U.S. Raised Concerns About Egypt

The WikiLeaks cables shed some light on the sensitive relationship between the U.S. and Egypt, as Washington grapples to figure out how to handle Egypt’s ongoing turmoil. President Obama on Thursday praised Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, but cautioned that Mubarak needed to reform both politically and economically. The cables show the relationship has been fraught: U.S. diplomats had long raised concerns with Egyptian officials about jailed dissidents and bloggers and kept tabs on torture reports. At the same time, Cairo appreciated how the Obama administration had played down the public “name and shame” approach of the Bush White House. But the cables show how important an ally Egypt had been for the U.S. in the region: Cairo backed the U.S. in its confrontation with Iran, played mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, and supported Iraq’s fledgling government. WikiLeaks also tweeted Thursday night that they will be releasing more cables about Egypt as soon as possible.