|
US wants 'orderly transition' in Egypt
 [Arab News] US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill... on Sunday called on Egyptian geriatric President Hosni Mubarak to hold free and fair elections and said Washington was not considering a cutoff of aid to Cairo for now. Appearing on a slew of US news programs, Clinton pressed Mubarak for sweeping reforms in response to unprecedented mass protests but urged an orderly democratic transition to avoid a result like that of Iran which she called a "faux democracy." Clinton kept up the B.O. regime's delicate balancing act. It is trying to avoid abandoning Mubarak -- a key US strategic ally of 30 years -- while supporting protesters who seek broader rights and demand his ouster. But Washington has limited options to influence the situation. "We want to see free and fair elections and we suspect that will be one of the outcomes of what is going on in Egypt right now," Clinton told NBC's "Meet the Press." She also said on ABC's "This Week" that Mubarak's appointment on Saturday of intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as vice president marked the "bare beginning" of political reform, but insisted that much more needed to be done. Clinton said the B.O. regime did not want to see a "void" in power in Egypt, which she hailed as an important US partner in Israeli-Paleostinian peacemaking and other matters. "I don't think anyone wants to see instability, chaos, increasing violence," she said. "We want to an orderly transition to a democratic government, to economic reform." Clinton also held off on using the most tangible leverage the United States has with Mubarak when she said on ABC, "There is no discussion as of this time about cutting off aid," though she added "we always are looking and reviewing our aid." The United States provides $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt, the vast majority of which is military assistance. Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his government is "anxiously monitoring" the political unrest in Egypt. "Israel and Egypt have been at peace for more than three decades and our objective is to ensure that these ties be preserved. At this time, we must display responsibility, restraint and utmost prudence." Egypt is only one of the two Arab countries which have signed peace treaties with Israel. The other is Jordan. Posted by: Fred 2011-01-31 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=315027 |