CAIRO: United States interests can clash with its support for democratic movements, acknowledged Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in speech at the National Democratic Institute on Monday, explaining why, for instance, the US backed a military coalition against Libya's former leader Muammar Ghaddafi, but took a more cautious stance against the Syrian Bashar al-Assad dictatorship. The administration's oil, security, and military interests in the region, as well as their partnership with the Israeli state have blurred the potential for an absolute support for democratic transition. Clinton acknowledged in her comments that the United States deals differently with pro-democracy movements. However, the guarantee of democratic freedoms is the best way to secure stability in the long run, she went on. “Over time, a more democratic Middle East can provide a more sustainable basis for addressing all three. But there will be times when not all of our interests align. We work to align them, but that is just reality.” As the United States after the Arab Spring protests that deposed of various Arab leasers who were once allies of the US, Clinton explained, the administration has had to adopt a malleable foreign policy in the Middle East. Arguably, the biggest obstacle to United States' foreign policy in the Middle East is in Egypt, where their three-decade ally, former President Hosni Mubarak, was removed from power after a series of popular uprisings in February. The United States has criticized Egypt's interim ruling government, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) for transitioning too slowly to a civilian-led democracy, as it has initially promised. “If, over time, the most powerful political force in Egypt remains a roomful of unelected officials, they will have planted the seeds for future unrest. Egyptians will have missed a historic opportunity. And so will we.” Clinton also said that the United States is willing to work with any democratically elected powers in the region, even those that they do not agree with ideologically such as the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliated Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and the Islamist Ennahda party that swept Tunisian elections last month. “What parties call themselves is less important than what they do,” Clinton said, echoing the comments of William Taylor, the administration's special coordinator for Middle East transitions, who spoke to the same sentiments earlier this week. In June, the US administration changed its policy about engaging with the Brotherhood, easing restrictions that once mandated that the US could only speak with MB members who were independent members of Parliament. The administration has reached out to leaders of the party, which is expected to make significant gains in upcoming Parliamentary elections in Egypt, set to begin at the end of November. “Those leaders trying to hold back the future at the point of a gun should know their days are numbered,” she warned, speaking to fears that a power vacuum in the region could lead to a backslide in democratic reforms and freedoms. BM
