Libya

K Street Firm Explains Why It Lobbied for Libya Then Abruptly Cut Ties

Susan Crabtree | February 23, 2011, 5:44PM

Fmr. Rep. Bob Livingston (R-LA)

Former Rep. Bob Livingston (R-LA) severed his firm's lobbying contract with the Qaddafi-controlled government of Libya in the fall of 2009, after Qaddafi's son welcomed the individual convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 back to his home country as a conquering hero.

"Saif Qaddafi gave him a really public greeting broadcast around the world to welcome him home as a hero of the state -- that was just too much," Livingston told TPM in a telephone interview.

Read more »

Egypt

President Obama to Mubarak: Please Explain the Changes You Have Made

Susan Crabtree | February 10, 2011, 10:37PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama is calling on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to clearly and quickly explain the changes he has made to the government and pledged transfer of power and urged him not to react with violence to the increasing calls for his removal.

Obama was reacting to a rambling and sometimes confusing speech in which Mubarak pledged to transfer at least some of his powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman, change the constitution and heed the calls of the Egyptian people for democratic reforms.

Read more »

Egypt

McCain Urges Mubarak To Listen To His People

Susan Crabtree | February 10, 2011, 6:32PM

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called Egyptian Prime Minister Hosni Mubarak's decision to remain in office while allocating unspecified powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman "deeply unfortunate and troubling."

"The voices of the Egyptian people are growing louder and more unified, and they are not demanding partial transfers of power or minor adjustments to the current government," McCain said in a release issued less than two hours after Mubarak gave a rambling speech in which he said he would remain as President until elections are held in September. "They are calling for President Mubarak to step down as the beginning of a meaningful and enduring transition to democracy in Egypt."

Read more »

Hosni Mubarak

CIA Director Leon Panetta Says Mubarak May Step Down Tonight

Susan Crabtree and Ryan J. Reilly | February 10, 2011, 11:25AM

CIA Director Leon Panetta

CIA Director Leon Panetta said Thursday that it's likely Egyptian President Hosni Mabarak will step down tonight.

"There's a strong likelihood that Mubarak may step down in Eqypt tonight," Panetta told a House Intelligence panel.

Read more »

Pres '12

Gingrich: Obama Administration 'Amateurish' On Egypt (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | February 8, 2011, 10:08AM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), a potential presidential candidate, is joining the list of Republicans who are blasting the Obama administration's handling of the situation in Egypt.

CNN's John King caught up with Gingrich at the Reagan Centennial in Simi Valley, California -- as King noted, he can't really get a regular sit-down interview, because Gingrich and other possible candidates are Fox News contributors.

"Look, I think the fact that they appointed a very able diplomat, Frank Wisner, and within two days, were publicly contradicting him, is, you know, it's so amateurish," said Gingrich, referring to the administration having backed away from its envoy saying that Mubarak should stay in power while political reforms are carried out.

"I was with John Bolton last night, he said it's inconceivable that they would be this clumsy and this out of sync with -- I mean, just with themselves, forget the Arab world. They can't even get the White House and their special envoy to be on the same page."

Read more »

Egypt

Cheney: Mubarak Has 'Been A Good Friend' To U.S.

Eric Kleefeld | February 7, 2011, 11:02AM

Former Vice President Dick Cheney and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who has not been shy about criticizing President Obama on issues of foreign policy, is now adding his voice to the discussion on Egypt. In this case, Cheney seems to be straddling the fence between pro-Mubarak and anti-Mubarak conservatives -- saying that the Egyptian strongman should be treated nicely by the United States, but perhaps it's time for him to go.

AFP reports:

"I think President Mubarak needs to be treated as he's deserved over the years, because he has been a good friend, not only to the United States but a lot of other folks that we do business with," Cheney said a gathering in Santa Barbara, California to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of late US president Ronald Reagan.

"He's been a good friend and ally of the United States and we need to remember that," Cheney said.

Despite those words of support, on the issue of whether Mubarak can or should hold on to power, the former vice president added: "There comes a time for everyone to hang it up and move on."

"That's a decision only the Egyptians can make," Cheney said.

CIA/DNI/Intelligence

CIA Official: Obama Was Briefed On Egypt Instability Late Last Year

Susan Crabtree | February 3, 2011, 4:50PM

Associate Deputy Director of the CIA Stephanie O'Sullivan

The U.S. intelligence community warned President Obama about instability in Egypt late last year, according to a CIA official.

Stephanie O'Sullivan, the President's nominee for principal deputy director of national intelligence who currently serves as associate deputy director of the CIA, told the Senate intelligence committee Thursday that the agency briefed Obama. She did not indicate how specific the information they provided was.

"We warned of instability but not exactly where it would come from [and in what form]," she said. "That happened at the end of last year."

Read more »