I wonder if Egypt would have played a more central figure at the conference if Mubarak was still in power, and whether it would have been an advocate for action AND a military response.
My intuition tells me yes, and this whole Arab League resolution highlights how weak in is regionally. Egypt can get away with offering tepid support to "somebody" doing "something", while not being seen as supporting US aims, because the administration has backed off on any diplomatic pressure. The US has backed off on a lot of things with Egypt because it has become very important to not piss off the provisional government (army), or put it in any undesirable public position in the eyes of its citizens.
The nature of our relationship with Egypt will morph and shift considerably during the next 6-12 months too.
The diplomats have got to be working in overdrive right now. I hope they are all on message.
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