February 11, 2011 - 12:31 pm
Jake Tapper reports that it was pressure from Obama that caused Mubarak to give up and leave.
I have no idea whether that’s true or not. My guess is that it’s not the real reason, and that the real reason was that the army decided the civil unrest was growing too threatening and told Mubarak to skedaddle or else.
But I will make this prediction: if Egypt turns out badly, Obama will deny any role. And if it turns out well, he will take the credit.
Plus their greatest accomplishment in Iraq, the OBiden administration turns out to be the foreign policy experts, no?
Boy, when making predictions you sure like to take big risks.
“If Egypt turns out badly, Obama will deny any role. And if it turns out well, he will take the credit.”
The corollary to this prediction:
If Egypt turns out badly, many conservatives will blame Obama. And if it turns out well, many conservatives give him no credit.
One thing is sure: next several years USA will desperately need at helm somebody with guts and understanding of foreign affairs. Somehow, nobody except John Bolton comes to my mind.
That’s not what I reported. I said they relayed that message. The Egyptian people made it untenable for Mubarak to stay — that’s why he’s gone.
So, the Obama administrations contribution was to report to Mubarak the content of the latest CNN video feed? Oh, but wait…
Thus President Obama didnt know what Mubarak was going to say until he said it. And once the US saw that the reaction in the streets of Cairo was one of disappointment and anger, they pushed for more.
Not to satisfy us, one official tells ABC News, to satisfy them,”
(T)hey pushed for more, you wrote. So what constitutes push in this case? I think youre trying to have it both ways in your report. Regardless of demonstrators in the street, either the administration exerted pressure or it didnt. Which is it? If they did exert pressure then you can say that Mubarak stepped down because of the demonstrators but it is just as plausible to suggest that it was the pressure caused Mubarak to give up, as in ending his resistance to the demands of the crowd: and that would be perfectly consistent with the first line in the PJ post above.
Hmmm…some apostrophes and quotation marks seem to have gotten misplaced along the way. Those poor little possessives and contractions get mauled in the process, and this makes them sad.
if Egypt turns out badly, Instapundit will say something smug about it. And if it turns out well, he will be a smug putz.
Heh.
Regardless of how Egypt turns out, my version will regard Obama as a non-innocent by-stander trapped in the West Wing who never made it to the international arena.
May as well start leaving him out of the script altogether. Will make the 2013 transition that much less tumultuous.
It was apparent once Mubarak balked on Thursday that the military would oust him and it had to be by Friday a.m. before the masses heated up. Their goal is to preserve the regime that’s been in place since Nasser and if that means Mubarak had to go, so be it. We can call it a coup and Defense Minister Tantawi most likely led the thing. Who knows what will happen now with Suleiman, probably early retirement for him as well. Now we’ll see how the military leadership preps for September because once the populace stops celebrating this, they’ll want more…
Yeah, because Mubarak suddenly saw the Light of Hope after thumbing his nose at it during this entire affair, up to and including his defiant speech hours before.
@3: Well, that’s fair, considering that he has no idea what’s going on. Any “win” on Obama’s part would blind luck – a driver frozen in terror whom an accident just misses. So yes, if the Muslim Brotherhood turns Egypt into the next Shantyhouse Nuclear Imamocracy, it will be his fault for failing to execute his duties, and if the improbable happens and Egypt becomes a functioning democracy, he will have had nothing to do with it.
“But I will make this prediction: if Egypt turns out badly, Obama will deny any role. And if it turns out well, he will take the credit.”
And in other predictions, somewhere today a dog bit a human. I’m sure others around the world will try to take credit too – and the same will apply to them.
To be perfectly honest, “Observer” is also correct. Though the same would have applied with liberals had a Republican been in office right now.
How would Obama possibly be able to tell if Egypt turns out well or badly?
To Jake Tapper: I did not mean to imply that the linkage of the two events originated with you. To clarify, if sources are saying that the White House increased the pressure on Mubarak and the Egyptian government at all levels on Thursday night after his speech, and he reversed his position and quit so shortly afterward, isomeone/i seems to be implying linkage between the two events.
Egypt will be bad for America and Israel. The spread of the Islamic revolution throughout the Middle East is according The Book. The New World Order is actually the New World Caliphate. Obama will abandon Israel and America will fall. Israel will be surrounded and attacked by the Caliphate but will survive. It is written.
“if Egypt turns out badly, Instapundit will say something smug about it. And if it turns out well, he will be a smug putz.”
So true.
If Egypt turns out well it will be Bush’s fault.
seriously, I think the One hides under the bed at the WH til he sees which way the wind is blowing. Look at past incidents and his delays in response. Look at his non-chalant approach to terrorists attacks. Someone is writing his comments he just delivers them. How did fairly intelligent people not see thru this charlatan?
“But I will make this prediction: if Egypt turns out badly, Obama will deny any role. And if it turns out well, he will take the credit.” In other words..he’ll just be himself.