President Barack Obama, centre, meets in the Situation Room with his national security advisors to discuss strategy in Syria of the White House August 31, 2013 in Washington, DC. Obama stated that he will seek Congressional authorization for the U.S. to take military action following the alleged Sarin nerve gas used in an attack on Syrian civilians. Pete Souza/White House
Exclusive: John Kerry Defies the White House on Egypt Policy -- Josh Rogin, The Daily Beast
The secretary doesn’t agree with Obama’s team, especially Susan Rice, on how to deal with Egypt. Unfortunately for Rice, Kerry is the one on the ground—and he’s doing things his way.
Before Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent trip to Cairo, National Security Adviser Susan Rice told him to make strong statements in public and private about the trial of deposed President Mohamed Morsi. On his own, Kerry decided to disregard the White House’s instructions.
The tension between the national security adviser and the secretary of state spilled over into public view in the past week, when Rice laid out her critical appraisal of the Egyptian government, which contradicted Kerry’s assessment that Egypt was “on the path to democracy.” The now public rift has been simmering behind the scenes for months and illustrates the strikingly divergent Egypt policies the White House and the State Department are pursuing.
The turf battles and internal confusion are hampering the administration’s approach to Egypt, say lawmakers, experts, and officials inside both governments.
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My Comment: President Obama can solve this policy battle immediately .... but where is he? And why has he not reigned in the State Department? My guess is that he has decide to leave his options on Egypt open as these two different positions are argued out within the government and now .... via by leaks .... through the media.
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