**UPDATES BELOW**
This has been an extraordinary week. What follows is a remarkable story I’ve done my best to unpack and requires a lot of investment on your part. I don’t claim this is perfectly packaged, but I’ve done the very best I can on a story I think is historic, including news late last night that Egypt had left the Internet, as well as flummoxing for U.S. leaders.
The cables, which cover the first year of the Obama presidency, leave little doubt about how valuable an ally Mr. Mubarak has been, detailing how he backed the United States in its confrontation with Iran, played mediator between Israel and the Palestinians and supported Iraq’s fledgling government, despite his opposition to the American-led war. Privately, Ambassador Scobey pressed Egypt’s interior minister to free three bloggers, as well as a Coptic priest who performed a wedding for a Christian convert, according to one of her cables to Washington. She also asked that three American pro-democracy groups be granted formal permission to operate in the country, a request the Egyptians rejected. – Cables Show Delicate U.S. Dealings With Egypt’s Leaders
The Obama administration needs to up its game. Al Jazeera is watching and broadcasting to a region that is convulsing with freedom pangs in the era of transformative media access through Wikileaks, Twitter and Facebook that empowers people held in bondage by brutal regimes, which we often bankroll, including $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt yearly.
When Al Jazeera English became available in parts of the U.S., like the Beltway, it was a seminal event as far as I am concerned. It’s the most important channel not enough people are watching, a tiny part of that because it’s not available everywhere. It’s the first successful channel to connect the Arab world while blasting what is happening into America, which the U.S. media ignores at our peril and they do so because it doesn’t pay and we’re such a navel gazing country most don’t understand the repercussions of our own ignorance. It’s also why too many Americans accept Beck-Palin-Rush stereotypes of the people whose countries we are occupying and the regimes we continue to bolster, even against what the people want.
The first post I did on the beginnings of the Arab eruptions this week, on Monday, was centered around Al Jazeera’s prominent role in the Palestine Papers. This story revealed Sect. Clinton allegedly saying the Palestinians are “always in a chapter of a Greek tragedy,” with Al Jazeera reporting the U.S. as anything but an honest broker. Watching the Palestine Papers unfold on Al Jazeera English, as well as on Twitter, was stunning, all of which came on the wave of what happened in Tunisia.
Today, Friday, the New York Times writes in more detail what I began covering on Monday, which is that Al Jazeera is at the center this story as much as anything else. (My tweet below mirrors what others tweeting that day were also witnessing on Al Jazeera English, which the New York Times confirms today, the “finally” meaning they finally woke up.)
On Tuesday afternoon, as the street protests in Egypt were heating up, Al Jazeera was uncharacteristically slow to report them, airing a culture documentary, a sports show and more of its “Palestine Papers” coverage of the leaked documents.
Many Egyptians felt betrayed, and Facebook and Twitter were full of rumors about a deal between Qatar — the Persian Gulf emirate whose emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, founded Al Jazeera in 1996 — and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, who visited the emir in Doha last month. Within a day, Al Jazeera was reporting from the streets in Cairo in its usual manic style.
Al Jazeera’s freewheeling broadcasts have long made it the bête noire of Arab governments, and in some earlier instances they have succeeded in reining it in.
In 2007, the channel received orders to soften its blunt coverage of Saudi Arabia after Qatar and the Saudis mended a smoldering political feud. That remains a weak point for Al Jazeera — as for most of the pan-Arab press, which is largely owned by Saudi Arabia.
Yet for all its flaws, Al Jazeera still operates with less constraint than almost any other Arab outlet, and remains the most popular channel in the region. To many Arabs, Al Jazeera’s recent exposé on the Palestinian Authority documents — sometimes called “Pali-leaks” — is of a piece with its reporting on protests against autocratic Arab regimes.
The story continues to widen with Vice Pres. Joe Biden’s unhelpful statements to PBS last night, the latest foreign policy fodder to be subject to Twitter and Facebook responses and relays that ricochet.
