Obama’s Rock & Hard Place
Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and now Saudi Arabia. The Middle East dominoes are toppling one after another in the citizens’ quest for freedom, better economic opportunity, and/or power.
Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak
From an American perspective, the Tunisian revolution occurred rather quietly without much hype from the media. Egypt’s unrest, on the other hand, sparked a coverage frenzy, debates, and public speculations. When considering the biggest difference in American involvement between these two countries’ uprisings is President Obama – he was not involved in Tunisia’s upheaval, but he was with Egypt’s. Not only did the White House issue several statements, hold press conferences, and members of the Administration made the rounds on Sunday morning news shows stating their opinions on the issue, but Obama pulled the proverbial rug right out from Hosni Mubark’s feet.
Colonel Moammar Qaddafi
It’s no secret that the US is no fan of Muammar Qaddafi, the loony dictator in Libya; Ronald Reagan called him the “Mad Dog of the Middle East” and his regime as one on a “relentless pursuit of terror” after he bombed Colonel Qaddafi’s country. What will happen this go-round with the same autocrat and a new President? That remains to be seen, but the Libyans have made it clear they do not want foreign troops involved, unless it’s to establish a no-fly zone. Between the uncertainty, speculation, and actual goings on in Tripoli and Cairo, oil has exceeded $100 a barrel.
Bahrain is seeing a degree of unrest along religious lines with the Sunnis and Shi’ites struggling against one another for power. Here Sunnis comprise 30% of the population with Shi’ites the other 70%, but the majority is ruled by the minority – Sunnis maintain power over Shi’ites, which is the cause of the violence. Obama’s respect for the Muslim world, or equal representation under the law? What will Obama do?
Over in Yemen, citizens have been inspired by the events in Tunisia and Egypt to rise up against their own leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh. This is cause for alarm because al-Qaida has used Yemen as a launching pad for terrorist attacks against the United States on more than one occasion. Should the unrest open the door for a greater al-Qaida presence, the terrorist organization will not hesitate to take it. If Saleh falls and creates a political vacuum, don’t think for two seconds that anyone other than al-Qaida will be running the show from that point on. Does the US advocate for freedom like it did in Egypt, or does it fight the War on Terror? What will Obama do?
What about Saudi Arabia? This is arguably the crown jewel of the Middle East (no pun intended) because the Saudi King and the United States have had a long-standing relationship based primarily on oil. In the midst of all of the unrest, King Abdullah has arguably strengthened his relationship with President Obama by exporting more oil to compensate for Egyptian and Libyan losses, which has slowed the already-climbing prices at the pumps. Now that Friday has been declared a Day of Rage in Saudi Arabia and anti-government protests have been scheduled to take place around the country, what will Obama do?
This situation is without a doubt sticky and, if not handled with the most delicate precision, could have alarming consequences. I certainly don’t envy Mr. Obama’s position in this mess, but I do offer prayers for his success because whatever the policy, it will undeniably affect us all economically, and (Heaven forbid) maybe worse.
Tags: Bahrain, Egypt, foreign policy, Middle East, Obama, oil, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Yemen
Good article. The problem for the U.S. is for the past 35+ years we (U.S. Government) have supported directly or tacitly the regimes that are now being overthrown. We supported them for stability in the Middle East, for the free flow of oil, to keep the Soviets in check or picked sides as in the Iran-Iraq war. These same regimes that we supported brutally repressed their people, denied them rights that we espouse and take for granted and enriched themselves beyond belief at the expense of the population.
How will the average Arab man on the street, who’s overthrowing these governments going to look at the U.S.?
[...] Supply, demand, and speculation over the woes in the Middle East have contributed to some pretty pricey gasoline. Let’s face it: There’s a limited amount of oil in the world, more countries are developing industrially, and the place most everyone gets their oil from is, for better or worse, in the midst of a revolution. [...]