Originally Posted by
Julio3000
Jeez, Bedell, you pick the one time Graham isn't blithely cheerleading us into a war to criticize him.
That said, I don't necessarily disagree with you about the larger situation, and I think that the magnitude and import of ME policy should transcend partisanship.
As others have noted, there's not a particularly good move on the board right now. This is a quote from the British Foreign Secretary:
'In a radio interview on Monday, William Hague, the British foreign secretary, said he did not accept that outsiders were powerless to influence events. “But we have to do our best to promote democratic institutions, to promote political dialogue and to keep faith with the majority of Egyptians who just want a free and stable and prosperous country,” he told the BBC.
“What we’ve done in Britain so far is that we have suspended projects with the Egyptian security forces. We have revoked a number of export licenses, and I think then among the European countries we should review together how we try to aid Egypt, what aid and assistance we give to Egypt in the future,” he said. He added, “Foreign policy is often about striking the right balance.”
He described the current crisis as bleak. “I think it will take years, maybe decades, to play out,” he said, “and through that we have to keep our nerve in clearly supporting democracy, democratic institutions, promoting dialogue and there will be many setbacks in doing that and we should not be surprised when they take place.”'
I think this is a pretty realistic assessment of the situation, particularly the sections that I highlighted. I don't think it was necessarily a bad play to give qualified support to the Morsi government initially, in that it was democratically elected and replacing a corrupt, autocratic regime. Right now, though, supporting either the military or the deposed government seems like contributing to more bloodshed. Your suggestion appears to support what would, in effect, be another Mubarak regime. Perhaps that's the best of a bunch of unattractive options, but I can't say it's a clear-cut favorite.