V.P. Biden with Jim Lehrer last night on PBS (video below loads slowly):
JIM LEHRER: Has the time come for President Mubarak of Egypt to go, to stand aside?
JOE BIDEN: No, I think the time has come for President Mubarak to begin to move in the direction that — to be more responsive to some of the needs of the people out there. These are — a lot of the people out there protesting are middle-class folks who are looking for a little more access and a little more opportunity.
And the two things we have been saying here, Jim, is that violence isn’t appropriate and people have a right to protest. And so — and we think that — I hope Mubarak, President Mubarak, will — is going to respond to some of the legitimate concerns that are being raised.
JIM LEHRER: You know President Mubarak.
JOE BIDEN: I know him fairly well.
JIM LEHRER: Have you talked to him about this?
JOE BIDEN: I haven’t talked to him in the last three days.
I — last time I — actually, I haven’t talked to him in about a month. But I speak to him fairly regularly. And I think that, you know, there’s a lot going on across that part of the continent, from Tunisia into — all the way to Pakistan, actually. And there’s — a lot of these countries are beginning to sort of take stock of where they are and what they have to do. [...] [...]
JIM LEHRER: The word — the word to describe the leadership of Mubarak and Egypt and also in Tunisia before was dictator. Should Mubarak be seen as a dictator?
JOE BIDEN: Look, Mubarak has been an ally of ours in a number of things and he’s been very responsible on, relative to geopolitical interests in the region: Middle East peace efforts, the actions Egypt has taken relative to normalizing the relationship with Israel.
And I think that it would be — I would not refer to him as a dictator.
When asked about Pres. Mubarak being a “dictator,” Biden’s first response even in the face of what has been covered on Al Jazeera just this week, was to talk in terms of our “geopolitical” relationship that in the 20th century was the way people talked about foreign policy, before it became as multidimensional as it is today.
I also cannot figure out why, considering Biden knows Mubarak “fairly well” and speaks to him “fairly regularly,” he hasn’t spoken to him “the last three days.”
The State Dept.’s spokesman P.J. Crowley went down a similar road on Al Jazeera, as I wrote about yesterday and it was ugly.
Blake Hounshell posted the Administration’s statements on Egypt late last night, thinking on similar lines as myself, without the narrative I’m constructing.
Others may disagree with me, but all of this combined with the Wikileaks cables on Egypt that has us saying one thing privately about human rights, then in public making statements that might aid Mubarak while Al Jazeera is broadcasting reality, add in the Palestine Papers revelations, makes for potentially vulnerable geopolitical ramifications Biden seems not to have considered.
There is no way we can survive humiliation through our current 20th century thinking in a world now connected via Twitter and Facebook and with Al Jazeera beaming into homes across the Arab world, especially now that we can also see what the Arab world is seeing.
The contagion since Tunisia is proof, regardless of whether “governments topple,” something Biden at least had the humility to admit he could be misjudging.
I have no opinion on this, because I don’t think anyone knows what the new media platforms working in synchronicity with the people driving them at once can achieve today.
But it’s simply none of the U.S.’s business to declare whether Mubarak is a “dictator,” a nice word for what he’s leveled on his own people, or say he should or should not step down. Not even our financial investment or geopolitical alliance gives us this right and that we still think it does is one of the problems of our foreign policy in this converging new media century.
After Sect. Clinton’s very first meeting with Pres. Mubarak at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheik, March 2009, which the cables at the top of this post reference, Clinton was reported to have said something much more tuned in than what she initially said this week. Back in 2009, on a question on Egypt’s human rights, Hillary responded as follows, emphasis added.
“We hope that it will be taken in the spirit in which it is offered, that we all have room for improvement,” Mrs. Clinton said, adding that Mr. Mubarak and his wife, Suzanne, were friends of her family, and that it was up to the Egyptian people to decide the president’s future.
