Monday, January 31, 2011

Time For US To Recognize Democratic Islam

By Alex Becker
January 29, 2011
Courtesy Of "IslamiCity's iViews"

As political unrest rolls across North Africa and the Middle East, two things have become painfully clear. First, the US foreign policy approach to this region has for too long focused on short-term security instead of long-term development, and second, that our support for friendly, yet wholly undemocratic governments has undermined the stability of our diplomatic position vis-ˆ-vis the Muslim world.

Tunisia, Morocco, Yemen and Egypt can all be described by the same political and economic formula. In all four nations, long-serving, stable leaders head up undemocratic political systems. The past decade has seen the populations in these countries grow ever younger, as economic opportunities remain scarce and channels through which to express political will remain even scarcer. Add to this the economic strains of the global recession and the connective tools of news and social media, and the political/cultural pressure cooker becomes readily apparent.

US foreign policy towards the Middle East has generally viewed security as its ultimate goal. All other concerns, economics, culture and changing demographics became largely secondary as long as extremist elements could be controlled or at least kept from targeting American interests. Our emphasis on short-term security has allowed the US to justify alliances with nations led by the likes of 32-year President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen and Egypt's leader of almost 30 years, Hosni Mubarak. Diplomatic relations that trade Arab goodwill and relative stability in return for US aid, legitimacy and support have persisted long enough for the relevant stakeholders to take them almost for granted.

The US emphasis on short-term security has, however, failed to take into account shifting demographics and political attitudes in the Islamic world. Missing from the discussion over US actions against Al-Qaeda in Yemen in 2010, for example, was the fact that no matter how hard the US and Yemeni government cracked down, the nation's position as poor and young will make it an ideal breeding ground for extremists until these problems can be addressed. In a less dangerous but equally important example, the population of Egypt, with a median age of 24, reflects a population trend across the Islamic world of both increasing size and decreasing age. The Internet and the rise of news networks like Al Jazeera has made this population both better informed and better connected than ever before. Given these facts, the recent trends towards open discontent with governments and calls for greater democracy across North Africa and the Middle East are unsurprising.

The true failure thus far has been the inability of the US foreign policy establishment to realize the unsustainable nature of alliances with undemocratic leaders in demographically and ideologically shifting countries. If at one time President Mubarak did in fact represent average Egyptians, the events of the past few days have made it clear that for many this is no longer the case. Mubarak in Egypt, Saleh in Yemen and, until recently, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia represent a loosing demographic and loosing ideology in their respective nations and across the Islamic world.

If it isn't already, the United States will soon be faced with a choice between supporting a push towards sustainable Islamic democracy or relying on its current, antiquated set of relationships in the Islamic world. While no one can ensure than a democratically elected government will be friendly towards or willing to work with the US, shifting our support away from unpopular, autocratic leaders can only help. Until Americans are willing to view security in the Middle East as a product of economic development, demographic stability and political freedom, our long-term goals will remain unattainable.


Alex Becker is the founder and publisher of Roosevelt-Island.net, a blog on politics, foreign policy and political media.

People Power In The Middle East

If the people did not speak out then, it was because they stood against brutal dictatorships and despotisms that had established an iron grip over their lives. Yes, the people had been cowed by the brutality of these regimes: but they were not without resolution, they were not without a determination to overthrow their bondage.

By M. Shahid Alam
January 29, 2011
Courtesy Of "IslamiCity's iViews"




From his weekly perch at CNN, Fareed Zakaria, speculated last Sunday (or the Sunday before) whether George Bush could take credit for the events that were unfolding in Tunisia, whether this was the late fruit of the neoconservative project to bring 'democracy' to the Middle East.

It is quite extraordinary watching Zakaria - a Muslim born and raised in India, and scion of a leading political family - mimic with such facility the language of America's ruling classes, and show scarce a trace of empathy for the world's oppressed, despite his propinquity to them by reason of history and geography. He does have a bias for India, but here too he only shows a concern for India's strategic interests, not the interests of its subjugated classes, minorities and ethnicities. This I offer only as an aside about how easy it is for members of the upper classes in countries like India, Pakistan or Egypt to slip into an American skin whenever that dissimulation offers greater personal advantages.

As a cover for deepening US control over the Middle East - here is the latest civilizing mission for you - the neoconservatives in the Bush administration argued that the Islamic world produces 'terrorists' because it lives under autocracies. To solve the 'terrorist' problem, therefore, the US would have to bring democracy to the Middle East. This demagoguery only reveals the bankruptcy of America's political class. It is a shame when the President of the United States and his neoconservative puppet-masters peddle such absurdities without being greeted by squeals of laughter - and shouted down as hypocritical, as farcical.

