via DefenseNews.com (bold lettering is my effort to emphasize points, not DN's)
Israelis were struggling to mask dismay, if not contempt, for what are roundly viewed here as naïve, inept and potentially dangerous missteps by U.S. President Barack Obama, who has encouraged the masses seeking to oust Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.Wow.
With momentum continuing to favor Egypt’s grass roots, anxiety mounted here over the specter of a revived southern front commanded by an unknown, likely radical regime organized, trained and equipped with the very best from America.
At the outset of mass demonstrations last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed cabinet members to hold their tongues about unfolding events in Sinai and beyond the Suez Canal. Anything uttered here would either irritate his government’s already-strained ties with the Obama administration or, worse, shift Egyptian street anger — still largely focused on internal repression and economic inequality — to anti-Israel or anti-Semitic diatribes.
Instead, Israel’s Foreign Ministry directed envoys worldwide to urge their host governments not to isolate Mubarak through word or deed, given his decades-long contributions to regional stability and his commitment to the 1979 Camp David Accords.
“The peace between Israel and Egypt has lasted for more than three decades and our objective is to ensure that these relations will continue to exist,” Netanyahu told cabinet colleagues Jan. 31.
But by late last week, with Obama leading the charge for a “new dawn” over a post-Mubarak Egypt, many here removed their muzzles in open support of existing centers of gravity — namely the Egyptian Armed Forces (EAF) and Mubarak-legacy leadership. In interviews here, military officials said Mubarak may already have been lost, but it’s not too late to fortify international recognition of the EAF and the vital, stabilizing role it can play in a future regime.
So when U.S., European and some Arabic television networks began broadcasting agitating commentary Feb. 3 about military action against demonstrators in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Israel’s military spokesman agreed to respond on record about unfolding events.
“Based on our assessment of events on the ground, it is our understanding that the Egyptian Army is operating responsibly and in a manner that contributes to stability and preserves the peace,” said Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu, Israel Defense Forces spokesman.
To be honest and not political, it has been curious how the White House and State Department could just dump an ally in the middle of a crisis so quickly.
Whoever wins in Egypt, they won't trust the US. Israel doesn't trust the US. Europe doesn't trust the US. China doesn't (who cares)...
Will anyone else?
I talk about other nations becoming unsturdy...shaky...yielding to the whims of ideology instead of practicality.
It seems that the same can be said for the upper reaches of the current US government, regardless of party.
