Talked to a guy from Alexandria the other day. Says his whole family is protesting with everyone else. Also mentioned that they live right next to a police station. Or they did because it was burned to the ground(probably with the help of his family members). The guy was very much in favor of Mubarak being removed.
It's usually not a good idea to burn down your own police protection, even if you despise it. Is Egypt basically lawless at this point?
I really fear that moderate Egyptians are taking themselves from the frying pan into the fire. In a vacuum, the most willful and organized entity generally steps in. The Muslim Brotherhood has specific goals and they have been forced into organizational efficiencies after years of being persecuted by the present/past regime. They have little incentive to share power after Mubarak is removed... and who is going to stop them from taking it? Ed O.
Or die trying. The achille's heel with tyrants is they're too arrogant to realize when it's time to gather the money and run.
It's crackin' now! 2 million protesters in Cairo, the military says it will not harm or try to stop them. Fascinating to watch! http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
Mubarak is saying he won't run again. Too little, too late. It's my hope the military takes control and then elections are held with the MB still outlawed from participating.
I'm definitely not as familiar with Egypt as many...I tend to deal with West Africa. But is Al-Baradei (former IAEA who couldn't find nukes and didn't think Iran is making nuclear weapons, right?) someone who, while espousing democracy and peoples' rights, is in bed with those who he's been protecting from his UN position? Or is he above board as a Nobel-winning public servant? It's not a leading question. I just don't know. But on first sniff, my hackles are a bit raised.
El Baradei is a far better choice than Mubarak. True, he's got some issues, but as long as he doesn't stay in power after his term is up, I'd support him. I have a feeling the Brotherhood won't win any elections.
You think that there will be real elections? Really? Hmm. I have serious doubts that a country that has never experienced them will suddenly be capable of having them. I guess we'll see... Ed O.
El Baradei can't run and if he does he can't win. If he does, there will be a fundamentalist takeover of Egypt in a month. That guy is bought and paid for by our enemies.
What's the general feeling on Obama's handling of this situation? Seems like they are making a lot of stern "warnings"? Like "hey you stop it now!" http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-02-02-13-33-16
I don't know that there's much more they can do... unless we threw our lot in entirely with one side or the other, it seems like we're better off waiting and seeing with what happens. Ed O.
I kind of doubt it devolves into an Iranian-level theocracy. 12% of employment in the country is based in tourism. It's hard to see how they would get excited about giving up all those jobs by requiring every tourist to wear a burka. Besides, Egyptians aren't idiots. They've seen how the Iranian revolution worked out. Iran in 1977 had little communication with the outside world. The only place they had any freedom of expression was within the mosque, so it was an organic outgrowth that Iranians would seek Muslim leadership when given the opportunity. Egyptians have had the internet, Al Jazeera, millions of tourists....they know about the outside world. I would imagine that to most young Egyptians who are fueling this movement modern Iran looks a lot like the dictatorship they already had. Why would they settle for that?
Obama already did that by saying Mubarak should resign. Gibbs was just asked about it during the daily briefing, and his answer was that "yesterday and now" that is the Obama administration's stance. Obama won't appear in front of the press for questions not, but Gibbs said he "probably would on Friday". It's a mess. Obama called in John McCain today, and now George H.W. Bush is supposedly in constant contact with Mubarak to try and "clarify" the position of the US. Mubarak, understandly IMO, is having issues with a 30-year ally being disposed of by the US, while pro-democracy protesters in Honduras and Iran toward anti-US regimes were not backed by Obama.
That's a part of the world where they respect power. They refer to it as the "strong horse". This Administration by reaching out to those that disagree with us in the region has given up much of that perceived strength. We're now the "weak horse" and have lost prestige and respect. It's Jimmy Carter all over again. I'm reminded of a scene from the movie "A Bronx Tale" where the protagonist asks the mob boss if it's better to be feared or loved. We're so concerned with being the latter, we've lost the former. It's always nice to be liked, but sometimes its better that you scare the shit out of them.
