The division within the administration was seen after a mission to
Egypt by Obama's personal envoy, Frank Wisner. The 62-year-old Wisner, a
former U.S. ambassador to Cairo and today a consultant to Egypt's military,
returned from several days of talks with Mubarak and the opposition
convinced that the Egyptian president must remain in power until the end of
his term in September.
"President Mubarak remains utterly critical in the days ahead as we
sort our way toward the future," Wisner told a security conference on Feb.
5. "This is an ideal moment for him to show the way forward."
Both the White House and State Department disavowed Wisner's appeal for
Mubarak to remain in office. Officials said Wisner did not represent the
administration and exceeded his mission by expressing his views publicly.
"Former ambassador Wisner is not an employee of the government," White
House press secretary Robert Gibbs said on Feb. 7. "He was, based on his
broad experience in Egypt, asked by the State Department — and I would
direct you to the State Department on the specifics of anything regarding
him — to travel to Cairo and have a specific conversation with President
Mubarak. He did, and reported that back to us."
But other officials said Wisner's remarks were cleared with senior
administration officials, including Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton. In a separate address to the security conference in Munich, Ms.
Clinton stressed that Washington wanted to see an orderly and peaceful
transfer of power in Egypt, which receives $1.5 billion in annual U.S.
civilian and military aid.
"Hillary knew what Wisner was going to say, but the White House didn't,"
another official said. "This was a very embarrassing incident, and Wisner
now no longer represents the president."
Wisner was said to have been told by Mubarak and his senior aides that
Egypt would turn into a state similar to Iran and Turkey should the
opposition gain power. The U.S. envoy was said to have been persuaded by
his Egyptian hosts that the Muslim Brotherhood planned and dominated the
opposition campaign.
"Wisner spoke to the White House about this but was ignored," the
official said.
Officials said the lines of the division regarding Egypt remain unclear.
But they said Obama's aides, particularly adviser David Axelrod and U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, were pressing the president to
demand the ouster of Mubarak within days or at most several weeks. These
advisers were said to have concluded that the United States must be seen as
welcoming reform rather than supporting the current Egyptian regime.
In contrast, Ms. Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have urged
the White House to stop calling for Mubarak's ouster. Officials said the two
secretaries were concerned over the prospect that Mubarak might
immediately block the Suez Canal to U.S. Navy ships headed for Afghanistan.
Opponents of the immediate ouster of Mubarak also included Vice
President Joseph Biden. From the start of the crisis, Biden, who has been in
constant contact with Vice President Omar Suleiman, said U.S. interests
required that Mubarak remain in power.
"Only he [Mubarak] knows what he's going to do," Obama said in a
television interview on Feb. 6. "The U.S. can't forcefully dictate, but what
we can do is say the time is now for you to start making a change in your
country."
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