Presidnet Obama delivering a speech in Cairo in 2009. Photo: wiki commons.

LA Times – WASHINGTON and CAIRO- The State Department’s decision to provide refuge for three U.S. pro-democracy workers in Egypt illustrated the widening gulf between Washington and an ally it considers key to stability in the Middle East.

After a month of friction over the status of Americans working to promote democracy in Egypt, U.S. officials confirmed Monday that they had agreed to provide shelter in the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to the three, who fear they could be arrested or physically harmed because of their activities.

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