As demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak intensify in Egypt, the United States must decide how it stands in regard to the political fallout that is bound to come soon.

If the United States takes its status as the world’s foremost defender of democracy, than we must side with the people of Egypt, in whatever path they choose to take, and not the government or a warlord, even if that government is a close U.S. ally.

Western backers of Mubarak claim that support of his semi-tyrannical regime is justified in the face of his support of American-lead efforts to combat global terrorism. What we must ask ourselves, however, is whether or not we can truly justify defending our American conception of freedom and liberty here in the United States by helping to deprive others around the world of the democracy that we hold so sacred?

Since Mubarak gained power in Egypt in 1981 following the assassination of President Anwar El-Sadat, the United States has seen Mubarak as a key ally in the War on Terror and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The support from the United States, however, stands in stark contrast to the support Mubarak receives from the Egyptian people, who view him as serving the interests of the West rather than those of the Egyptians.

Since taking power in 1981, Mubarak has continuously limited the constitutional rights of the Egyptian people, legalized censorship and extended police powers to allow for indefinite imprisonment of Egyptian citizens without proving just cause.

All of these restrictions on Egyptian personal freedoms come under the banner of Emergency Law, adopted after the conclusion of the Six-Day War against Israel in 1967 and in force continually since then, except for a brief 18-month hiatus in 1980.

While the support of the Mubarak regime has no doubt aided short-term American efforts to combat terrorism and establish peace in the Middle East, equally important to examine is the long-term effect that American policies supporting Mubarak will have on these same efforts to broker peace.

By supporting Mubarak against the will of the Egyptian people (as is evident by the current protests in Egypt), it is possible that the United States is creating more enemies than it is vanquishing. By supporting a leader seen as undemocratic, the United States compromises its own mission to bring peace and democracy to the Middle East.

This should lead us to question what it is that we as Americans truly value. Do the principles of democracy, self-government and individual freedom enshrined in our Constitution hold true for only certain people in the world? Or are they universally applicable? Is it our duty to attempt to ascertain the same liberties and rights that we as Americans enjoy for all? If so, we must recognize the will of the Egyptian people, no matter what political direction that will takes them.