“The statesman can only wait and listen until he hears the footsteps of God resounding through events; then he must jump up and grasp the hem of His coat, that is all.” Thus Otto von Bismarck, the great Prussian statesman who united Germany and thereby reshaped Europe’s balance of power nearly a century and a half ago.
Last week, for the second time in his presidency, Barack Obama heard those footsteps, jumped up to grasp a historic opportunity … and missed it completely.
I got to agree with Ferguson, he makes many valid points here.
It is understandable in a sense our immediate reaction to the Egyptian protests, given our relationship with Mubarak for many years, and the many authoritarian allies we have in the region. Yet the tightrope walk of supporting both the protesters and the regime, as Ferguson points out, was foolish. Hopefully a democratic Egypt rises out of this revolutionary uprising, and not another dictatorship, and hopefully, they are our ally.
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