U.S., caught off guard by Egypt, tries balancing act
Both President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have been criticized for being slow to grasp the scale of the upheaval in Egypt where tens of thousands of people have protested for days to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, a long-time U.S. ally. Clinton, in particular, was mocked for saying initially that Mubarak's government appeared "stable" before she joined Obama in toughening U.S. rhetoric over the weekend with a call for an "orderly transition" -- a signal that Washington feels the 82-year old leader's days may at last be numbered.
"The U.S. needs to break with Mubarak now," the Washington Post said in an editorial on Saturday, a demand likely to unsettle other authoritarian U.S. allies in the region ranging from Jordan to Saudi Arabia. But the speed with which Egypt's turmoil is unfolding, and the recognition of limited U.S. leverage, has left the Obama administration trying to perform a delicate dance: seeking to encourage reform without attempting to dictate Egypt's future.