Egyptians fought bravely, ousted Mubarak and gave power to the military. But it turns out that USA effectively controls the Egyptian Army. It financed it, trained it and should it go into conflict with it, it can easily defeat it. So Egyptian people, whether they are aware of this or not, gave considerable power to USA. In Latin America and other parts of the world, giving power to US backed military would have been seen as a huge step back in time. So this situation must change quickly and in favor of the Egyptian people. It could also change in favor of US and EU foreign policy in the region.

Egyptians deserve speedy and easy visibility on how democracy will be instituted. Also, USA has to be very careful not to be associated with the Egyptian military, but instead with the democratic forces which hopefully will take power. It also needs to prevent the brewing of another Mubarak from inside the military, a military who like Hugo Chavez, after trying to take power as a military leader, changed clothes and took power through elections but behaves as a military dictator. The Egyptian people, USA, Obama and Clinton in particular, can emerge as winners in this revolution but there are many obstacles ahead.

After failing promoting democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, USA has a chance to do in Egypt with $50bn what it could not do wasting $1 trillion. It can fund the stabilization of Egypt and prevent the rise of terrorism and Hamas type forces to arise out of discontent. Egypt can become what Iraq never became but it is still one of the poorest nations on Earth on a per capita basis and it quickly needs a stabilization fund. Right now what the new government has to prevent is food shortages and provide basic necessities for all. That needs short term EU and US Aid. In short, President Obama can do with Egypt what the Neocons wanted and failed to do with Iraq. Helping Egypt at this moment would be greatly appreciated around the world.

Lastly as soon as things calm down, we can all do our fair share and consider Egypt for our next holiday destination. This will help re start the economy.

Michael Medved
2/14/2011

Some conservatives call the president the political equivalent of a suicide bomber: so consumed with hatred that he’s willing to blow himself up in order to inflict casualties on a society he loathes. Against this, Medved says the White House record of more than 200 years shows plenty of bad decisions but no bad men. For all their foibles, no president ever displayed disloyal or treasonous intent. He criticizes Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin for hyperbole in criticizing Obama. For 2012, Medved says Republicans face a daunting challenge in running against the president, which becomes impossible if they’re also perceived as running against the presidency.

Medved hosts a daily, nationally syndicated radio show and is the author of “The 5 Big Lies About American Business” (recently out in paperback by Three Rivers Press).

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Stephen Peter Rosen
11/29/2010

If we deploy American military power, Rosen says we must do it like we mean it. The US needs to increase its ability to conduct non-nuclear war from undersea, from ships out of range of missile attack, and from bases on American soil by means of long-range missiles and aircraft, manned or unmanned, over the next 10 years. Rosen goes on to argue that the US must increase its ability to use cyber warfare and other unconventional means and to defend itself from retaliatory attacks in kind. Just as importantly, it must allow its allies to acquire the weapons systems and even nuclear weapons they need for their own defense. This will not be cheap, but it will be less expensive if we help our democratic allies arm themselves by transferring technologies to them, by working with them, and by encouraging them to help each other.

Rosen is professor of national security and military affairs at Harvard.

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Yossi Klein Halevi
10/14/2010

Halevi considers Israeli Defense Minister Barak’s attempt to persuade the Netanyahu government to extend a freeze on settlement building. For all the ambivalence toward the settlements, Halevi says there is good reason why the Israeli government should heed Defense Minister Barak’s advice and extend a settlement freeze. A freeze would prove that the obstacle to Middle East agreement isn’t the settlements–blueprints exist for resolving the settlement issue in a comprehensive peace agreement–but eather the more basic refusal of the Palestinian leadership to accept the legitimacy of Jewish sovereignty over any part of the land.

Halevi is a fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and a contributing editor of the New Republic.

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Thomas L. Friedman 10/6/2010 Two Texas oil companies, Valero and Tesoro, are financing a campaign in California this election year, Prop 23, to roll back laws to slow global warming and promote clean energy because it would require their refineries to install new emission-control tools. The issue is not about jobs, but about enhancing the coffers of the oil companies, since financing has come primarily by billionaires outside the state. Friedman says California’s laws are the best thing we have in America to stimulate clean-tech. Fighting these oil companies at the ballot box is a worthy cause.

Friedman is a New York Times columnist.

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David S. Broder
9/30/2010

Gallup poll research by the political group Third Way is helping to explain why more Americans since 1992 are identifying themselves as conservative and the number of those who call themselves liberal is decreasing. Assuming voter turnout rates similar to 2008 and assuming Democratic candidates will carry the same national popularity as Obama, Third Way predicts that it is moderate voters who will determine the fate of the Democratic majority in 2010. Building on Third Way’s research, Broder concludes that there simply are not as many liberal votes to be won this election.

Broder is a twice-weekly columnist for The Post, writing on national politics.

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