Obama ratchets up pressure on Egypt's Mubarak

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday to make "absolutely critical" political reforms, ratcheting up pressure on a key U.S. ally in the face of street protests seeking his ouster. Weighing in for the first time after three days of Egyptian unrest, Obama was careful to avoid any sign of abandoning Mubarak but made clear his sympathy for demonstrators he said were expressing "pent-up frustrations" after decades of authoritarian rule.Obama and his aides are performing a delicate balancing act as political upheaval rocks the Middle East, from Egypt to Tunisia to Lebanon to Yemen, catching his administration off-guard and showing the limits of U.S. influence.While making a point of describing Mubarak as "very helpful on a range of tough issues," Obama sent him a blunt message to heed the demands of anti-government protesters for expanded democratic rights."I've always said to him that making sure that they are moving forward on reform -- political reform, economic reform -- is absolutely critical for the long-term well-being of Egypt," Obama said as he answered questions from an online audience on the YouTube website.Even with its more assertive tone, the Obama administration seemed to be juggling its desire for a return to Middle Eastern stability, its support for democratic principles and its determination to avoid the rise of an anti-U.S. Islamist government in Cairo potentially allied with Iran."This isn't a choice between the government and the people of Egypt," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

">WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday to make "absolutely critical" political reforms, ratcheting up pressure on a key U.S""This is not about taking sides."Obama urged the government and the protesters to show restraint, saying, "Violence is not the answer in solving these problems in Egypt.""It is very important that people have mechanisms in order to express legitimate grievances," he said, citing core values like freedom of speech, freedom of expression and access to social networking websites he insisted were as important in the Arab world as in the United States.Obama spoke on the day that Egyptian police fought protesters in two cities in the eastern part of the country and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei arrived back home to join a major demonstration on Friday.Security forces shot dead a Bedouin protester in the north of Egypt's Sinai region on Thursday, bringing the death toll to five on the third day of protests inspired by unrest which toppled Tunisia's president earlier this month.OBAMA'S DILEMMASince taking office two years ago, Obama and his administration have stumbled at times to balance support for moderate, authoritarian Arab states considered crucial to U.S. interests with a push for broader political freedoms.Egypt is a clear example of that dilemma, given that the United States sees it not only as a linchpin for future Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking but also as a bulwark against Iran's regional clout.Mubarak has rarely heeded U.S. pressure before over his government's behavior, and it remains to be seen whether tougher language will translate into anything of substance. 1 2 Next World Tunisia Egypt