Sarah Palin Blasts Obama's Handling of Egypt

Palin says 3 a.m. crisis call must have gone "right to the answering machine."

ByABC News
February 6, 2011, 6:44 AM

Feb 6, 2011 — -- Sarah Palin blasted the Obama administration's handling of the Egypt crisis on Saturday in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network.

"This is that 3 a.m. White House phone call, and it seems for many of us trying to get that information from our leader in the White House, it seems that that call went right to the answering machine."

Palin's reference to a 3 a.m. phone call referred to the 2008 bruising primary battle between now-President Obama and now-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over responsiveness to unexpected foreign policy crises.

In the CBN interview, which was conducted Friday immediately following Palin's speech in honor of President Ronald Reagan's 100 birthday but aired Saturday night, the former Alaska governor questioned who might lead Egypt after President Hosni Mubarak if he were to resign.

"Is it going to be the Muslim Brotherhood," Palin asked. "We should not stand for that, or with that, or by that. Any radical Islamists. No, that is not who we should be supporting and standing by ... we need to find out who was behind all of the turmoil and the revolt and the protests so that good decisions can be made in terms of who we will stand by and support."

Palin suggested in the interview that the Obama Administration is keeping such information from the American public.

"Nobody yet has explained to the American people what they know, and surely they know more than the rest of us know, who it is who will be taking the place of Mubarak and I'm not real enthused about what it is that, that's being done on a national level and from D.C. in regards to understanding all the situation there in Egypt.

"And in these areas that are so volatile right now because obviously it's not just Egypt but the other countries too where we are seeing uprisings, we know that now more than ever, we need strength and sound mind there in the White House."

Palin is one of several potential candidates for the Republican 2012 primary who have criticized the White House's handling of the Egypt situation, although Republican leadership from Congress have been more supportive of the policy thus far.