Yet her first response on Tuesday, like Biden ridiculously stating Mubarak wasn’t a “dictator,” however his splitting hairs definition defines it, was to bolster the Egyptian government and describe it as “stable.”
Clinton’s first statement looked even worse when ElBaradei landed in Cairo yesterday, with CNN’s Ben Wedeman tweeting his message from Cairo: ElBaradei at airport says the point of no return has been reached must be peaceful change govt must stop using violence.
Much earlier Thursday, so it was leaked on Wednesday at some point, it was reported that an anonymous administration official was saying Pres. Obama was “poised to intensity U.S. criticism of Egypt’s Mubarak.”
So what to make of V.P. Joe Biden’s interview on PBS Thursday night? From where I sit it was a serious and embarrassing misstep from a foreign policy veteran, but also the Administration, who hasn’t caught up with how world events are zipping around the globe on multiple and converging media platforms that everyone can see.
Pres. Obama didn’t address what’s been happening in Egypt publicly until yesterday. That may have been good for his time table, but it was woefully late considering Tunisia and what happened this week.
Once upon a time not so long ago, in a century that now seems so far away where communication, media and social platforms are concerned, the Obama administration might have caught a break.
It’s been the week that Al Jazeera has been waiting for, coming on the heels of Wikileaks, as Twitter and Facebook continue to rock the globe, with Pres. Obama and his administration still not quite getting what they’re up against, the most challenging of which may yet be to come.
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Pres. Obama talked about the people first, stressing the importance that there be no violence. He stressed the important relationship with Egypt, stating reforms must be made, which he relayed to Mubarak. Backs Mubarak, but strongly leans towards the people and once again reiterated that it’s up to the people of Egypt. Importantly, Pres. Obama finished by saying we’ll know more in the morning. It clearly stated to me that after the Egyptian people digest what Mubarak said we’ll see if the protests continue and what the govt. does about opening up the communication gateway. Pres. Obama transmitting the real dangers in the situation and walking very, very carefully, as he should. This is a long play not a one act. It will be developing for a while.
UPDATE 6:30 pm: Waiting for Pres. Obama to speak. Via Chuck Todd he finally spoke to Pres. Mubarak and the conversation reportedly lasted 30 minutes.
UPDATE 5:19 pm: Mubarak saying demonstrations representative of “freedoms” offered by Egypt through his presidency. Will “always adhere to the right of freedom…” Mubarak then sacks his whole government, but he continues on. Outside the protesters continued to yell “Down, down with Mubarak.” Via CNN’s Nic Robertson, chants “We don’t want him” rising. Mubarak obviously has gotten assurances from Egyptian military. We’ll see what develops when the Internet and communications are switched on again. Nothing in Egypt will ever be the same.
UPDATE 3:15 pm: Gibbs after being challenged about his words (3:54 pm): “I’m not tempering one word or one syllable of one word. .. we’ve reached a point where grievances have to be addressed.” Robert Gibbs: “We will be reviewing our assistance posture based on events now and in the coming days.” Chip Reid: Has he tried to reach Mubarak? Gibbs: “Not that I’m aware of.” MESSAGE SENT TO EGYPT. Why isn’t the President standing where you’re standing? Not much to say on that one, so Gibbs vamps. At top, Gibbs invoked “legitimate grievances” people have must be addressed by Egyptian gov. “immediately,” emphasizes it, including communication. Gibbs rightly points story back to the Egyptian people, “this will be solved by the Egyptian people.” Again stresses “grievances” re Mubarak. Never been a fan of Gibbs, but this is one of his best moments and it comes at a critical time for Pres. Obama & the US govt. Chuck Todd: Has anyone condemned house arrest of ElBaradei? Gibbs: “a Nobel Laureate… type of activities gov has responsibility to change.”
UPDATE 2:55 pm: picture via Mike Memoli.
UPDATE 12:56 pm: STILL WAITING FOR MUBARACK TO SPEAK. Marc Lynch on Twitter: Mubarak’s silence is increasingly becoming the story. Egyptians continue to defy curfew.
