Sunday February 27, 2005

I've Been Thinking:

Liberalization in Egypt!

And all because George Bush and Condi Rise cranked up their diplomatic pressure on Egypt.

Egypt just agreed to amend its constitution and allow for possible opposition in their upcoming elections.
If this is true, if it does happens, it will be a huge development and it could have a very significant impact on the entire Middle East.

The administration has been hitting hard at "The Great Nation of Egypt" at almost every opportunity, in almost every foreign policy speech, at home and abroad and even in the State of the Union Address.

The pressure got even greater when Rice chose to drop Egypt from her next Mid East trip. Publicly, the administration described the change in itinerary as a response to democratic backward slipping, tying it to the arrest in Egypt of a leader of the political opposition.

Exerting this type of pressure was brilliant.
This is masterful diplomacy.
Putting Egypt on the itinerary and then dropping her because of non-democratic activity sends out a real solid message to the entire region.

Well done.