Should the State Department be doing more in Egypt?

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  1. profile image57
    C.J. Wrightposted 12 years ago

    By more I don't mean dealing with foriegn policy. I mean getting the 2400 American's out. You would think we learned our lesson with Iran....

    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ … 1-07-44-15

    1. lady_love158 profile image59
      lady_love158posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The government is a ship of fools! For 30 years we supported this dictator in the name of stability and at the sacrifice of liberty. This is what happens when you abandon your principles.

    2. AnnCee profile image66
      AnnCeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Absolutely they should.   This is Obama's Carter moment and let's hope he doesn't fail as abjectly as Carter did.  Radicals could be rounding up Americans right now to use them for leverage later. 

      Insane that this administration supports the Muslim Brotherhood so openly while they let the freedom seekers in Iran twist in the wind during their uprising which was even bigger than this one.  People who took part in the demonstrations in Iran in 2009 are still being hanged today.

      http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2011/ … 80331.html

      1. profile image57
        C.J. Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        I think the Administration may be well on their way to a HUGE misstep. They really need to do what ever neccessary to get our people out of there...

        1. AnnCee profile image66
          AnnCeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          I agree, C.J.  Pharaoh Obama has no problem with the Muslim Brotherhood.   His administration keeps saying "peaceful transition" like it's a magic mantra that's going to make it so

          Who knew radical forces in the Middle East, South America and Asia would start acting up during Obama's presidency?   I knew.   Lots of people knew.  And they are acting up.   Of course they are.   They know a pup when they see one.

          1. profile image57
            C.J. Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I support the "hands off" approach from a foriegn policy stand point. We have "stirred the pot" and "muddied the waters" in that region long enough. We need to sit back, watch and hope for the best. The lesson here for us is that energy independence is a matter of economic and national security.

  2. Aaron Babb profile image60
    Aaron Babbposted 12 years ago

    luckily America likes to keep its reputation good, so I have no doubt they'll be doing the best they can to get our people out safe.

  3. slc334 profile image39
    slc334posted 12 years ago

    I wonder if maybe they are trying their best.  I only say this because the Canadian government is trying to get Canadians out, and they're finding it troublesome to get the planes in the air at all.  It seems that Egypt is trying to keep foreign citizens from leaving the country.

  4. CMHypno profile image83
    CMHypnoposted 12 years ago

    Well, there are 30,000 Britons in Egypt at the moment. Unfortunately, because the tourist flights are not going out to Egypt because of the trouble, there are no planes to bring them back. For some reason, the Foreign Office do not seem to be overly concerned about them. Riots have now started in Sudan as well.

    1. kephrira profile image61
      kephriraposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I kind of proud that the British aren't panicking. Some people are still leaving the UK to go on holiday in Egypt.

      The revolution is happening in the big cities, so if you are in a tourist resort and not in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez or somewhere like that then you are perfectly safe.

  5. AnnCee profile image66
    AnnCeeposted 12 years ago

    50,000 Americans Trapped, Fleeing Egypt Eruption


    Monday, 31 Jan 2011 01:02 PM


    By David A. Patten

    Chaos has broken out at the Cairo international airport as thousands of Americans try to flee a country where growing anarchy could be pushing the military to the brink of a brutal crackdown — a deadly scenario global diplomats are working desperately to avoid.

    Increasingly, the angry demonstrations are taking on an anti-American tone, due to what protesters see as Obama administration support for Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak. This is despite the strong signals sent Sunday by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said the Obama administration expects an “orderly transition” to a new government.

    Demonstrators’ plans for a million-man, anti-government march on Tuesday, combined with the ongoing refusal of Mubarak to give up power over a nation he’s ruled with an iron fist for three decades, have added urgency to the push to relocate U.S. citizens.

    “We’re going to do everything we can to move our citizens out of harm’s way,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told Fox News on Monday.

    Scattered fist-fights reportedly broke out in the Cairo airport as exhausted passengers tried to jam their way onto departing aircraft.

    “It’s an absolute zoo, what a mess,” Justine Khanzadian, 23, a student at the American University of Cairo, told The Associated Press. He said he was leaving because “the government here is just not stable enough to stay.”

    The State Department issued an updated travel warning Sunday to the estimated 50,000 Americans in Egypt, urging them to exit the country as soon as possible.

    State Department officials confirmed Monday they chartered seven jetliners so far to help Americans get out of Egypt. Two of the jetliners have already left Egyptian airspace. The thousands of U.S. citizens trying to leave Egypt are being relocated to Cyprus, Athens, and Turkey. Other Americans are making their own arrangements to leave via commercial airlines, whose service has been sporadic since the disruptions began.

    U.S. military aircraft ferried 42 embassy personnel and their families out of Egypt on Sunday. Several other nations are reportedly evacuating diplomats and citizens as well.

    The State Department says it expects to evacuate 1,000 Americans on Monday. But that still leaves behind thousands of students, business people, and tourists.

    Complicating the evacuation now underway: The apparent breakdown of the most basic services in Egyptian society.

    Egyptians have to stay awake at night to protect their homes from marauding looters. They then sleep during the day. As a result, most Egyptian businesses remain shuttered and do not open. Only a fraction of Egyptians are showing up to their jobs to work during the crisis, and the Egyptian economy has all but ground to a halt, sources say.

    A prolonged interruption in the flow of tourism dollars, the primary source of Egypt’s revenue, would have devastating effects on Egypt’s economy. Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Egypt’s bond rating from stable to negative Monday, citing the country’s escalating political tensions.

    U.S. citizens in Egypt are largely incommunicado, unable to reach concerned family members in the United States because of the Mubarak government’s interruption of all cell phone communications. His government also has yanked the plug on about 85 percent of the nation’s Internet capability, in an effort to keep the uprising from spreading via social media.

