US Secy of State Hillary Clinton Tours Egypt's Tahrir Square

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Egypt’s Tahrir Square on March 16, 2011. Photo ReutersBeyond the Veil| The Christian Science Monitor reports that a coalition of six youth groups that are movers and shakers in Egypt’s revolutionary refused to meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Egypt. The group announced on their Facebook page that the decision was “based on her negative position from the beginning of the revolution and the position of the US administration in the Middle East.”

Secretary Clinton’s early response that the Egyptian (Mubarak-led) government was “Looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people.”  We must note that the tear gas canisters used against the protesters were stamped “Made in the USA.”

Secretary Clinton toured Tahrir Square today, the epicenter of the uprising that ended Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak’s reign. In reporting the story the VOA News page makes no mention of the refusal of Egypt’s young leaders to meet with her.  Secretary Clinton is headed for Tunisia.

Al Jazeera English correspondent Sherine Tadros writes that “Clinton received a very warm reception from crowds in Tahrir Square… Egyptians were shaking her hand, they were shouting … ‘Thank you for coming’.”