In the new stories today one from the New York Times caught my eye. It dealt broadly with President Obama going to Egypt.
What struck me was the American treatment of President Mubarak as just another allied leader -- say someone not too different from Stephen Harper (and Conservative readers I am not comparing the two -- my point is they aren't all that similar).
Before leaving Washington, Mr. Obama signaled that while he would mention American concerns about human rights in Egypt, he would not challenge Mr. Mubarak too sharply, calling him a "force for stability and good" in the Middle East.
In an interview with the BBC released by the White House on Tuesday, Mr. Obama said he did not regard Mr. Mubarak as an authoritarian leader. "No, I tend not to use labels for folks," Mr. Obama said.
The president noted that there had been criticism "of the manner in which politics operates in Egypt," but he also said that Mr. Mubarak had been "a stalwart ally, in many respects, to the United States."
Perhaps this is the right approach -- you don't get concessions from someone by insulting them but it is a striking example of realpolitik.
James Morton
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