UPDATE 12:14 pm: Sect. Hillary Clinton just spoke condemning internet shutdown and urging govt to address “grievances” of people. She made a shift towards people (finally), putting them before government. The trouble is that though the US is powerless here, our govt. props up Mubarak against the people’s will. A very sobering moment for the US.
Picture above is the NDP in flames. Egyptian’s National Museum is near.
UPDATE 11:26 pm: Pictures from AJE… Iconic imagery now. Huge plumes of deep black smoke rising from NDP (National Democratic Party) headquarters & complex of buildings, which is the ruling establishment of Mubarak, going back to ’80s.
BREAKING… MUBARAK TO SPEAK SOON. CURFEW NOW IN EFFECT… loud cries still being heard. People are not leaving the streets. Egyptian state media says Pres. Mubarak has ordered the Egyptian State Army on to the streets.
UPDATE 10:27 a.m.: Curfew now imposed in Egypt, which is 30 min. away.
UPDATE III: A very important point by media expert on Al Jazeera, Kevin Anderson, correctly reporting that in Egypt the “overlap betweeen internet activists and activists is almost complete. The activists in Egypt have long been using the internet.” Primarily from blogging, with Egyptian political bloggers well known.
“Egypt has enjoyed a long history of internet activism,” Kevin Anderson continues. “Now they have a very sophisticated way of not just using FB & Twitter… but also SMS and mobile networks, which have also been effective in this clampdown.”
UPDATE II: ElBaradei now under house arrest.
UPDATE: ElBaradei: “Egyptian government on last legs…”
ElBaradei has already criticised the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, for describing the Egyptian government as stable and he stepped up his calls for the rest of the world to explicitly condemn Mubarak, who is a close ally of the US.
“The international community must understand we are being denied every human right day by day,” he said. “Egypt today is one big prison. If the international community does not speak out it will have a lot of implications. We are fighting for universal values here. If the west is not going to speak out now, then when?”
Taylor – great post! I don’t pretend to be an expert on the Middle East, Egypt in particular; however I made more than 30 trips to Egypt over a period of 25 years, February last year being my last trip. And I love Egypt. During those years I became friends with many Egyptians especially women. And there has been over these years a strong desire on the part of many Egyptians for self-determination. From conversations I have had in the past, many of my colleagues despised Mubarak without ever putting it in words. We had to be careful who we talked to and what we said. I have seen the brutality of the Egyptian police in action.
A word of caution to everyone – please don’t equate all Muslims with terrorism. This is not the case. And when we make this assumption we do so at our great peril. All religions have their fanatics. We only have to look at some of the fanatics in this country who profess to be Christian but that does not make all Christians fanatics.
I do have concerns about what is happening right now in Egypt and hope that this movement is genuine and does not get hijacked by the hard line fanatics. I’m somewhat optimistic with the return of Elbaradei and hope that a strong pro-freedom/democracy leader emerges. I only hope that it stays moderately peaceful but it looks like the police are becoming violent. If the army continues to support Mubarack then the movement will fail for the time being. But believe me, there are many Egyptians who long for self-determination, freedom and democracy.
Appreciate that, Jane. I was hoping you’d chime in on this story at some point.
The pictures on Al Jazeera English are historic.
Every commentator, including Jane Dutton who is relaying what she’s hearing, all say Egypt will never be the same. I’ve been live tweeting some of the reports on Al Jazeera, as have countless others who have access to it. Their role simply cannot be overstated here.
“Down with the regime” heard across Alexandria and Cairo, the importance connecting other chants demanding Mubarak stand down. The government is not the issue here, it’s the regime.
In Cairo, in some areas, a female reporter I’m not familiar with on Al Jazeera, held up her phone and the protest sounds were incredible.
Al Jazeera Arabic’s feed was cut not long ago.
There is some talk starting now about the Egyptian Army and where they are right now.
