WaPo: "Egypt is far more vulnerable to US & European pressure than is Syria"

"... Proposals by Western governments and neighbors for democratic reforms or negotiations with the opposition were evaded by Mr. Assad, who insisted on tarring all opponents as terrorists. The scorched-earth policy soon prompted the United States and many of its allies to impose sanctions on Syria, and two years ago this month President Obama called for the end of the Assad regime.Now Egypt’s military-backed government appears to have embarked on a frighteningly similar course. Rejecting U.S. and European proposals for a de-escalation of its conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood, the armed forces have brutally attacked the group’s supporters,killing hundreds. The regime is orchestrating a propaganda campaign labeling the Islamists as terrorists, even though there is no evidence that the movement’s leaders — many of whom are being held incommunicado — have given up a decades-long commitment to nonviolence. Critical Egyptian media have been silenced and foreign journalists attacked. Meanwhile, security forces have failed to protect Christian churches from assaults by mobs. ..."