obama in egypt
Egypt may in fact be the riskiest of the available options, because it embodies many of the policy dilemmas the United States faces in the Muslim, and especially the Arab, world. [1]
Reporting from Washington — President Obama will deliver his promised address to Muslims worldwide from Egypt, a nation the White House considers key to improving relations in the Middle East. [2]
The White House announced Friday that President Obama will deliver his much anticipated (and promised) address to the Arab and Muslim worlds on June 4 from Egypt. [3]
The White House announced Friday that President Obama will deliver his much anticipated (and promised) address to the Arab and Muslim worlds on June 4 from Egypt. [4]
Following Barack Obama’s election, Jeffrey Azarva discusses the foreign policy issues in Egypt that the new administration will face and strategies the administration might follow for a symposium in the Middle East Review of International Affairs. [...] Egypt’s octogenarian president, Husni Mubarak, whose reign has now spanned five U.S. presidencies, will soon depart the scene either of his own volition–his current term ends in 2011–or following his inevitable death or disability. [5]
There was no easy option among the various Muslim capitals proposed for the address: a non-Arab capital risked alienating Arabs who view their region as the cradle of Islam, while each Arab capital carried its own risks, from security problems to policy backlash. [1]
“This is a continuing effort of the president to engage the Muslim world,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said. [2]
Much of the debate prior to choosing Egypt likely revolved around its atrocious human rights record under President Hosni Mubarak. [4]
Obama had said he would make the speech from a Muslim capital, but the country was not disclosed until Friday. [2]
Concerns over unpopular American policies, stagnant economies, repressive government and fraught mosque-state relations are all so obvious in Egypt that they cannot be ignored without vitiating the credibility of the speech’and rebuilding America’s credibility with Muslim publics is really what this speech is all about. [...] For the United States, Egypt also embodies the central dilemmas Washington faces regarding human rights and democracy in the wake of Bush’s Freedom Agenda. [1]
“Many people look at Egypt and see one of the more severely authoritarian countries in the Arab world,” said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. [2]
American policy makers worry that pushing Egypt’s government to improve its human rights practices and open its political process will goad Mubarak into limiting his foreign policy cooperation with Washington at a time when regional challenges loom. [1]
Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a speech to the Muslim world from U.S. ally Egypt on June 4 aimed at repairing ties hurt under his predecessor George W. Bush. [3]
Sources:
[1] ” Obama chooses Egypt Middle East Strategy at Harvard
[2] Obama chooses Egypt for address to Muslims - Los Angeles Times
[3] Obama Picks Egypt - Worldnews.com
[4] SOUTH LEBANON: Obama Picks Egypt
[5] Articles & Commentary