Posted on 02/10/2011 2:58:55 PM PST by jazusamo
Although Saudi King Abdullah warned Barack Obama not to push Mubarak over the edge, according to reports by the Times of London, CIA director Leon Panetta believed the Egyptian president would step down.
Just a few minutes ago, the New York Times reported that Mubarak refused to step down. Not only did the speech prove U.S. estimates wrong, it casts doubt over whether their game plan was ever working at all.
Even as Mr. Mubarak spoke, angry chants were shouted from huge crowds in Cairo who had anticipated his resignation but were instead confronted with a plea from the president to support continued rule by him and his chosen aides. People waved their shoes in defiance, considered an insulting gesture in the Arab world.
This followed warnings from Saudi Arabia that it would act forcefully to nullify any pressure that the U.S. president would bring to bear on Mubarak as the king read Obama the riot act. The Times of London earlier reported:
In a testy telephone call on January 29, King Abdullah told the US President not to humiliate Mr Mubarak and said the Egyptian leader should be allowed to stay on to oversee the transition towards democracy and then to leave with dignity, The Times of London reported yesterday. King Abdullah threatened to step in with funding for Egypt if the US withdrew its $US1.5 billion ($1.47bn) a year aid program.
Now, with Mubarak thumbing his nose at the president, the Obama administration may manage to achieve what only few governments in history have done: alienate their enemies as well as their friends. Worse, Obama’s actions have regionalized the Egyptian conflict. KSA has belayed Mubarak on the sheer cliff that he dangles from. It has forced a public confrontation between Mubarak and his regional allies and the unrest sweeping the Arab world. If Mubarak goes spinning into the abyss, the House of Saud will find itself pulled right after it.
The narrative is set. One the one side are the aging Sunni autocrats, on the other side are the Shi’ite autocrats who are in an alliance of convenience with protesters in Egypt. And on both sides, like a ping-pong ball being swatted back and forth, is President Obama, as noisy and nearly as comical.
Whatever happens next is fraught with peril for Washington. If Mubarak survives, it will have been in spite of Obama, and the influence of Washington over its Sunni allies will have fallen to unplumbed depths as the old strongmen openly defy the former Strong Horse in Washington. If Mubarak is overthrown, the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran will have scored a signal triumph and threaten to set the dominoes to falling. Either way Washington’s diplomatic position in the region will be in a shambles.
The Honkyie Hut had a functional plan?
Oh this is just ducky. So now we got “thee” main Arab supporter in the area pissed. And they can turn the screws on us real fast. I can see SA and Israel working together in this without Obama. Making a complete fool of the asshole in full view of the Muzzie world. And they dont respect weakness.
I figured out obama’s problem.
He cannot decide whether he is a Sunni or Shiite muslim.
So we have Mubi and Abdulli BOTH telling OBOZO de Klown to step off, shut up and go away...
I thought Obozo was the Savior to the World?
Now he’s thoroughly pee’d off Egypt and Saudi Arabia and that can’t be a good thing. Plus, he’s shown his entire regime to be incompetent, from Hilly to his advisers that testified in front of Congross today saying the MB were nice guys etc.
What a complete SNAFU for Obummer and the USA. Nobody will trust this fool again, as if anyone really ever did...
G
Obama wrongfooted by Mubarak as White House tries to keep up
And I was so hopeful that Obama was going to bring peace and harmony
PS: Maybe we should march on the WHouse, take over Lafayette Square and demand Obozo should step down...FREEDOM!!!
/william wallace
Well said. No they don’t respect weakness and what little respect they had for Obama has now ended. Israel must be beside themselves on this and can’t blame them.
PING!
His pattern has been to kill Sunnis and coddle Shia. The Saudis complicate things for him.
He just had his Bay of Pigs.
He’s been working on this overthrow since he took office.
Yep, a bigger fool has never lived in the White House.
He just had his Bay of Pigs.
He’s been working on this overthrow since he took office.
I agree. Egypt is his Bay of Pigs. He better watch his back. JFK didn’t survive his BOP.
China, Russia and the Saudis all back Mubarek in the face of our pretender in chief. His community organizing activities have moved on to the international stage with Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, etc.
Obama is trying to instigate the fall of governments to assist in the establishment of a caliphate, plain and simple.
Hah! We are going to see so much double talking from Zer0 on this he'll have to buy extra teleprompters. No matter how much he talks he'll not convince anyone in the ME.
How’s that hope and change working out?
Thank you..
Ya know..even if Obama views himself as a muzzi, he has lost all credibility with them because of his limp and lame weakness.
Leon Panetta and Hillary are friends from way back... hmmm.
The disastrous fool, instead of keeping his big arrogant mouth shut for a change and wait for Mubarak to make his speech first, he had to go out BEFORE the events to audaciously try to take credit for the events and put this country in a no win situation as well as inflame the mobs and bring about hell in that country and set EVERYONE against US. Damn fool arrogant train-wreck.
So, the Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the CIA both come out with misinformation today.
Gives you a lot of confidence, doesn’t it?
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