Obama Maintains Hands-Off Approach To Egypt, Leery Of Saving Chaotic Nations From Themselves
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration maintained its hands-off approach to the nationwide turbulence in Egypt on Wednesday, even as the military overthrew the Islamist government.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki Wednesday, speaking just before the new government was announced, said the Obama administration is concerned about Egypt, but called for talks to plot a solution in one of the United States' most important Arab allies.
There was no immediate response from the State Department or the White House after the Egyptian military's order.
"We think that all sides need to engage with each other and need to listen to the voices of the Egyptian people, and what they are calling for, and peacefully protesting about," Psaki said. "And that's a message we've conveyed at all levels to all sides."
Psaki steered clear of directly criticizing ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, whose whereabouts were not immediately known after the military's announcement Wednesday. But she noted Morsi could have answered the Egyptian public's concerns, "and he did not take the opportunity to do that."
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