Obama has lost our two key Middle East allies, says NBC's Richard Engel. Here's an exchange between Chuck Todd and Engel:
TODD: I just want to get your first reaction, before you give me a report, of the President saying Egypt was not an ally or an enemy.
ENGEL: Yeah, I almost had to sit down when I heard that. For the last forty years, the United States has had two main allies in the Middle East — Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the other ally in the Middle East being Israel. For the President to come out and say, well, he’s not exactly sure if Egypt is an ally any more but it’s not an enemy, that is a significant change in the perspective of Washington toward this country, the biggest country in the Arab world. It makes one wonder, well, was it worth it? Was it worth supporting the Arab Spring, supporting the demonstrations here in Tahrir Square, when more here now in Tahrir Square there are clashes going on behind me right in front of the US embassy? More here.
TODD: I just want to get your first reaction, before you give me a report, of the President saying Egypt was not an ally or an enemy.
ENGEL: Yeah, I almost had to sit down when I heard that. For the last forty years, the United States has had two main allies in the Middle East — Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the other ally in the Middle East being Israel. For the President to come out and say, well, he’s not exactly sure if Egypt is an ally any more but it’s not an enemy, that is a significant change in the perspective of Washington toward this country, the biggest country in the Arab world. It makes one wonder, well, was it worth it? Was it worth supporting the Arab Spring, supporting the demonstrations here in Tahrir Square, when more here now in Tahrir Square there are clashes going on behind me right in front of the US embassy? More here.
