expressing their opinions here. Why don't you let them?
It seems that this is the most prudent way to handle this....we need to talk to everyone involved. It blows my miind how much money we send to Egypt, Israel, and Palestine!! We need to rethink this thought process in the light of our debt situation.
It is prudent that we let the Egyptian people handle this on their own...They do not need our involvement and prudent reevaluation of supporting the current regime with monies would be a matter to reconsider. This is their revolution....not ours!! We should all remember our revolution against Great Britain!
Seems to me that if El Baradei is going to be elected as their new leader that we better speak with him whether or not we like him. Nothing good ever comes out of silence. hopefully the Egyptian people will get what they want... a democratic government without radical religious leanings. We must just hope that theer is no political gulf for the Muslim Brotherhood (noticeably leaving out the sisterhood all silently swathed from head to toe) to jump into. Time will tell of course....
We Americans are fortunate to be able to live woth our freedoms that are given to us by our Constitution. Every human being deserves the same rights, whether they agree with us or not. We should approach Egypt and other countries based on these values and not our economic or political views. Maybe then, the world would start respecting us.
The reason El Baradei had a "fractious relationship with the Bush administration" was because he told the truth about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Also, don't listen to the media's fear mongering about the Muslim Brotherhood. They have repeatedly repudiated violence and terrorism who have thrown out members who espouse violence, and they stand in opposition to Al Qaeda.
Great thanks