The entire story reveals the bankruptcy of US media, while also revealing why our foreign policy today is a relic.
I am amazed at the many women who have taken to the streets. Egypt will never be the same; this has been a long time in coming. If the factory workers and those living in the rural areas join in this protest I would have to say that Mubarak is done. Texan4Hillary – I hope this report from Dailykos is correct. The Egyptian police are absolutely brutal.
“A word of caution to everyone – please don’t equate all Muslims with terrorism.”
Jane wise words. However with the nonstop 24/7/365 drum beat of faux not news and the screetching paid hatemongers of the right along with the Israeli uber alles crowd…sadly I fear a forlorn hope.
I am sorry to say, this is the Green Revolution Part Doh. This is not about Twitter, FB, Al-Jazerra or any of the new social paradigms, important though they may be. It is a contest of wills between Hosni Mubarak and the Egyptian people. And I predict that Mubarak will win.
Sec’y Clinton and the Administration are keeping the appropriate distance on this. They should continue to decry violence, maintain the position that they support freedom and democracy, and insist that it is up to the Egyptian people to work these matters out.
guardian and al jeezera report police siding with protestors. if true mubarak is done.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/28/939481/-Breaking:-Police-Siding-with-Protesters-in-Egypt.-Mubarak-regime-falling.
Appreciate the link, t4h.
Keep ‘em comin’, especially Guardian & European, but also Al Jazeera vids. CNN Int’l is a good source if you get it.
I’m tweeting, but I urge you to follow someone on Twitter, Blake Hounshell is a good start.
The Egyptian protest flyer, which is actualy much more, is 26 pgs. It’s coming through a bunch of back channels to keep it private, but these is *very* well-organized at the source. I received it earlier this morning. (The Guardian has a story on it well worth reading – I’ll try to dig out the link)
Mubarek might, MIGHT win in the short run. But the seed has sprouted. Unfortunatly I fear much the same end as the Iranian Revolution or French Revolution. The strongest most ruthless elements will sweep in and fill the power vacum and we will have a MUCH crazier and more dangerus world.
sec – it was exactly Iran I was thinking about. We supported the Shah’s corrupt regime and when the people finally decided to throw off the yoke of his regime they brought in something worse. I fear for Egypt and can only hope that the police and the army support the movement and whoever emerges as the leader of a democratic society.
Whatever the final outcome, which is far from certain, Mubarak has absolutely has not “won,” secularh, that’s one thing on which most experts on the region agree.
PS – Sorry for weird typos & comment glitches, as I haven’t had much sleep…
Hey, I hold no brief for Mubarak. Like many of his ilk in the Middle East and Africa, he was once a liberator but has overstayed his welcome. Mugabe is an even worse example.
But some historical context is in order. Hosni Mubarak came into power after Sadat was assassinated by hard-core Islamists upset at the peace treaty with Israel. Mubarak supported Sadat’s policy of engagement. And the lesson he learned was that unbridled freedoms can lead to nihilism, where the most violent overrun the public square. That is a risk the United States and other Western countries are prepared to take; that does not mean that African and Middle East countries should follow suit.
Let’s play this out. When Bush pushed for elections in Palestine, the people voted for Hamas. For their sin of electing Hamas instead of Fatah (the “right” choice by our standards), we punished the Palestinians with a blockade and cessation of aid. Which only inflamed the situation more and made Hamas’ extremism more appealing.
Likewise here. If Mubarak’s authoritarian rule were to end, what would replace it? Most likely, the Muslim Brotherhood. There are green shoots of secular, pro-democracy organizations, but no credible person believes they are sufficiently strong to take over in the aftermath.
So, the question is: How strong is our fealty to the principle of democracy in far-away countries? Are we prepared to live with extremists in charge? I suspect the answer is no. So we should think hard before we undertake to tweet and post and exhort the Administration to lend its full-fledged support to the nascent uprising.
