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Patterson School Director Says Egyptian Revolution "Amazing and Historic"

By Alan Lytle

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wuky/local-wuky-951805.mp3

Lexington, KY – A former U.S. Ambassador and veteran of the State Department says the unfolding events in Egypt are "amazing and historic". Carey Cavanaugh is the Director of the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky.

"What you're hearing from the White House and the American Administration is a very strong backing of the changes that are taking place in Egypt and you're also hearing how difficult this has been to find the right balance. And I think what people are most happy with is that up to this point, we have seen surprisingly little violence for so dramatic a change in Egypt."

Ambassador Cavanaugh says the challenge for the U.S. and western nations moving forward is to let the Egyptian people craft their own democracy.

"We need to be supportive in the ways economically we have been supportive of Egypt for decades, but we also need to look at how we further our assistance that builds democratic structures. Those are areas that have not been open to the United States to help with for a long time and I believe we are already at this point but we need to understand and acknowledge that what'll be built in Cairo, the new government, will be a government the way the Egyptians would build it."

Cavanaugh says, just as in the case of Tunisia, one simply could not underestimate the role social media played in toppling the Mubarek regime.