Ally no longer? Obama weighs options in post-Arab Spring Egypt.
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's slow and tepid response to protests targeting the US embassy confirmed Washington's worries: The US-Egypt relationship is entering a testing phase.
An Egyptian soldier stands guard in front of the US embassy in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday.
Nasser Nasser/AP
WASHINGTON
Tensions in US-Egypt relations, which have spilled into the open amid continuing anti-American protests in Cairo, suggest two friends facing uncertainties following deep changes in their relationship.
President Obama said earlier this week that Egypt under its new Islamist leaders is “a work in progress” – expressing the doubts that Washington has felt since the June election of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, who has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Mr. Obama added that while US would not “consider [Egypt] an ally,... we don’t consider them an enemy,” either.
Meanwhile, Mr. Morsi has looked like something less than a steadfast friend in failing to act quickly against the protests sparked by a low-budget video made in America that denigrates the Prophet Muhammad. When he did speak, he seemed to offer only a tepid rebuke of anti-US violence.