As for why the United States supports Mubarak, I think the cables and NYT story make that clear.
El Baradei the latest to slam Sect. Clinton for her “stable” gov. remark, which has been an unmitigated disaster.
El Baradei: “Egyptian government on last legs…” (By “government” he means the regime.)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/28/egyptian-government-last-legs-elbaradei
ElBaradei has already criticised the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, for describing the Egyptian government as stable and he stepped up his calls for the rest of the world to explicitly condemn Mubarak, who is a close ally of the US.
“The international community must understand we are being denied every human right day by day,” he said. “Egypt today is one big prison. If the international community does not speak out it will have a lot of implications. We are fighting for universal values here. If the west is not going to speak out now, then when?”
I am terribly disappointed in Hillary’s statement. Why does this country continue to support dictators and authoritarian regimes? We supported all the dictators in our fight against communism. Will we ever learn?
That’s why I put up her statement from ’09, Jane. Her initial gut reaction this week was 20th century talking points. She doesn’t make policy, Obama does, but the US is just stuck in foreign policy that is outdated.
Pres. Obama & his administration missed this completely this week, because they kept to their time line. Tweets galore now about briefings he’s getting. A satellite feed, a translator and Twitter would do most of what he needs.
The military must be with the people if the latest report that Mubarak is under house arrest is true.
El Baradei is the one under house arrest.
Curfew now in place, 30 min. away from it in Egypt…
Oops…got that wrong Elbaradei is under house arrest.
This is about freedom.
Since FDR made the pact to protect the oil in the middle east the actions of every administration since, with the acquiesence of Western Europe,has been about the flow of oil and doing what is necessary to keep peace(supressing freedom,proping up dictators) and the oil flowing, regardless of the affects on freedom.
You can go back to the CIA coup in Iran in 1953 to the present with the US Gov’t, and other Western Gov’ts looking the other way as Saudia Arabia funded terrorism in the world.
The internet with it’s openess is the shining example of what can happen when light is shed on darkness. The speed and availabilty of knowledge is amazing. Knowledge is power.
I don’t know if the Obama administration or any other administartion could have been better prepared for this or reacted any quicker. Large institutions, and governments are large institutions, are inherently unable to act quickly to fast happening events .
But the broader issue is the Oil. What will the US and Western Europe, and the world(China, Russia) do if the region becomes so unstable that oil flow is threatened or becomes disrupted.
The Iraq War is the precursor. Will the US w/Europe, China, Russia occupy the middle east forever with the attendant drain on domestic resources that comes with expansion of the military and endless war and occupation?
The lessons that need to be learned here are that there are no more secrets in the world-they will all come out, that the US and Western Europe will really have to decide to live up to there values of freedom and consitent with that deal with the people who will eventually change the midddle east-because that will eventually happen. It also makes it more imperative to solve the Palestenian issue.
It is also a clarion call to develop alternate means of energy or fuel. If we don’t we will have sentenced our dedicated and courageous servicemen and women to dying in the middle east for decades for only one reason-oil.
A very important point by media expert on Al Jazeera, Kevin Anderson, correctly reporting that in Egypt the “overlap betweeen internet activists and activists is almost complete. The activists in Egypt have long been using the internet.” Primarily from blogging, with Egyptian political bloggers well known.
“Egypt has enjoyed a long history of internet activism,” Kevin Anderson continues. “Now they have a very sophisticated way of not just using FB & Twitter… but also SMS and mobile networks, which have also been effective in this clampdown.”
I am watching this on the news channels. I am actually getting more info on here than I am on tv. From what I am seeing the people of Egypt want freedom. I have also heard that the ruling party’s headquaters are is on fire. I also am hearing that Tanks are coming in the cities. There is so much going on right now I don’t know what is true or not !! I will have to continue to come on here to find out the latest.
Tanks have rolled into Suez.
See top update re: NDP, which has been confirmed in flames.
