Sadly, the worst case scenario is playing itself out. Last night, after multiple attacks by Islamists, Egypt’s minority Christian community went into the streets to defend themselves and accuse the Egyptian military of allowing Islamic radicals to (literally) get away with murder. The ensuing street violence led to the death of 23 people and hundreds of injured.

This night of violence is a desperate attempt by the Christian community to defend itself. Since Mubarak ended up in custody Christians have been killed and churches burned and Egyptian authorities have refused to bring the perpetrators to justice.

But this is not the only area where change for the bad is taking place. In the Sinai the Egyptian owned natural gas pipelines have been shut. This shut down is a result of attacks on the pipeline – the latest involving Hamas – that have occurred because the Egyptian government refuses to defend the pipeline. This shutdown has stopped gas deliveries to Jordan and Israel.

In face of these developments and the attack on Israel’s embassy in Cairo, the relations between Israel and Egypt are rapidly deteriorating.

Several experts in the region believe this is a direct result of the failure of the Obama Administration to provide leadership in the area. For a superb analysis of the political situation in the Middle East with America relegating itself to the sidelines we recommend reading Lee Smith’s The Strong Horse.