Clinton Visits Egypt’s Leaders Amid Protests
Published at
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waded carefully into Egypt’s murky political waters over the weekend, holding meetings with both newly elected President Mohamed Morsi and top military commander Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.
In talks Sunday with Tantawi, who was considered Egypt’s leader for the nearly year-and-a-half after Hosni Mubarak was deposed as president, Clinton discussed Egypt’s political transition and protecting the rights of all its citizens.
After holding discussions with Morsi a day earlier, Clinton stressed that the new president understands he was elected “to protect civil society, to draft a new constitution that will be respected by all and to assert the full authority of the presidency.”
The Obama administration is also hoping that the Egypt “can emerge as a cornerstone of a peaceful, secure and ever more democratic Middle East,” Clinton said.
However, many challenges remain since the government remains in a considerable state of flux with the elected parliament having been dissolved by a judge and the Egyptian military still believed to be the real power in the country.
Egypt’s economy was also hurt by a sharp drop-off in tourism because of political instability. That’s one area where the White House might be able to help by relieving $1 billion in debt owed to Washington.
Meanwhile, the visit by America’s top envoy was marred later Sunday by protests in the city of Alexandria where tomato- and shoe-throwing demonstrators yelled “Monica, Monica” at Clinton’s motorcade, a reference to Monica Lewinsky, the White House intern President Bill Clinton had a sexual relationship with during his first term.
Many in Egypt suspect that the White House has helped the Muslim Brotherhood win elections, spurning Washington’s previous support of Mubarak’s regime which ruled the country for 30 years.
Appearing at the reopening of the U.S. consulate in Alexandria, Clinton asserted, “I want to be clear that the United States is not in the business, in Egypt, of choosing winners and losers, even if we could, which, of course, we cannot.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio