Republicans have been trying to make hay of Liall Ferguson's criticisms of the way the Egyptian situation was handled by Washington. Can the administration be blamed for not being prepared for all this? Probably.
But remember, the best intelligence in the Middle East comes from ... the Mossad. Which was blindsided. The speed at which demonstrations are mobilized via facebook can take intelligence services by surprise. There can be chronic discontent, but in an instant it can boil over into mass action that was not forseen or forseeable, except in hindsight.
And what kind of policy is it to fund dissenting/revolutionary groups when you are allied with the guy they want to rebel against? Playing both sides is a dangerous game. You end up as the enemy of whoever wins out.
What is almost humorous is that Obama would have been criticized whatever had been done. Fund Egyptian dissent and you get blamed for the fall of a long time ally. Don't fund dissent and you get blamed for not preparing for Mubarak's exit. Support Mubarak's rule publicly and you are exposed as a damn fool and a friend of dictators when he falls or dies. Whatever you do there will be carping and second guessing.
Sure there are what we from our point of view deem undesirable elements that are going to have more voice in Egyptian government. But that is in the nature of democracy. If you shut out selected groups from the democratic process, then what you end up with is not democracy.
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