More here. Things are getting tense. There is a world of difference between how things tilted when Marcos when departed the Philippines and other models as in Tiananmen, China or Iran when the government crushed the people’s call for justice and a new order.
(photo credit: Muhammad Ghafari, Flickr) This piece was just published at The Palestine Note: Steve Clemons calls on Gamal to make his intentions clear Political power works like the stock market; influence is a function of future expectations. Hosni Mubarak’s days and tenure are numbered.
Above is a fascinating and important interview conducted by New America Foundation President Steve Coll and the co-director of New America’s Middle East Task Force Amjad Atallah with Mustafa El-Gindy, a member of the Egypt’s opposition Wafd Party.
Al Jazeera’s video of Egypt President Hosni Mubarak swearing in intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as the first vice president of Egypt in nearly three decades has many clamoring to learn whatever they can about this person who may actually succeed Mubarak.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Brian Katulis and I had a good discussion with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow last night. Katulis made the interesting point that America’s affinity for Mubarak may be just a hangover from the Cold War, at least in part….
There is a clear broad tilt in the American and global media against President Mubarak’s regime. I have seen statements of support for Mubarak and dismissal of the protests from some Israeli leaders and oddly from John Bolton.
@PJCrowley The #Egyptian government can’t reshuffle the deck and then stand pat. President #Mubarak’s words pledging reform must be followed by action.
The Century Foundation’s Michael Wahid Hanna notes that Egypt President Hosni Mubarak’s call for the Egyptian military to deploy in and around the robust protesting crowds in Cairo could cut either way.
What is going on in Egypt now reminds me of the fall of Suharto in Indonesia, the expulsion of and collapse of Marco in the Philippines, the overthrow of Romania’s Ceausescu, and of course the Green Movement in Iran.
This is very big. The regime may not fall — but the game is changed in Egypt and best I can tell the US does not have a set of contingency scenarios for political change there.
