Who Lost Egypt: Not Obama for Sure - By Aaron David Miller | Foreign Policy

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Who Lost Egypt: Not Obama for Sure - By Aaron David Miller | Foreign Policy


"If we're lucky this time around, we'll avoid the who-lost-Egypt debate. Mubarak's decision to step down has pre-empted a catastrophic crisis for Egypt and for American interests. We may not be adept at manipulating Middle Eastern politics; but we're sure experts at beating ourselves up.

Commentators and analysts have argued forcefully that Barack Obama's administration failed to anticipate the current crisis, blew an opportunity by failing to push President Hosni Mubarak to make significant reforms during the early days of the upheaval, and risks being on the wrong side of history by not being assertive in trying to force Mubarak's removal. But the administration was smart to keep its distance from this crisis.

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