Ex envoys Wisner, Kurtzer: What the US should do now in Egypt
former Egypt Daniel Kurtzer and former US diplomat Frank Wisner have said that the US did not recognize that Mohammed Morsi did not respect democratic institutions.
Two former US envoys to Egypt advise that given the uncertain and violent turn of events, Washington should avoid public statements for now.
Washington was perhaps slow to recognize and try to correct the widespread perception in Egypt that the US government was supporting Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood government--as opposed to the elected government of Egypt.
“The United States has been behind the curve for a long time in this revolution, and I think it’s a little behind the curve this past week as well,” former US Ambassador to Egypt Daniel Kurtzer told Al Monitor in an interview Sunday.
“We gave the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi in particular a very long time to prove his capabilities and his understanding of democracy and he failed on both counts,” Kurtzer, now at Princeton University, said. “He was a totally inept president--which is not necessarily a reason to be thrown out of office. He was also a president who didn’t understand what [democracy] means in terms of inclusiveness and respect for institutions.”
