US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday she would visit Egypt and Tunisia next week, her first trip to those countries since their presidents were deposed after mass protests.
Clinton also told US lawmakers she planned to meet with Libyan opposition leaders during her travels as Washington sought ways to help them topple Libya’s strongman Muammar Qadhafi.
“Next week I will travel to Cairo and Tunis to speak directly with the Egyptian and Tunisian people. I will be meeting with their transitional leaders,” the chief US diplomat said.
“And I intend to convey strong support of the Obama administration and the American people that we wish to be a partner in the important work that lies ahead as they embark on a transition to a genuine democracy,” she said.
“We know how difficult that will be,” Clinton told the House Appropriations Committee, where she sought to defend the US foreign aid budget against planned cuts by Republicans.
Clinton recalled the challenges the former Soviet Union as well as central and eastern Europe faced after communism fell two decades ago, saying most of them “navigated those challenges successfully” but others did not.
“We have an enormous stake in ensuring that Egypt and Tunisia provide models for the kind of democracy that we want to see,” Clinton said.
The secretary said meanwhile the United States is working with the international community to help foil Qadhafi’s attempts to militarily crush a pro-democracy movement in Libya.
“We are standing with the Libyan people as they brave bombs and bullets to demand that Qadhafi must go now without further violence or delay,” Clinton said.
She said US diplomats were working with their counterparts at the United Nations, NATO, the African Union, Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council to “isolate, sanction and pressure Qadhafi to stop the violence against his own people”.
The work is also aimed at sending a “clear message” to Qadhafi aides that “they too will be held accountable if they commit crimes against the Libyan people.
In addition, she said she will be meeting with Libyan opposition figures, both in the United States and “when I travel next week, to discuss what more the United States and others can do”.
The United States still seems sceptical of a drumbeat of demands for a Libyan no-fly zone, but hints are emerging of a possible last-ditch plan to deter any mass aerial slaughter of civilians.