Cairo

[JohnR]

The end of the beginning I 'spect. I hope they can find a way to pull together a workable, peace wanting democratic system.

In other notes: El Baradei said they could have a functioning government in a year yet the Muslim Brotherhood says it will take less time - wonders.

[spence]

Originally Posted by JohnR

The end of the beginning I 'spect. I hope they can find a way to pull together a workable, peace wanting democratic system.

Agree, but like I said before, Egypt seems to have a decent set of piece parts to make this work...it's certainly not going to be easy for the military to maintain enough control while reforms take place. Hopefully some strong leadership can rise up and keep the people focused on a common vision.

I think we should not be overly optimistic though, there's always the possibility of a radical Islamist take over, Sharia, the Caliphate and a new world order that swallows Israel and destroys America.

We should probably take this one day at a time.

-spence

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by spence

We should probably take this one day at a time.

-spence

Yup, there's more possible scenarios than Carter has pills.

[spence]

Originally Posted by justplugit

Yup, there's more possible scenarios than Carter has pills.

Hopefully this is an indication of an initial direction...

After the statement, the main opposition coalition — a loosely based grouping of youth and traditional opposition groups — said it would end its main protest in Cairo's Tahrir, or Liberation, Square but would call for weekly demonstrations after Friday prayers.

The group also listed its demands for the first time during a press conference. Those included: the lifting of hated emergency laws, the forming of a presidential council and broad-based unity government, the dissolution of parliament and creation of a committee to amend or rewrite the constitution. They called for reforms ensuring freedom of the press, freedom to form political parties and more transparent media institutions.

The coalition also called for an investigation into allegations of endemic corruption within the regime and the trial of officials responsible for the deaths of protesters.

-spence

[scottw]

Originally Posted by spence

Hopefully this is an indication of an initial direction...



-spence

brilliant stuff genius

[scottw]

Barry Rubin writes quite a bit on the Middle East...

"We should remember that as of this moment the regime is still in power, merely having shed its leader. The regime would have been happy to get rid of Mubarak a couple of years ago, not because he was oppressive but because he was getting too old and trying to foist his son on them.

In a sense, the regime has pulled off one of the greatest public relations' operations in history. By getting rid of one man it has transformed itself from being incredibly unpopular to wildly popular. If the regime can hold on--and the army isn't going to give up easily--the results might not be so bad as long as the army isn't radicalized. And by radicalized I don't mean Islamized but moving to a radical nationalist position."

RubinReports

[scottw]

Originally Posted by scottw

Barry Rubin writes quite a bit on the Middle East...

In a sense, the regime has pulled off one of the greatest public relations' operations in history. By getting rid of one man it has transformed itself from being incredibly unpopular to wildly popular. If the regime can hold on--and the army isn't going to give up easily--the results might not be so bad as long as the army isn't radicalized. And by radicalized I don't mean Islamized but moving to a radical nationalist position."

RubinReports

no way?



Egypt's activists skeptical about army intentions
Feb 21, 7:09 AM (ET)

CAIRO (AP) - Some of the young activists who launched the Egyptian uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak say they are skeptical about the military's pledges to hand over power to a democratically elected government.

They also warned Western diplomats in Cairo Monday that the remnants of Mubarak's regime that still hold positions of power could overturn the uprising's gains.

The seven activists - representatives of a broad coalition of youth groups - also called on the international community to support Egypt's transition toward democracy, and asked for help in tracking down Mubarak's assets - rumored to be in the billions of dollars.