Page 6 - Michael Sing News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Secretary of state hillary clinton is in afghanistan making a surprise visit to the afghan capital of kabul. this is after she made stops in oman and libya where she promised aid to the transitional government. >> we will be here as your partner. we will continue to emphasize the importance of the rule of law, respect for human rights, trade and investment, and the importance of civil society, academic institutions and learning. >> michael sing is managing director for the washington ins institute and with as director on the staff under george w. bush. michael, thanks so much. >> thank you. >>...

Allegations, things like the bad personal relations between president karzai and the united states don't give anyone any confidence in whatever those objectives might be. and the other piece that's coming from the campaign and also from capitol hill, especially, if the super committee doesn't do its work and they pass november 23rd and there are automatic cuts, is foreign aid. and also the state department's budget is just being slashed. the debate last night, what the candidate had to say about cutting foreign aid. >> i think it is time not only to have that entire debate about all of our f...

Regimes they have shown in the past, as has been evidenced by actions by president obama when it came to egypt, for instance. but at the same time, you're not going to see the united states get way out in front on this, which, to michael's point, is going to disappoint the -- many people in the arab world. >> it seems to me that there is a disconnect between people wanting the president and the white house wanting the president to convey some overarching vision while saying that these are individual countries and that the response for libya won't be the same as the response for syria. chuck? >...

Israel see its as in its interests to do it right now or not. >> stay with us, richard engle and chuck todd. i'm bringing in michael sing, the managing director of the washington institute for middle east policy and former senior director for the national security council. you've been through this in the previous administration. at this stage, is this the right time for the united states to be giving this speech? have we raised expectations -- has the white house raised expectations too high for what the president can realistically deliver? >> well, i think, remember, andrea, relating to your ...

Party, even radical ones, a voice, other people say you have unleashed something that has the potential to do great harm. >> well, michael, to that point. can the united states really influence these events, or has -- what has now unfolded across the region really have a life and momentum of its own? >> reporter: in a positive way. i think some of the things president obama is going to announce, the economic assistance, should have a positive influence. i do think, though, that president obama has been heavily criticized in the region, and also at home, for what has been a sort of i guessin co...