After decades of setbacks and defeats, the Arab masses are invigorated by the popular uprising in Egypt. Witnessing history in the making, their optimism is at its peak. While the Arab people have celebrated the youth revolution in Egypt, policy makers in Washington have been at first caught off guard and since then have looked at the revolution as a troubling factor that must be contained. Certainly, there appears to be an ocean of a gap between the aspirations of the ordinary Arabs and Washington’s calculations. The gap is steadily enlarging and sending shock waves throughout Washington’s political establishment.

Unwelcome and derided, this development has intensified Washington‘s search for a strategy to reclaim the upper hand in designing the Middle East’s political game without weakening Arab authoritarian rulers. Frank G. Wisner, President Obama’s special envoy to Hosni Mubarak of Egypt has declared, “We need to get a national consensus around the pre-conditions for the next step forward. The president [Mubarak] must stay in office to steer those changes” and “President Mubarak’s continued leadership is critical — it’s his opportunity to write his own legacy.”

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has argued that the transition to democracy has its own risks stating, “the transition can backslide into just another authoritarian regime. Revolutions have overthrown dictators in the name of democracy only to see the political process hijacked by new autocrats who use violence, deception, and rigged elections to stay in power or to advance an agenda of extremism.” She has called for orderly transition and the continuation, for the time being, of the authoritarian regime in Egypt.

Though many international and Middle East experts have called for the immediate stepping down of President Mubarak and for profound transformation of the Egyptian regime, Washington has instead promoted a proposal for keeping Mubarak as a figurehead and thrown its weight behind Egyptian Vice President, Omer Suleiman; a confidant of Mr. Mubarak who has been, over the years, instrumental in suppressing oppositions.

Traditionally, Washington has placed a priority on molding the Egyptian political and economic scene to optimally serve Israeli interests. This is not only because Egypt is the largest Arab country that borders Israel but, without Egypt, it would be impossible for the rest of the Arab World to mobilize an effective encounter to Israeli design and domination. However, those who are intimately familiar with the Middle East point to the following additional factors which constitute a foundation for Washington’s persistent efforts to suppress the Egyptian Youth Revolution in an “orderly” way:

• The successful popular removal of Mubarak from power and out of Egypt and or putting him on trial will be a historical precedent. This would motivate people in other Arab countries to expel their autocratic leaders leaving Washington without reliable allies.

• Mubarak and his family have accumulated wealth amounting to over $70 billion (The Guardian, Feb. 4). Giving a reasonable period for Mubarak to govern and enabling his cronies to assume power later would allow them to find legal ways to escape prosecution or for the government to take over this huge wealth.

• Defeating the Revolution sends a strong message to the rest of the Arab world that any attempt to change or challenge Washington’s design for the region will not be tolerated.

• The American naval, air force, and military presence in Egypt will be in jeopardy if a patriotic regime comes to power, thereby removing a strong infrastructure and military facilities which have been helpful for sustaining Israeli domination and supremacy in the region.

• An independent Egypt may optimally utilize its human talent and natural resources. This could transform Egypt into a model that will be emulated by other Arab states, thus minimizing dependency on foreign powers.

• A parasitic commercial class has for the last three decades flourished in Egypt. This class has served the interests of Washington and Tel Aviv to the detriment of the Arab causes. A new regime may enact policies that restrain the activities of this class.

• A popular democratic government in Egypt will put an end to the aggressively promoted myth that Israel is the only true democracy in the region. This may sway Western public opinion from supporting Israel.

• Freed and democratic Arab individuals in Egypt will be creative, flexible, and courageous in championing Arab causes and probably propel Egypt into a society that is capable of providing its people with a respectable living standard.

In recent days, Washington’s plan to keep Mubarak as a figurehead has gained momentum as Arab dictators and Israeli ruling elites, along with the powerful Wahhabi establishment (Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh a senior Wahhabi religious figure issued a statement against the uprising on Feb. 2) and the Zionist Organization of America (Feb. 3) which called for not abandoning “a long-standing ally and . . . instead working to ensure that (his regime) does not entirely collapse.”

This, along with the ability of the Egyptian regime and the intelligence of powerful Arab governments to infiltrate the opposition groups and weaken their will to profoundly change the regime and put on trial most of its powerful figures, allows the Obama administration to move ahead with its plan to contain the revolution in an “orderly” way.

Consequently, the Obama administration has moved on different fronts to strengthen its relations with the top Egyptian military and security brass while enhancing the position of Omer Suleiman instead of Fathi Surur, the speaker of the People’s Assembly, who according to the existing constitution will be the president if Mubarak steps down.

Mr. Surur is no different from Mr. Suleiman. Both are corrupt and do not answer to the Egyptian people. However, Mr. Surur is weak politically while Mr. Suleiman is known for his iron fist, brutality, secrecy, blind commitment to Israel, and skillfulness in sabotaging patriotic movements across the Arab World. This is the very reason that the Obama administration is determined to strategically position him to be the new strong man.

The Egyptian Youth Revolution has created a rare historical moment in the region as the Arab people, from Morocco to Iraq, have found themselves for the last two weeks fixated on the news. As one Iraqi professional put it in an e-mail, “We are glued to our chairs watching a turning point in our history being made.” He and millions of the Arab people, male and female, Muslims and Christians, are experiencing happiness and hope after decades of defeat and suffering. The revolt lifts their spirit and is seen as having the potential for inaugurating a new era and regaining their dignity and freedom.

Allowing the regime in Egypt to continue its hold on power sends a strong signal that Washington is not in a mood to entertain any possibility of a genuine Arab democracy to take root. Indeed, its efforts to thwart the youth revolution shows Washington‘s determination to defend a brutal regime at the expense of the rights of people for self-determination and democracy.

Abbas J. Ali is Professor and Director, School of International Management, Eberly College of Business and IT, Indiana University of Pennsylvania. This article appeared first on Middle East Online