WH: Statement of President Barack Obama on Egypt

[Tx4obama]

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
February 10, 2011
Statement of President Barack Obama on Egypt

February 10, 2011


Statement of President Barack Obama on Egypt

The Egyptian people have been told that there was a transition of authority, but it is not yet clear that this transition is immediate, meaningful or sufficient. Too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy, and it is the responsibility of the government to speak clearly to the Egyptian people and the world. The Egyptian government must put forward a credible, concrete and unequivocal path toward genuine democracy, and they have not yet seized that opportunity.

As we have said from the beginning of this unrest, the future of Egypt will be determined by the Egyptian people. But the United States has also been clear that we stand for a set of core principles. We believe that the universal rights of the Egyptian people must be respected, and their aspirations must be met. We believe that this transition must immediately demonstrate irreversible political change, and a negotiated path to democracy. To that end, we believe that the emergency law should be lifted. We believe that meaningful negotiations with the broad opposition and Egyptian civil society should address the key questions confronting Egypt’s future: protecting the fundamental rights of all citizens; revising the Constitution and other laws to demonstrate irreversible change; and jointly developing a clear roadmap to elections that are free and fair.

We therefore urge the Egyptian government to move swiftly to explain the changes that have been made, and to spell out in clear and unambiguous language the step by step process that will lead to democracy and the representative government that the Egyptian people seek. Going forward, it will be essential that the universal rights of the Egyptian people be respected. There must be restraint by all parties. Violence must be forsaken. It is imperative that the government not respond to the aspirations of their people with repression or brutality. The voices of the Egyptian people must be heard.

The Egyptian people have made it clear that there is no going back to the way things were: Egypt has changed, and its future is in the hands of the people. Those who have exercised their right to peaceful assembly represent the greatness of the Egyptian people, and are broadly representative of Egyptian society. We have seen young and old, rich and poor, Muslim and Christian join together, and earn the respect of the world through their non-violent calls for change. In that effort, young people have been at the forefront, and a new generation has emerged. They have made it clear that Egypt must reflect their hopes, fulfill their highest aspirations, and tap their boundless potential. In these difficult times, I know that the Egyptian people will persevere, and they must know that they will continue to have a friend in the United States of America.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/02/10/statement-president-barack-obama-egypt

[Raven]

1. Bullshit...just bullshit.

[Matariki]

3. ...

:wtf:

[Tx4obama]

6. What exactly in there do you see as bs? n/t

[Matariki]

2. That is a great statement. n/t

[theoldman]

4. There is only one way for quick change and that is for Mubarak to step down.

All other changes will take months or years.

[readmoreoften]

8. +1. Cut the bullshit. Mubarak has to go. And so does Suleiman.

Reality is, no matter what Obama says, he's still going to be sending money to Mubarak and Suleiman behind everyone's backs anyway. Mubarak didn't get 70 billion dollars from investing in Cairo tourist trinkets.

[SteveG]

11. The Egyptian Constitution

states that if Mubarak steps down, an election has to be held in 60 days to replace him. That would not give time to any parties other than the NDP (Mubarak's party) and the Muslim Brotherhood to organize effectively. The only institution that could create an acting government and suspend the Constitution would be the Army. It may come to that, but do we really want to see the Military take over?

[Tx4obama]

12. +1 n/t

[Oilwellian]

13. ROFL

I'd say the various factions of anti-Mubarak groups in Egypt have organized quite effectively. They've also named several possible leaders to step in until an honest and fair election can be held. Your efforts to push the Muslim Brotherhood fear tactic makes me laugh out loud. They reject violence and have joined the peaceful protesters, so peddle that pure deluxe bullshit elsewhere. It's an insult to our intelligence.

[tekisui]

16. Be afraid of the Muslim Brotherhood!!!!

:rofl:

[readmoreoften]

14. The people are calling for a new constitution altogether. There is no excuse. He needs to step down.

The people are responding to being beaten and abused by secret police for three decades. This is their opening. If you think the NDP is going to be ahead in the elections, you've got a screw loose. ElBaradei is just as likely as the Muslim Brotherhood. As is a leftist democratic leadership emerging.

There is no "worse" than Mubarak and Suleiman.

[Major Hogwash]

5. Obama is a great President because this is a very difficult situation and he isn't threatening Hosni

Instead, Obama is pleading with Hosni to do the right thing, and step down.
Remove all doubt that he is not in control.
Retire.

[blogslut]

7. Good

[csziggy]

9. John King earlier said Obama's statement is a point by point refutation of Mubarak's speech

I am not up to comparing the two - maybe someone else here is. But I thought that was an interesting thought.

[Poll_Blind]

10. The Obama administration still pleasently surprises me on occasion and this is a small example of...

...a side I wish I saw more from our Executive branch. Now, whether or not we're actually going to walk the walk or just talk the talk is an entirely different matter, because we absolutely have enough intel and influence on the ground to try to push this one way or the other. Same as the Israelis and the Saudis.

We will get much more from a relationship with a Free Egypt than with Mubarak, Round 2.

PB

[tpsbmam]

15. Oooooooh, so you helped to finagle Suleiman taking the transition reins because you were

soooooo supporting what the Egyptian people want. I see. The Egyptians wanted Mr. Torture who is known for barbaric torture and was a willing cog in the prisoner rendition wheel.

This guy?

“Mubarak and Suleiman are the same person,” Emile Nakhleh, a former top Middle East analyst for the CIA, told ABC News. “They are not two different people in terms of ideology and reform.”

This guy?

Suskind said Suleiman "was our point man in Egypt for many years. Everything went through Omar. We never had to talk to anyone else. When we wanted someone to be tortured, we'd send him to Egypt to have them tortured. We wanted to get intelligence and we didn't need it to be stuff that could be doublechecked."

Him?

In some instances, Suleiman has personally overseen the torture of detainees. A memoir by Australian citizen Mamdouh Habib told how he came face to face with Suleiman after he was captured by Pakistani security forces and later rendered to Egypt by the CIA. Habib claims to have been zapped with high-voltage electricity, immersed in water up to his nostrils, beaten, had his fingers broken and hung from metal hooks.

Obama wants to make sure that Egyptians are heard, right? Well, hear this:

<snip>

"He's as unacceptable to the protesters as Mubarak. He has fully sided with Mubarak and has used threats to dissuade protesters," says Fawaz Gerges, professor of Middle Eastern politics and international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

"The long-quiescent population has had far more than enough of quasi-dictatorial rule," says Edward Peck, a former diplomat who served in Egypt and Iraq and as U.S. ambassador to Mauritania. "To offer as his replacement, however temporarily, one of his most reprehensible subordinates is certainly not going to satisfy the demonstrators."

<snip>

"But insofar as his role in rendition to torture offers a hint of how he does business," said Sifton, "Egyptians are right to be wary of him. … He's a creature of the Mubarak regime, an entity that maintained its power over three decades through terror and torture."

He's playing the same damn games in Haiti. I call total bullshit, Mr. President.

And once again I'm totally revolted.