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U.S. Foreign Policy & Egypt

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We get the latest, and go to the huge foreign policy implications for the United States.

In this file photo from Sept. 14, 2010, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak meets with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt. (AP)
In this file photo from Sept. 14, 2010, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak meets with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt. (AP)

Whatever happens in Egypt in the days right in front of us, a spell appears to have been broken in the Arab world.

Awkwardly for Washington, it has been a heavily American spell. The deal was stability under authoritarian rule and, broadly speaking, an American agenda for the region.

If that’s all gone, or going, what’s the American posture now? Where do America’s strategic interests lie? From Tahrir Square in Cairo, right across the region, everything looks up for grabs. It could be good. Or bad.

We look at American foreign policy, reeling, turning in the Arab world.
-Tom Ashbrook
Guests:

Nicholas Kristof, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and an Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times. He joins us from Cairo.

Susan Glasser, editor in chief of Foreign Policy magazine.

Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2005 to 2008. He is former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and he worked on the National Security Council under President Clinton. He is currently director of the Future of Diplomacy Project for the Programs on the Middle East and on India and South Asia, and a professor of diplomacy and international politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School. Hear Burns speak with Tom Ashbrook about U.S.-India relations.

Stephen Kinzer, former foreign correspondent for the New York Times and author of the new book “Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America’s Future.” His other books include “A Thousand Hills: Rwanda’s Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It” and “All the Shah’s Men.” You can listen back to On Point’s segment with Kinzer about Rwanda.

News out of Egypt:

Airport chaos eases while violence flares in Cairo

By TAREK EL-TABLAWY
AP Business Writer
CAIRO (AP) - In their rush, some forgot their bags.

The near mayhem at Cairo's airport over the past few days gave way to slightly more organized chaos on Wednesday, with between 10,000 to 13,000 passengers making their escape aboard about 95 flights. Miles away, protesters fought supporters of embattled President Hosni Mubarak - clashes sure to further stoke fears about growing instability in the country.

Governments stepped up efforts to fly out their nationals and others scrambled for seats on commercial flights whose schedules have been amended to accommodate an onerous curfew.

As the terminals cleared out, airport officials said they found 120 bags scattered around, left by owners anxious to clear Egyptian airspace.

The U.S. flew out over 330 Americans on two flights on Wednesday, raising to more than 1,800 the number of U.S. citizens who have left on government-chartered aircraft. The flights Wednesday were the first since the State Department on Tuesday ordered non-essential U.S. government personnel to leave Egypt.
Others opted for commercial flights.

Clarksdale, Mississippi resident Carol Mangrum, had been at the airport since 3 p.m. Tuesday waiting for a flight that was to leave at 6 a.m. That flight was delayed even further - until 3 p.m.

"I've been here at the airport the whole time," said Mangrum. "I'm tired, but anxious to go home."

Even those who were to take government-chartered flights had some trouble. A group from Thailand was dropped off a half-mile from the terminal, and had to drag their luggage. It was unclear whether their bus had not been allowed to reach the terminal.

Those who had already left had plenty of stories to tell friends back home, even without witnessing the street battles Wednesday.

Georgia Supreme Court Justice Hugh Thompson and Ocmulgee Circuit Superior Court Judge Hulane George were among a group of 30 people who arrived Jan. 20 on a private tour to Egypt.

They were in Upper Egypt, an area famed for pharaonic temples and tombs, when the protests broke out. A day after witnessing their first demonstration on Jan. 29, their group was flown back to Cairo only to find themselves in the thick of the protests in the capital.

They remained at the airport's main terminal where they were warned about the curfew - then set to begin at 4 p.m.

"They warned us if we stepped outside the terminal, we would be shot," Thompson said upon his return home.

Back at his office at the Georgia Supreme Court, Thompson said he was still watching the protests.
"I won't forget it," he said. "If memory is etched by adrenaline, I'll never forget it. Because there was a lot of adrenaline flowing."

While few abided by the curfew, hundreds of passengers have found themselves stranded at the airport because of the difficulty of getting to a hotel. Taxi service from the airport is almost nonexistent during curfew hours.

In a sign that the airlines were starting to adjust more easily to the curfew, only about 500 people remained at the airport Wednesday night - a far smaller number than in the first few days of the mass exodus.

The flights largely came from abroad. EgyptAir, the national carrier, was flying only a fraction of its roughly 145 international and domestic flights as crew either failed to make it on time because of the curfew, or were too concerned about the mayhem on the street to come to the airport.

U.S. Embassy officials in Cairo said additional flights were slated for Thursday.

"Things are going very smoothly," said Roberto Powers, the U.S. consul-general in Egypt.

Germany reported that about 1,100 of its citizens flew out of Cairo and Alexandria the day before, and consular officials were deployed at Cairo airport, as well as other cities.

A chartered flight was dispatched by Britain's government to pick up British nationals stranded in Cairo. The cost per place was about $480 - a charge the government defended as necessary to not undercut commercial carriers. The U.S. was also charging its citizens who opted for the evacuation flights, though the costs had yet to be determined.

Several South and Latin American nations - including Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Argentina - said they had chartered planes, or planned to, in order to fly their citizens to safety.

Brazil said it was aware of 42 nationals who are trying to leave Egypt, but a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said no special flights were planned because commercial carriers were available. She spoke on condition of anonymity as she was not authorized to discuss the matter.

Trinidad's foreign minister, Suruj Rambachan, said the Caribbean nation was trying to arrange commercial flights for the nearly two dozen nationals of the Caribbean island who want to leave Egypt.

One group that finally made it out was headed for Portugal. Airport officials said the 48 people were not allowed to leave on Tuesday, as they planned, because they showed up without passports.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
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Associated Press reporters from around the world contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

This program aired on February 3, 2011.

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