Friends of Mr Cairo

...Or "Another look through the dynamic multi-dimensional lenses, darkly." (Theme song here.)

Obamubarack?

A scene from Calcutta, India, during Egypt's original Tahrir Square protests. Ain't the world a crazy place?

(Wow, thought President Obama, good thing I solved that Egypt crisis! Now I better act fast to fix Libya before "the democratic impulses that are dawning across the region would be eclipsed by the darkest form of dictatorship, as repressive leaders concluded that violence is the best strategy to cling to power." Hillary, where's my national security adviser?)

I know - Egypt is old news, but there are disconcerting reports from Cairo today:

Demonstrators burned cars and barricaded themselves with barbed wire inside a central Cairo square demanding the resignation of the military's head after troops violently dispersed an overnight protest killing one and injuring 71.

Hundreds of soldiers beat protesters with clubs and fired into the air in the pre-dawn raid on Cairo's central Tahrir Square in a sign of the rising tensions between Egypt's ruling military and protesters.

According to the headline, just one protester dead so far. The story includes several elements designed to appeal to revolutionaries everywhere, like quotes from university students and car mechanics who've joined forces to combat tyranny - even though they're outgunned by the forces of evil.

Armed with sticks and other makeshift weapons, the protesters vowed not to leave until the defense minister, the titular head of state, has resigned.

It might need to be flushed deep down the (already clogged) White House memory hole, but there was a day not long ago when the relatively swift and bloodless "resolution" of the Egyptian protests (Mubarak resigned in favor of military rule, under Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi) was declared to be one of the greatest acts of presidential statesmanship in US history. Other observers (ahem) were less sanguine, noting it wasn't really about us, and it wasn't really over (among other things).

Today we learn...

"The people want the fall of the field marshal," chanted protesters, in a variation on the chant that has become famous across the Middle East with protests calling for regime change. "Tantawi is Mubarak and Mubarak is Tantawi," went another chant, explicitly equating Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, the defense minister, with the president who once appointed him.

Oh my, you might think, what will president Obama do? Or perhaps your response is more along the lines of "good thing we didn't get involved in Egypt! We don't need that mess on top of our Libya mess!"

Unfortunately, we are involved. Lets return once again to Tom Donilon's "dynamic multi-dimensional lenses" schtick from the opening days of our Libya op. Guess which Libya-neighboring country is most crucial to success there?

"Before getting into specifics," our National Security Adviser told the press, "I wanted to talk about Egypt as part of talking about the entire sweep of things that we're looking at here."

Along those lines, I spoke to Field Marshal Tantawi the day before yesterday, and I wanted to talk about that for a couple of minutes because I do think it's important. I thanked Marshal Tantawi for his leadership of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, and communicated to him that the world continues to admire the Egyptian people's transition to a democratic government; reiterated our commitment to partnership with Egypt in this project and in helping the Egyptian people achieve a successful transition.

He goes on for a few more paragraphs that can be summed up with the simple phrase "I piled on the sweet talk" before getting to the point: "And I thanked him for the government of Egypt's assistance in helping address the humanitarian situation in Libya -- where we've been working with them."

Got it - America, Egypt, humanitarian assistance to Libya, you're working with Field Marshall Tantawi. Understood. Now, pass the buck and move on:

The success of the democratic transformation underway in Egypt is absolutely critical. It's the largest Arab country. It is, again, at the center of events in the region and is a very tight and important focus for us, which is why, of course, Secretary Clinton will be going there next week as the highest ranking United States official to visit Egypt since President Mubarak left office.

And she did - touring Tahrir Square (scene of the Cairo uprising) and telling Egyptians they were an inspiration to America. She chatted with some of Egypt's new leaders, too.

"To the people of Egypt, let me say: this moment of history belongs to you," Clinton said following talks with Egypt's new foreign minister, Nabil al-Araby. "This is your achievement and you broke barriers and overcame obstacles to pursue the dream of democracy."

Unfortunately, the actual protesters refused to even meet with her...

A coalition of six youth groups that emerged from Egypt's revolution last month has refused to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived in Cairo earlier today, in protest of the United States' strong support for former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who was ousted by the uprising.

"There was an invitation for members of the coalition to meet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton but based on her negative position from the beginning of the revolution and the position of the US administration in the Middle East, we reject this invitation," the January 25 Revolution Youth Coalition said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

But a big part of the hope that went into the planning for the Libya op is that once they saw us launching missiles in Libya they'd appreciate us more.

So, Donilon spoke to Field Marshal Tantawi on March 8th, and Hillary's visit came a week later. I think since then we've gotten a better understanding of what he meant by "humanitarian assistance" (nudge wink).

"We know the Egyptian military council is helping us, but they can't be so visible," said Hani Souflakis, a Libyan businessman in Cairo who has been acting as a rebel liaison with the Egyptian government since the uprising began.

"Weapons are getting through," said Souflakis. "Americans have given the green light to the Egyptians to help. The Americans don't want to be involved in a direct level, but the Egyptians wouldn't do it if they didn't get the green light."

And yes, "this is something we have knowledge of," said "a senior US official."

Of course, everyone has plausible deniability here - and no doubt we're sending ham sandwiches and bandages, too. (Or only. And for the children.) So lets stick with "humanitarian assistance" as the polite term for what we're doing in Libya through Egypt's military government.

And now back to the latest from Cairo:

Near the famed Egyptian Museum, which overlooks the square, protesters trying to flee were blocked by soldiers, who hit them and knocked them to the ground before dragging them away.

"I saw them detain a bunch at the museum. They were beating some pretty badly," said one protester, Loai Nagati.

The confrontation was a sharp contrast to the warmth protesters expressed toward the military during the 18-day wave of mass demonstrations that led to Mubarak's ouster and in the days immediately following. Many praised the military for refusing to fire on protesters, and welcomed the army for stepping in to rule.

But tensions have since grown. Reports have emerged of some protesters arrested and tortured by the military in past weeks...

Someone might not have completely understood the "green light" concept. Since that "someone" is now an important ally in our getting humanitarian assistance to Libya (I certainly hope no one thinks we're cozying up to one ruthless dictator to combat another - that stuff gets ugly quick!), I expect something along the lines of a strongly worded rebuke to be forthcoming from Washington soon. (Perhaps combined with a call from Hillary to our hope-inspiring Egyptian protester friends to please be patient and peaceful, change is on the way.)

But whatever happens, I'm sure it will be declared the latest greatest act of presidential statesmanship in US history.

(More chatter. And thanks to Allahpundit for the link. You too, Michelle.)