Beltway Insider: Obama Vacations on Martha’s Vineyard; Egyptian Violence Condemned

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Category: Beltway Insider

Published on Sunday, 18 August 2013 20:03

Written by Janet Walker

President Obama interrupted his summer vacation to address the escalating violence in Egypt as deadly clashes between supporters for jailed leader Mohammad Morsi ,who are demanding his reinstatement, and the government backed military erupted.

According to Gallup, President Obama’s job approval, over the past week, rose five percentage points to 46% of those polled approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as President dropped five percentage points to 45%

President Obama Vacations on Martha’s Vineyard

President Obama began his annual one week family summer vacation last Saturday retreating to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts a favorite destination of other leading democrats including the Kennedy’s, Clintons as well as east coast intellectuals.

The President and First Lady Michelle Obama, daughters Sasha and Melia along with the family dog, Bo, were seen throughout the week participating in various outdoor activities and greeting locals on several occasions.

For the president it was a week of hitting the links at several of the Vineyard’s pristine golf courses, including Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Golf Club in Edgertown, Mass., and at Mink Meadows Golf Club where he golfed with White House officials and Business and Industry executives.

Among his golfing partners were Senior Policy advisor Sam Kass and White House Trip Director, Marvin Nicholson, Robert Wolf, a member of President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, and U.S. Trade Rep., Ron Kirk as well as World Bank President Jim Kim and Comcast CEO Brain Roberts.

The President also spent some time with his family and the four were seen cycling through the Manuel F. Cornelius State Forest.

Like most executives President Obama was on a working vacation and traveled with a chosen team to monitor domestic and International events and issues.

Accompanying the President to Martha’s Vineyard were Susan Rice, National Security Advisor, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnst, and Rob Nabors, Senior Representative from the White House Chief of Staff’s office.

Egyptian Violence Condemned

A week of widespread deadly violence rocked the Egyptian capital of Cairo as supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, the first democratically elected president, continued to protest the Military takeover of the Egyptian government. 

President Obama spoke out from Martha’s Vineyard and issuing this statement on the continued use of extreme force, brutality and bloodshed in Egypt, “The United States strongly condemns the use of violence against protestors in Egypt.  We extend our condolences to the families of those who have been killed and to the injured.  We have repeatedly called on the Egyptian military and security forces to show restraint, and for the government to respect the universal rights of its citizens, just as we’ve urged protestors to demonstrate peacefully.”

“The violence will only make it more difficult to move Egypt forward on a path to lasting stability and democracy, and runs directly counter to the pledges by the interim government to pursue reconciliation.  We also strongly oppose a return to a State of Emergency law and call on the government to respect basic human rights, such as freedom of peaceful assembly and due process under the law.  The world is watching what is happening in Cairo.  We urge the government of Egypt and all parties of Egypt to refrain from violence and resolve their differences peacefully.”

A State of Emergency has been issued and condemned by world leaders who have taken the unusual steps of issuing, in the strongest language possible, statements in attempts to quell the growing tide of government suppression and stop the return to dictatorial and authoritarian leadership.

In the six weeks since the Egyptian military overthrew the deposed leader loyalists have taken to the street to demand his reinstatement. The military has continued to respond to the pro-Morsi , pro-Muslim brotherhood supporters, with severe brutality in order to suppress the message.

Egyptian officials have resulted to excessive violence to remove protestors from occupy style protest camps, plowing through with bulldozers. It is also believed the severity of the force was to antagonize the supporters so the relentlessness brutality would be globally justifiable as retaliatory response as the Egyptians who are calling the violence the result of terrorist who, for the most part, need to be squashed.

Obama has yet to announce any deviation from the current foreign policy as a result of the violent clashes, which have left 53 officers dead; 700 civilians murdered and more than 1000 wounded with Thursday “Day of Rage” as the deadliest.

Falling short of declaring the July 3 Military takeover of the Egyptian government a coup Deputy Press Secretary Josh Ernest, who is traveling with the president, indicated, “We had arrived at the conclusion that we're not going to make a final determination about the coup.”

He continued, “that it was in the best interest of the United States to pursue our conversations with the interim government in Egypt to hold them accountable, or to remind them of the promises that they have made about transitioning to a democratically elected, civilian government and a transition that would occur promptly, and that these are all actions that will encourage them to respect basic human rights to reflect the will of the Egyptian people.”

Egypt’s interim government has already seen a power shift as Deputy President Mohammad El Baradei resigned over the violent removal of protestors in Cairo on Wednesday.  Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi and Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa el-Din has both remained in power after the recent shake up.

Refusing to demand exact action, President Obama nonetheless showed concern over the deepening clashes between ousted Morsi supporters and the newly installed interim government.

The United States has cancelled the upcoming bi-annual joint military exercise ‘Bright Star” schedule for September in the Sinai.

While this may seem like effort to manipulate the current Egyptian regime to stop the violence and lift the month long state of emergency, the real leverage comes in the form on a 1.3 billion dollar aid package that, from all published accounts, is still approved.

Egypt declared its independence during the wave of democracy that swept across the Middle East in 2011 and became known as Arab Spring.

For more information on President Obama: www.whitehouse.gov 

Sources: WhiteHouse.gov, Gallup, Wikipedia, NBCnews.com