Iraq and Egypt

One of the last arguments used to justify the US invasion of Iraq and the consequent US occupation (after the argument for WMD was found to be fabricated and the flimsy argument that it was a national security concern also proved untrue) was that it was the right thing to do on moral grounds. Saddam Hussein was a thug and a dictator that didn't allow his people freedom so the altruistic US had to do something, right? At the time I wondered why he would get this attention considering that there was a world full of tyrannical dictators guilty of the same behavior. The reason, of course, is that it didn't have anything to do with taking a moral stance. It was entirely based on political motives and most likely had a lot to do with the nice little oil reserves sitting under the sand. The media had to create a warm fuzzy story to appease the American populous and to justify war though and we ate it up.
Contrast this story with the current events in Egypt, where we have a leader who employs torture and tyranny just as capably as Saddam was doing.
According to US embassy cables that were released by Wikileaks (like it or not, they're out in the open now), we learn that the US was aware of police brutality. Those cables describe it as "routine and pervasive" under the Mubarak regime. According to these State department records "Torture and police brutality in Egypt are endemic and widespread. The police use brutal methods mostly against common criminals to extract confessions, but also against demonstrators, certain political prisoners and unfortunate bystanders." Lest the world get too clear a view of this mess, the Egyptian government has tried to implement a near blackout of the internet and media.
Why then is the US taking such a different stance? Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the U.S. government would to continue to work with the Mubarak regime and and that his regime was "demonstrating restraint" and Joe Biden had defended Mubarak as a personal friend.
It's time to quit meddling in the political affairs of other nations and propping up leaders solely based on their willingness to accept our foreign aid and do our bidding.