The Obama Doctrine

Egypt continues to spin. And as it spins, so does American foreign policy. And like it or not, Obama spoke yesterday and laid down a new doctrine for the world to digest.

What he said may be correct or it may be a huge blunder. History will have to digest that.

But one thing for certain...something big is going to change because of the new Obama Doctrine.

Obama continued: "A new generation has emerged. They have made it clear that Egypt must reflect their hopes, fulfil their highest aspirations, and tap their boundless potential. In these difficult times, I know that the Egyptian people will persevere, and they must know that they will continue to have a friend in the United States of America."

The implications of this new doctrine, for that is how it must be viewed, are almost endless. The most obvious point is that since the US is backing the popular pro-democracy revolt in Egypt, it is bound in all conscience to do so elsewhere, as occasion demands.

This is a direct challenge not just to Mubarak and his old guard but to the legitimacy of the previously untouchable, US-allied autocrats of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the Gulf. Universal values are universal after all. So what goes in Egypt will logically go, too, in Algeria, Jordan and Yemen, to name just three countries where America has largely turned a blind eye to repression in pursuit of wider security and commercial interests.

The Obama doctrine implies readiness to intervene directly in a country's internal politics in support of broader principles. In this instance, his stinging criticism of Mubarak's failure to make "immediate, meaningful and sufficient" reforms was tantamount to a demand that he resign.

It also risks the alienation of regional rulers and the fracturing of old alliances that have sustained US and western European policy since the cold war. The Saudis had taken a dim view of the US president's undercutting of Mubarak; now they will wonder who might be next.

See it here; http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/11/egyptian-protests-obama-doctrine

It is true....that we have turned a blind eye on Arab oppression if it means more security for us and the region. But for the sons of Ishmael, who are continually at each others throats, maybe that is the best we can hope for in that region? If they have stopped killing each other and are not invading Israel....then we can call that "success".

What Obama has done in Egypt will have all the other Arab strongmen wondering just how much they can trust the U.S. to have their back when the masses demand they step down. And if the world has no trust amongst the leaders who keep the peace....how long till peace vanishes?