Reports that the Obama Administration may be secretly backing the protests in Egypt is troubling on several levels. First, there is the obvious fact that no one can ultimately direct and control social protests. Once they begin, they can quickly spin out of control. Hopes that you can control who comes out on top in such circumstances is incredibly naive. History teaches it is always the best organized (and not necessarily the largest) faction that comes out on top. In the case of Egypt that appears to be the radical Muslim Brotherhood. I hope I’m wrong, but there seems to be little evidence to the contrary.
Second, if these reports are true, doesn’t it seem odd that the Obama Administration is backing these protestors in Egypt, an (albeit imperfect) ally, rather than in Venezuela, Iran, or China? Egypt does a lot of things wrong, but they have also been pro-American on a lot of levels. They have been a bulwark in the region in countering Iran, which represents the largest threat in the region. When protests broke out in Iran earlier during his tenure in the White House, Obama was not willing to openly back them, at least until he came under considerable fire. But now he is supporting them in Egypt?
Third, chaos in Egypt, particularly if it spread throughout the region, will cause havoc to the global economy. This is supposed to be Obama’s priority: getting the American economy turned around. How will dramatically higher energy prices do that? How will global instability in this vital region help the markets?
Hard to imagine what is driving this strategic policy.