As many of you already know the tension in Egypt is increasing every day. Protesters are gathering in larger numbers and the threat of violence against the protesters grows daily. President Obama has warned Egypt that billions of dollars in aid will be lost if they are violent towards protesters, although looters continue to ravage shopping malls and burn down police stations. The president has also sent a special "envoy" to meet with high level Egyptian official. The situation in Egypt has affected oil prices and the world's economy as its a center of export throughout the middle east. It appears the situation is only going to get worse but this is where the US must maintain their neutrality in this conflict. I'm comfortable with the US being peace keepers but we can't become peace makers inside of country in turmoil. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton offers "assistance" in the transition. I don't like the directions this could be headed. We've experienced this many times over throughout American history with the same result: loss of American lives and resources. It's ironic that the president threatened to eliminate aid to Egypt when we've been aiding this country throughout Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's dictator-like reign which has reached 29 years. We've supported a regime that routinely jails government critics and freedom of expression and assembly are restricted. Some may argue that US financial support is what has kept Mubarak's regime in power thus far. The possibility of a change in regime could hurt the US as new leadership may not necessarily be allies in the region. However, the real issue is American foreign policy being spread too thin. We must maintain focus on our other stated goals of bringing the military out of the Arab world and concentrate of the world's financial market. Unfortunately there is always unrest in the middle east, its a volatile area of the world but this time we must sit on the sidelines until this is resolved.
