Research

Last week, we noted that human rights and democracy were two issues not on President Obama’s foreign policy radar, as the Obama administration could not find the time to object when Libya was elected to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. As Egyptian dissident Saad Eddin Ibrahim notes, this is a clear break from past policies of democratic promotion.

George W. Bush is missed by activists in Cairo and elsewhere who—despite possible misgivings about his policies in Iraq and Afghanistan—benefited from his firm stance on democratic progress. During the time he kept up pressure on dictators, there were openings for a democratic opposition to flourish. The current Obama policy seems weak and inconsistent by contrast.

As Mr. Ibrahim continues to write, thanks to the White House’s lackluster support for democracy across the Middle East, “there is a clear and loud expression of disappointment in the region.” Sadly, Obama’s treatment of Egyptian dissidents is emblematic of a larger pattern of ambivalence towards democratic and human rights dissidents around the world. For the sake of people in Egypt, we hope President Obama can take notice and change his tune.