US Trapped by Morsi's Blank Check

Egyptian military forces were hoping for a kind of public endorsement by Barack Obama before deposing President Morsi, as was the case with the departure of Hosni Mubarak only a year ago. This time however, such a green light was not given. “We will not take part in this affair,” were the sobering words the U.S. State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki used on Wednesday night when the Egyptian army was on the verge of taking control of power.*

For the American administration, clearly far behind on the ongoing events in Egypt, supporting the overthrow of a democratically elected president that came into power only one year ago was out of the question. These preceding circumstances were too dangerous, as experts explained. “This time, it is different than with Mubarak. In fact, Morsi’s election was recognized by the international community,” commented Brian Katulis, an American foreign policy expert at the Center for American Progress, this past Thursday.*

At the onset of the coup carried out by Egyptian military forces, Barack Obama’s statement on Wednesday was a very carefully written message and made sure to use the term “overthrow.” The American president has expressed that he is “deeply concerned” and has made clear that “the future of Egypt must be determined by the Egyptian people.” His statement served to extend support to the Tahrir Square protesters despite the fact that many of them were holding signs denouncing the United States and its ambassador, Ann Paterson, as being Morsi’s “henchmen.” Another important part in President Obama’s statement was when he called on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible. The use of singular in this statement is essential, as Brian Katulis points out “because it indicates that the United States does not want Morsi to return to power.”*

Preoccupied with other matters besides the future of Egypt, Washington was far from a moderating force in Morsi’s rise to power last year. Convinced that they were dealing with a “moderate Islamist,” American diplomats, including the ambassador to Egypt, Ann Patterson, tried to persuade the Muslim Brotherhood to focus on Egypt’s economic problems, which were vital to the stabilization of the country. Encouraged by the desire to see Morsi preserve a peace accord with Israel, the United States kept a deafening silence when the Egyptian president orchestrated his constitutional coup in November 2012. The United States did not step up when opposition to the government and journalists began to be imprisoned en masse. “It was an error which contributed to weakening the side of the Democrats, which gave the impression to Morsi that he had a blank check to do what he wished,” as Katulis points out.*

“The Egyptian army’s removal of President Mohammad Morsi gives the Obama administration that rarest of opportunities in foreign policy: a second chance,” Executive Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy Robert Satloff wrote in the Washington Post. Satloff adds that the United States must reject its “false choice” between stability and democracy and must engage itself on the side of civil society, which aspires to true political reform.

*Editor’s note: the original quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.