Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Dear Mr. President,

From the New York Times this morning: “Vice President Omar Suleiman of Egypt says he does not think it is time to lift the 30-year-old emergency law that has been used to suppress and imprison opposition leaders. He does not think President Hosni Mubarak needs to resign before his term ends in September. And he does not think his country is yet ready for democracy.” Yet, you are still “encouraging” him to move toward reform and relying on “the existing government to make changes that it has steadfastly resisted for years.” Clinton voiced the fear that the pro-democracy movement could be “hijacked” if changes come too quickly. This has been Mubarak’s and Suleiman’s bogeyman for the past 30 years, a way to justify the suppressive Emergency Law and a Constitution that guarantees one-party rule. Your “balanced” and “measured” response plays right into the hands of their corrupt, oppressive regime. They’re playing the waiting game now and they know they’ll win; they know the U.S. will not stop the flow of money and arms, will not come down firmly on the side of the pro-democracy movement. Their strategy is clear: raise wages a bit, 15%, for government employees, promise reforms, ignore the protests and pretend everything is back to business as usual. They’ve got the resources and the time to wait out the protesters, marginalize them, and eventually, they know, people will return to their usual lives and abandon active support for those still in Tahrir Square. The protests will die out as will many of the protesters once attention is no longer focused on Egypt, after the cameras and TV crews leave and the world is no longer watching. I’m no prognosticator, Mr. President, but this scenario seems pretty obvious to me. Your response doesn’t seem either balanced or measured to me. In reality, it’s shifted to Mubarak and his corrupt and autocratic rule while paying lip service to democracy. It’s left the protesters twisting in the wind. It’s a sellout of democracy and justice for the illusion of stability and security. You had a chance to do something really significant, Mr. President, and it appears you’ve blown it, betrayed an opportunity to foster a true movement for democracy in the Middle East and play a major role in history. I believe you’ve sold your birthright for a bowl of something and that’s a terrible loss not only for you but for millions of people with aspirations for justice, freedom and democracy. I mourn this loss for all of us.