NYT: Cables show US changed tack on Egypt
The Associated Press
Friday, January 28, 2011; 1:43 AM
CAIRO -- The New York Times is reporting that cables obtained by WikiLeaks reveal how the United States changed the way it dealt with Egypt after President Barack Obama came to power.
It says relations improved between the two allies, with one official writing in a cable that the U.S. avoided "the public confrontations that had become routine" during the Bush administration.
Egypt is one of the most important U.S. allies in the Arab world but as the Mideast country sees the biggest anti-government protests in years, inspired by the popular revolt in Tunisia, the public support of the U.S. has become less assured.
In an interview broadcast live on YouTube on Thursday, Obama said that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been "an ally of ours on a lot of critical issues."
But Obama added: "I've always said to him that making sure that they're moving forward on reform, political reform and economic reform, is absolutely critical to the long-term well-being of Egypt."
The New York Times also reported Friday that U.S. diplomats repeatedly raised concerns with Egyptian officials about jailed dissidents and bloggers and followed reports of torture by police.
Friday, January 28, 2011; 1:43 AM
CAIRO -- The New York Times is reporting that cables obtained by WikiLeaks reveal how the United States changed the way it dealt with Egypt after President Barack Obama came to power.
It says relations improved between the two allies, with one official writing in a cable that the U.S. avoided "the public confrontations that had become routine" during the Bush administration.
Egypt is one of the most important U.S. allies in the Arab world but as the Mideast country sees the biggest anti-government protests in years, inspired by the popular revolt in Tunisia, the public support of the U.S. has become less assured.
In an interview broadcast live on YouTube on Thursday, Obama said that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been "an ally of ours on a lot of critical issues."
But Obama added: "I've always said to him that making sure that they're moving forward on reform, political reform and economic reform, is absolutely critical to the long-term well-being of Egypt."
The New York Times also reported Friday that U.S. diplomats repeatedly raised concerns with Egyptian officials about jailed dissidents and bloggers and followed reports of torture by police.
posted by Hanan Elbadry at 1:44 PM
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