Washington (CNN) -- Egypt's roiling political unrest is causing the United States to fine-tune a foreign policy equation that for 30 years has valued strategic partnership with President Hosni Mubarak over democratic ideals, experts said Monday.
The widespread street demonstrations demanding Mubarak's ouster have so far drawn a measured U.S. response that advocates step-by-step reforms for pro-democracy changes while maintaining stability. Even hawkish conservatives generally opposed to Obama administration policies have backed the U.S. response, citing the overarching need to prevent an unpredictable power vacuum if Mubarak were to be quickly forced out of power.
But one of Egypt's leading opposition figures, Mohamed ElBaradei, warned Monday that the United States needs to "let go" of its longtime ally.
"You need to review your policy," ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" in an interview Monday night. "You need to let go of Mubarak. You shouldn't be behind the curve, and you need to start building confidence with the people and not with the people who are smothering the people". CNN
