Opinion: That went well: With Mubarak gone, 52% of Egyptians dislike Obama’s policies, barely 20% like the U.S.
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A case study in klutz?
Yes, it took a while for him to figure out which side was going to win in Egypt’s popular uprising earlier this year. But remember all of President Obama’s warnings and unsolicited pieces of advice for the people currently inhabiting that land of ancient culture?
Everyone should avoid violence. You can’t repress ideas. Time to go. No going back. Everyone deserves universal human rights. Peaceful assembly and self-expression are very important.
The Real Good Talker and his rhetorical sidekick, Mideast power player Jay Carney, have been issuing an abundance of White House warnings in recent weeks to Tunisia, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, Syria. Forget about Iran. It’s worked so well that demonstrators continue to....
...die in Syria and now we’re firing Hellfire missiles into Libyans from unmanned Predator drones that have so effectively been killing Muslims in other countries. Now, comes a new poll of 1,000 Egyptians in face-to-face interviews from the Pew Research Center. Results detect stirrings of democratic change and optimism; 84% believe the next elections are at least somewhat likely to be fair. They prefer better economic conditions (82%) and a fair judiciary (79%) over honest, multi-party elections (55%).
The Army emerged from the turmoil with respect (88%); same for the April 6 Movement (70% positive) and the Muslim Brotherhood (75%).
Some other nuggets:
-- 62% think laws should strictly follow the Koran’s teachings; only 39% place a high priority on women having rights equal to men. Only 36% think it’s very important that Christians and other religious minorities are free to practice their faith.
-- 52% disapprove of Obama’s policies toward the region’s changes, 39% say the U.S. has had a negative impact there, only 22% see positive American contributions, 15% want closer ties with the United States while 43% would prefer a more distant relationship.
-- 64% of Egyptians say they have little or no confidence in Obama to do the right thing in world affairs.
-- Those who count on education to improve relations with the United States will be disappointed; 85% of those with primary or less education view the United States negatively, while a hearty 68% of those with a college education feel the same.
-- Egyptians (54% to 36%) seem prepared to annul their country’s three-decade old peace agreement with Israel, with annulment strongest among lower income groups.
Other than all that, encouraging news for the effectiveness of the Obama doctrine.
-- Andrew Malcolm
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