AJE live feed:
http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
I am watching on 3 TVs and trying to keep up with the events in Egypt. I’m wondering if the people are still on the streets if this has reached the point of no return. It bodes ill when tanks come into the streets.
murbark’s party headquarters in flames- engel says this is stunning bc this place has very high sec and protected by sec forces. almost no way to arson it without some sec help engel-msnbc.
Aljazeera just reported that the fires could spread to the National Museum, a place I know well since it was right across from the hotel that I use to stay in when in Cairo. On my off hours from work I would walk to the Museum and take in all of Egypt’s history.
NDP is quite near the museum. A screen capture of the NDP on fire is at the top of this entry now, JA.
I’m watching live feed from Aljazeera. Hillary is on -”we support the universal rights of all people.”
msm here says it would be like protestors burning the dem party headquarters. i think not. the ndp is the party there and is mubarak’s apparatus. for it to burn like this shows how weak the govt may be.
hilary’s talk to me is flat. either u are with mubarak or not now. she urges egypt to return itnernet etc and work to give freddoms to people but urges the violence to stop. stop? hell these thugs are beating these people , tear gassing them and killing them. as william cohen said today- what we will see when morning comes will be terrifying for the world to behold. the murdering tonight will further put our nation’s govt on a even worse spot.
obama is at a hcr summit like that is what the msm is now covering. we fund the mil of egypt. its our bullets being used and the peoples of egypt know this further enrgaging the situaiton. hillary is on again- says murbarak must work with his people for reform.in 30 yrs he has refused. hillary calls for sec forces to restrain, and diaglogue between govt and its people , urges protestors to be peaceful. oy. then says mubarak’s moment for dialogue must now begin. oy. yeah right
note what else she said- obama is fast tracking free trade deal with columbia which murders labor leaders. such headaches
commentator on Aljazeera said the fact that Mubarak called in the tanks and placed curfew on people is sign of weakness on part of regime. Evidently the demonstrators are overwhelming the security forces.
Just trying to keep up, but once again, thanks so much for your ongoing attention to this, Taylor.
Just uploaded video of Sect. Clinton.
Strongest statement yet, after a horrific beginning, she condemns the cut off of communications, but also moves to acknowledge the people before the govt.
I have to go out on a limb here – I think Mubarak is finished. The curfew has not kept people off the street; matter of fact more are coming out. Egypt has been a powder keg for years, just waiting to explode and I think that this may be the moment.
AJE analysts have been openly talking about a “transitional govt.”
It’s not a small limb and you’re not alone.
govt sut down internet but as many point out it doesnt matter now. forces are unleashed. this is key. waht will army now do? side with protestors or mubarak? where is he anyway? he was supposed to speak.
Marc Lynch on Mubarak:
http://twitter.com/abuaardvark/status/31047245109399553
The people are embracing the Egyptian army in some places.
I’m getting the impression that the army does not want to open fire on the protesters which makes me wonder if Mubarak has lost support from many of the top military.
Nothing close has even hinted at happening, with the military & the people even embracing according to multiple reports. As you likely know, the police is different from the Egyptian state military.
I have seen the police in action in the past. They are not nice.
I figured you’d seen this first hand.
Al Jazeera reporting that important leaders in business have left Egypt.
And El Baradei is a supporter of Hizbollah and Hamas and protected Iran when he ran the UN nuclear watchdog. He is no friend of the U.S. and no friend of democracy or democratic ideals. This desire to root “for the people” is mind boggling as is the lazy intellectual underpinning of your reporting. This is all happening in the context of a middle east in upheaval…from a number of sources and for multiple reasons. But name me one place in the middle east where democracy and liberal values are flourishing? Those secular groups that may be demonstrating have no organization and no hope of leading the country…and the Muslim Brotherhood just ordered its followers to go out into the street in support of the demonstrations…not good….from any angle.
“This desire to root ‘for the people’ is mind boggling”
~klassicheart
“You are not in the big club”
~George Carlin