Obama’s “Arab Spring reformist” in Egypt leaves palace while 10,000 protest

“Egypt is free!” Not so much I guess. In February 2011 I wrote about the so-called Arab Spring in Egypt after then-President Hosni Mubarak resigned from office and the demonstrators partied in the street. The demonstrators are back…

I quoted a portion of a CNN in Feb. 2011. Here is a bit more of the article, with my emphasis in bold, as it referred to the announced resignation of Mubarak.

It was a moment that many in the Arab world’s powerhouse nation had not dared contemplate.

Chants of “Egypt is free!” and “God is great!” rose from the crowds, dizzy in the honeymoon of their success. Some waved Egyptian flags; others honked horns; still others set off fireworks as they savored the scene.

Two major bridges over the Nile River resembled congested parking lots, and partiers packed streets throughout Cairo. The state-run Middle East News Agency said some people had passed out from joy and others had suffered heart attacks.

“It was a sense of liberation for me, for every Egyptian,” said opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei. “For the first time, Egypt has a chance to be democratic, to be free, to have a sense of dignity, of freedom. So it’s amazing. It’s just like something we never experienced in our lifetime.”

Of course, this started to fall apart as the Muslim Brotherhood became the clear driving force in the Egyptian political scene. President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton gave re-assurances the Brotherhood is not associated with terrorists (we’ll see), but it is abundantly clear they are radical Islamic fundamentalists in every other way. Obama dropped the ball here, he thought by bringing the Muslim Brotherhood into the “political” fold they could “moderate” the goals of the organization.

Surprise! You can’t negotiate with radicals. Yet still, in Egypt today 10,000-plus protesters hit the streets calling for the ouster of the new president, Mohamed Mursi, who represents the driving force of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

The crowds had gathered nearby in what organizers had dubbed “last warning” protests against Mursi, who infuriated opponents with a November 22 decree that expanded his powers. “The people want the downfall of the regime,” the demonstrators chanted.

“The president left the palace,” a presidential source, who declined to be named, told Reuters. A security source at the presidency also said the president had departed.

Mursi ignited a storm of unrest in his bid to prevent a judiciary still packed with appointees of ousted predecessor Hosni Mubarak from derailing a troubled political transition.

The guy just took office not even six months ago.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air…

Just remember, the Obama administration hailed Morsi as the democratic result of the supposedly reformist Arab Spring.  The White House has been remarkably silent about that outcome ever since Morsi decreed himself a pharaoh.  It took Obama only eight days to demand longtime US ally Hosni Mubarak’s ouster after peaceful protests erupted against his regime in the spring of 2011.  How long will it be before Obama speaks out against Morsi’s power grab?