Beyond Mubarak: Protesters’ Anger Turns on US, Israel
The anger spilling into the streets of Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and other cities was focused like a laser beam on President Hosni Mubarak on Friday. As the protests move forward, however, the resentment is spreading beyond Mubarak and his immediate underlings, and toward the United States and Israel. It isn’t hard to see why. The United States has been backing the Mubarak regime to the tune of billions of dollars over the past three decades, and even with scores dead and the regime’s legitimacy in tatters, US officials are still demanding Mubarak remain in power, though maybe with some trivial reforms. And while Israel, for its part, is staying as officially quiet as is humanly possible about a massive revolt along its western border, beyond wondering how it snuck up on them, Obama Administration officials are continually citing Israel as the reason they are opposing regime change in Egypt. As the Obama Administration digs in more and more in supporting Mubarak, it seems that they are fueling more resentment against them and, consequently, are all the more afraid that the inevitable regime change will have negative consequences for US-Egypt relations.