U.S. cannot desert Egypt’s jailed freedom fighters

democracy workers and a country that has a peace treaty with Israel wants to sack its mufti for praying in a Jerusalem mosque?

It tells us that the Arab awakening in Egypt did not blow the lid off. It blew the lid up. But the lid — the old regime and intelligence services — is still around. By blowing the lid up, though, it created space for the young people who actually sparked the revolution there to take to the streets and for the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists, and even a few liberals, to get elected to Parliament. But now you have a sixway struggle for power in Egypt: the army, the Islamists, the youths, the liberals, the old regime’s loyalists and the business community. This is going to take a long time to sort out. America’s job is to let whoever wins know that their relations with us will depend on their commitment to free elections, an independent judiciary, free press, open trade, religious pluralism and the rule of law.

It also tells us that anyone who thinks the Arab Spring proves Arabs don’t care about the Israeli-palestinian conflict anymore is fooling themselves. Resolving it is now more important because the Arab street now has a bigger say in politics than ever. America has so much more credibility with Arabs in promoting democracy when it is also seen as promoting an IsraeliPalestinian peace.

Finally, it tells us that — while it is understandable that the Obama team would initially take a lowkey approach to defending democracy workers in Egypt — Okail is right: There is such a thing as too low-key. If we don’t stand up firmly for our own values, then what will happen to those Egyptians who do? We must respect Egypt’s sovereignty and dignity, but we have no reason to respect a contrived witch hunt against democracy workers trying to hold their own government accountable. We bit our tongue with Hosni Mubarak, and how did that end? Without vibrant civil society groups, there will never be a sustainable democratic transition in Egypt. Charles Krauthammer

My Opinion

WASHINGTON — Last year President Barack Obama ordered U.S. intervention in Libya under the grand new doctrine of “Responsibility to Protect.” Moammar Gadhafi was threatening a massacre in Benghazi. To stand by and do nothing “would have been a betrayal of who we are,” explained the president. In the year since, the government of Syria has more than threatened massacres. It has carried them out. More than 9,000 are dead.

Obama has said that we cannot stand idly by. And what has he done? Stand idly by. Yes, we’ve imposed economic sanctions. But as with Iran, the economic squeeze has not altered the regime’s behavior. Monday’s announced travel and financial restrictions on those who use social media to track down dissidents is a pinprick. No