Source: NPR's Morning Edition
One of the highlights of President Obama's trip to the Middle East and Europe this week will be a speech he plans to give in Cairo in an attempt to reach out to the Muslim world.
Michele Dunne argues that the choice of Cairo was "bold and challenging" for the Obama administration.
As for the Egyptian government of Hosni Mubarak, Dunne says it sees Obama's decision to speak from Cairo as a validation of its importance in the region. She argues that the Egyptians have been very concerned recently with Iran's rise to greater regional prominence. And Saudi Arabia and even small Arab countries like Qatar have taken on a more prominent role in diplomacy.
"So," she says, "Egypt is eager to try to recapture its status as the preeminent Arab power, and I think they see President Obama's choice as helping them to do that in some way."