American Foreign Policy

"Chaos in Cairo" is the title of an article on the Huffington Post as I write this post.  After the Obama Administration supported the uprising against and the removal of Hosni Mubarak as president of Egypt, the Egyptian military intervened and formed a "temporary" government with Mohamed Hussein Tantawi Soliman as the new head of state.  Soliman is also the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, and his background is almost entirely based in the military.  The Egyptian military stepped in to temporarily fill the void left by the Mubarak government with promises to hold democratic elections in order to progress Egypt into a freer, more democratic state.  However, to date, the military has not seemed willing to part with this new found power.  So again, as we witnessed last January and February in Egypt, protesters are now #Occupying Tahrir Square in Cairo to demand freedom from oppression and for democratic elections. 

One would think the government of the United States would weigh all actions when deciding to support the ousting of a head of state of a sovereign nation.  "What will happen in the struggle for power when he/she leaves?"  "Who is going to take his/her place?"  "What are the chances that violence will erupt in the struggle for vacated power?"  These questions, although likely asked, were obviously not properly answered.  As in February, protesters in Egypt are being murdered by an oppressive government unwilling to cede the power they promised to give up when they gained said power.  The question to be asked is: Are Egyptians better off than they were eight months ago?"

This dilemma now faced by American foreign policy experts has been typical for the past 40 years or so.  Americans have a history of supporting rebels in various parts of the globe, without truly understanding the ramification of their actions, or what type of people they are supporting.

Here are some of the particularly troubling people/governments the United States has supported in the past few decades:

-Afghan Mujahideen (which included Osama bin Laden)
-Saddam Hussein
-The current government of Pakistan
-The interim Libyan government
-The interim Egyptian Government
-The King of Saudi Arabia
-Hamid Karzai

Many of the above people/governments do not openly support democratic processes, individual liberties, and/or work against American interests.  Time for America to reconsider its foreign policy options?  Probably.