Mum on Mubarak’s Ouster, But Obama Says Egypt Will Never Be the Same

Dismisses Popularity of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood

President Barack Obama’s latest comments on Egypt, much as his previous comments, came mostly in vague references to reforms and change in the nation, while refusing to predict anything near term.

Egypt is not going to go back to what it was,” insisted Obama, who also made vague references to Egypt eventually having a representative system of government. US officials have called for reforms in Egypt, but have stopped short of calling for Mubarak’s immediate resignation.

Obama likewise refused to make that call once again, insisting that he would not attempt to predict what was going to happen and that “only he (Mubarak) knows what he’s going to do.” Obama has previously lauded Mubarak as a “patriot” who “really cares” about Egypt, but has also insisted that changes must be made.

Obama also sought to downplay concerns that the banned religious organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, might take power in a free election, insisting that the group “don’t have majority support” and that “there are strains of their ideology that are anti-US.” Previously officials have suggested that the US wouldn’t recognize the Muslim Brotherhood as a legitimate participant in any votes because of their relationship to Hamas.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.