As I watch the rioting in Cairo on CNN I think about the so-called "liberal left."

I've been following foreign affairs since the Cold War ended and have been disappointed with the so-called "liberal-left" on the subject. I agree on Vietnam, but most were uninspiring about Bosnia or Rwanda. They were good on South Africa but not much else. During the Naughties they mocked color revolutions. On Egypt they are silent.

David Weigel writes:

There's a lot of focus right now on what members of the administration have said publicly about the situation in Egypt; if you're a conservative, Joe Biden saying that Hosni Mubarak is no dictator, or Robert Gibbs meekly saying the country should turn the Internet back on, tell you everything you need to know about the weakness of the Obama administration.

It's rather worse than that. The Obama administration is flat-footed here, sure, but it's only acting out the role we've been playing with Egypt for decades. It continued sending $800 million in direct economic aid and $1.3 billion in military aid -- that's the military on your TV now, trying to break up riots. Mubarak has been an incredibly resilient and effective strongman who has kept us from worrying about a fundamentalist takeover of the country. It's worth reading the WikiLeaked cable our ambassador wrote in 2009:

He is a tried and true realist, innately cautious and conservative, and has little time for idealistic goals. Mubarak viewed President Bush (43) as naive, controlled by subordinates, and totally unprepared for dealing with post-Saddam Iraq, especially the rise of Iran,s regional influence. 

On several occasions Mubarak has lamented the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the downfall of Saddam. He routinely notes that Egypt did not like Saddam and does not mourn him, but at least he held the country together and countered Iran. Mubarak continues to state that in his view Iraq needs a "tough, strong military officer who is fair" as leader. This telling observation, we believe, describes Mubarak's own view of himself as someone who is tough but fair, who ensures the basic needs of his people.

The Obama administration's response to this has not been uniquely distaff. It's been traditional. It's worth reading Shadi Hamid on this.

President Obama has also weighed in, but more by what he chose not to say. On Jan. 18, he phoned his Egyptian counterpart, President Hosni Mubarak. They discussed a number of issues, including Iran and the Arab-Israeli conflict. They did not, however, discuss the need for political reform in Egypt.

The United States has backed its rhetoric, or lack of it, with action. On Jan. 12, more than three weeks into the Tunisia uprising -- and after protests had spread across the region -- the State Department granted $100 million in new funding to the Jordanian government to boost employment and strengthen the health and education sectors. Presumably, this will help the Kingdom diffuse popular anger over worsening economic conditions.

These actions have a clear intent -- to protect the stability of a state perceived as strategically vital to US interests.