The U.S. has been pushing for greater democracy in Egypt "at every opportunity" for a long time, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday, calling on Egypt to finally "address the legitimate grievances" of its citizens.

The White House wants both anit-government protesters and the government's military and police forces to stop with the violence that has brought the country into a dangerous unrest.

The White House may be using some leverage--$1.5 billion in aid annually given to Egypt--to push the country's authoritarian regime to make substantive political reforms, the Associated Press reports.

The U.S. has given broad support to Egypt because the country is considered a key ally in the Arab world. While protestors have targeted President Hosni Mubarak, the White House has painted the protests a condemnation of a system rather than an individual.

The Egypt-U.S. alliance has left the White House with a policy of strong comendation of the violence, a strong push for reforms and a vague reaction to how the U.S. will actually involve itself.

"First and foremost, this is a situation that will be solved by the people in Egypt," Gibbs said.

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