    Former U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski warned on MSNBC’s Morning Joe program Monday that the ongoing standoff could “eventually lead to a very, very intense explosion, with pressures pent-up erupting … and that’s inherently unpredictable, with guns confronting increasingly hungry, tired, restless, frustrated crowds. An incident sparks a flame, which erupts into really large-scale urban violence, and probably then a massive repression. Those are the dangers.”

    Christopher Hinn, a Middle East expert and former TSA official whose parents are both of Middle East origin, tells Newsmax that a downward spiral into violence is a strong possibility, despite the peace-loving nature of Egyptians generally.

    The protesters, he said, “are getting desperate.”

    “Looting is a reality,” Hinn says. “When you don’t have food to feed your family, you will be forced to get it. In the Arab world, we are taught to take care of our families first and everything else is secondary.”

    Some analysts see a military crackdown as unlikely. They point out that the Egypt fields an army of conscripts, which would put soldiers in the position of opening fire on crowds that might contain their own friends or neighbors.

    “The longer the protests continue to rage, the more danger there will be that the army will splinter and troops will dissolve into the crowds,” states the Heritage Foundation’s The Foundry blog. “To avert such a disaster, military leaders are likely to be increasingly inclined to ease President Mubarak out of power, in order to maintain the viability of the military as an institution.”

    Hinn says that the Obama administration must convince Mubarak to leave the country immediately. He predicts civil order could be restored within a few days after Mubarak’s departure.


    http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/airport … /id/384528

    1. John Holden profile image61
      John Holdenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Strangely enough the news tonight said that the military were present and on friendly terms with  the demonstrators, taking their side and sporting anti government slogans unmolested on their tanks!

  6. Midnight Oil profile image82
    Midnight Oilposted 12 years ago

    50,000 - thats a lot - have you invade already and not told us?

    And if they are tourists - They shouldn't be in Egypt in the first place - you could see it come weeks ago after the trouble in Tunisia.  That whole coastal section of North Africa is unstable, and it takes just one to set the rest off in a domino effect.  So why on earth would you visit such a volatile country such as Egypt? You are just asking for trouble.

    1. profile image57
      C.J. Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Doesn't change the fact that the US should be doing what they can to get our people home. Your correct, further travel should be suspended.

      1. Paraglider profile image88
        Paragliderposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        Hi CJ
        The danger is from the police, who are more or less Mubarak's terror squad and who have subjugated the Egyptian people for decades. They are the ones who have everything to lose, when the regime falls. The army is very popular with the people and will not risk that popularity. The army has announced:

        "To the great people of Egypt, your armed forces, acknowledging the legitimate rights of the people have not and will not use force against the Egyptian people,

        "The presence of the army in the streets is for your sake and to ensure your safety and well-being. The armed forces will not resort to use of force against our great people.

        "Your armed forces, who are aware of the legitimacy of your demands and are keen to assume their responsibility in protecting the nation and the citizens, affirms that freedom of expression through peaceful means is guaranteed to everybody."

        1. profile image0
          china manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          If the army stays out of it there is a good chance it can be resolved without the normal blood letting maybe ?

          I haven't been keeping up with it from here - but I guess an Islamic Egypt would seriously change the balance of things around Israel - as this is the fuse of the big issue in the middle east - how do you see things panning out ?

          1. Paraglider profile image88
            Paragliderposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I think whatever happens in the short term, the Egyptians will not accept any imposed government. It's now up to all the opposition groups to put themselves into the ring. If it turns out that the Muslim Brotherhood comes out on top, which is far from certain, the west (and Israel) will just have to accept it.

            1. profile image57
              C.J. Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

              Agreed. It's up to the Egyptian People.

  7. Evan G Rogers profile image60
    Evan G Rogersposted 12 years ago

    No.

    Good luck Egypt! Sorry we've been supporting your dictator for some 30 years by giving money to his military.

    Sorry that Israel was probably pushing us to do so!

    I hope you all are able to overthrow the chains of tyranny!! But the US just can't afford to finance another war!

    Good luck!

  8. knolyourself profile image60
    knolyourselfposted 12 years ago

    Can the people withstand the continuing economic melt-down? I say it is up to the army, and the army, with mostly US weapons, is owned by the US.

  9. profile image57
    C.J. Wrightposted 12 years ago

    Well it looks like Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is expected to say in a speech Tuesday night that he plans on stepping down at the next election scheduled in September, according to Reuters.

    Will this quiet or encourage protest?

    1. Paraglider profile image88
      Paragliderposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I've just watched the speech. It's too little, too late. Signs are that the protest will not accept this 'offer'.

      1. profile image57
        C.J. Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        I was afraid of that as well. A statement that he would not run again in September would have worked early on...maybe. Now that so many have committed to the cause. I don't think they will rest until he leaves the Country.

        1. Paraglider profile image88
          Paragliderposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          I feel that we agree on what's happening, if not on what's best wink

          1. profile image57
            C.J. Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I think we agree on both accounts. It is TOTALLY up to the people of Egypt.

  10. Flightkeeper profile image68
    Flightkeeperposted 12 years ago

    The state department is doing all it can to get americans out. Any american should get any flight out of the country to a non-middle eastern country.  I think the americans should also consider crossing over to Israel if they are near the border and get a flight out.  Israel is always a safe haven for americans in the middle east.

    1. profile image57
      C.J. Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I can't say that they are doing all they can. I do think your ideas of simply getting away by any means available is a good idea.

  11. DzyMsLizzy profile image88
    DzyMsLizzyposted 12 years ago

    I think it's well past time to tend to serious problems at home, and stop trying to be the world's police force!

  12. ImChemist profile image58
    ImChemistposted 12 years ago

    I think states cares only about her dictator Mubarak in Egypt.

 
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