Analysis: Crisis in Egypt has "Huge Consequences" for U.S.
As violence and protests in Egypt increase, The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg warned on Washington Unplugged today that "optimists are going to be disappointed."
"It started as a very hopeful kind of story, a story that Americans can really relate to, a bunch of people seeking their democratic rights," Goldberg told CBS News' Jan Crawford Thursday. "And now it has become a very, very ugly story about oppression in the Arab world."
The on-going crisis, Goldberg said, has huge consequences for the U.S. "This is not a revolution in some distant capital. This is at the center of many of our problems."
Goldberg reiterated the point numerous times in the interview: the situation in Egypt is a "tough line" for the Obama administration, torn between promoting democracy and supporting an ally.
"There is a moral case that can be made that yes he [Obama] could say 'you've lost your authority to rule, you've unleashed these thugs, go,'" Goldberg said. "The downside of that of course is that all of your friends in the Middle East can then say 'he's our friend until there are a few street demonstrations and they turn against us.'"
Watch Crawford's full interview with Goldberg in the "Washington Unplugged" video above.
Christine Delargy is an associate producer for CBSNews.com. You can read more of her posts here. You can also follow her on Twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/cbswashunplug.