Which country has been the leading ally and sponsor these past decades of nearly all the despotisms in the Middle East - those of royal pedigree and others seeking to become royalties?

Regardless, the real plan of United States failed miserably. It was dispatched to its grave by a people's resistance in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Yet, George Bush and his neoconservative allies can take some credit for the wave of protests that is spreading across the Middle East - from Tunisia and Algeria to Egypt and Yemen. The US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, its attacks on Pakistan, interventions in Somalia and Yemen, its shamefaced support for Israel's murderous wars against the Palestinians and the Lebanese, and its deepening sanctions and daily threats against Iran have produced one result for sure: they have accelerated the pace of history in this part of the world.

The imperial dictum of the United States during its global war against 'terrorism' - you are with us or you are against us - forced nearly all the Muslim potentates to kowtow openly before their masters. As the duplicity of these potentates deepened, this shame became impossible to hide. Indeed, on several occasions, they were forced to flaunt their true colors. Saudi Arabia and Egypt openly blamed Hezbullah when Israel launched its bombing and invasion of southern Lebanon in July 2006; they repeated this performance again when Israel began its massacres in Gaza in December of 2008. Saudi Arabia has been ready to relinquish sovereign rights over its airspace, should Israel want to launch an attack against Iran. Indeed, Wikileaks has revealed that the Saudis were urging their masters to "cut off the snake's head" - that is, launch a war against Iran. Openly, Egypt has been collaborating with Israel to tighten the deadly noose around Gaza.

The most egregious case of this surrender of potentates is the one presented by the Palestinian Authority. The treachery of the PLO against its people had begun in 1993 with the Oslo Accords. Over the last ten years, they have carried this surrender to its logical conclusion. The top henchmen of the PA have castrated themselves to become Israeli eunuchs, openly and secretly cheering Israel's total war against Gaza and the strangulation of the West Bank.

Did these surrenders, sellouts, humiliations go unnoticed by the peoples of this region stretching from Mauritania and Egypt to Pakistan and Indonesia?

It is true that the 'Arab street' - the West's choice words for denigrating people's will in the Middle East - did not explode into action at the American invasion of Iraq, but many in Iraq did deliver their message quite forcefully to the Americans - both Iraq's Shi'as and Sunnis. If the people did not speak out then, it was because they stood against brutal dictatorships and despotisms that had established an iron grip over their lives. Yes, the people had been cowed by the brutality of these regimes: but they were not without resolution, they were not without a determination to overthrow their bondage. They were only waiting for their chance, for some spark that would ignite their hearts and reduce to cinders their fear of arrests, torture and killings that would be brought upon them by their tormentors.

Now that moment is here. The fear of tyrants was first cast aside by the Tunisians; within weeks their tyrant boarded a jet and fled across the Mediterranean. The sparks from this conflagration have now spread both west and east - to Algeria, Egypt, and Yemen. In the days ahead, it may spread to Sudan, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, and who knows where else. Perhaps, Saudi Arabia and the other oil-wells disguised as countries, as sheikhdoms, may remain immune to this conflagration - as they remained immune to the earlier conflagration of Arab nationalism. But their time too will come - it will come in other ways.

This is not a declaration of victory - for that is still far away. The forces of tyranny and reaction - in cahoots with their puppet masters in the United States, Israel, Britain and France - will use brute force to suppress the rise of people power, they will use every subterfuge to deceive the people, and they will find many allies in upper and middle classes enriched by the terrorist regimes they have served. The people will stand up to the brute force that will be brought against them. They will see through the deceptions of the threatened regimes - the half-measures that will be proffered to break the momentum of the people's movements. The Tunisians have seen through the pathetic ploys of their so-called coalition government - and are demanding the departure of all the members of Ben Ali's cohort of bandits.

It is impossible to predict how this new historical phase, how this remaking of the Middle East will proceed. The Western media declares that the protests unfolding before us are leaderless, but that is only because they cannot see the leaders. Certainly, there are leaders emerging even now on the ground, from the ranks of workers, students, teachers, engineers, lawyers and doctors, from the cohorts of the unemployed, from the archipelago of prisons where these regimes have tortured their victims. Of the cadres of older leaders, many are still in prison: others planning their return from forced exile. If these older leaders hesitate to join the protests, to offer leadership, they will be replaced by new cadres of younger, untainted and more vigorous leadership.

Yes, the neoconservatives may well take some credit for this ominous (for them) turn of events. By their stupendous overreach, this clan of conspirators has done much harm to their host country. In the wake of the wars they have unleashed, forcing the US to spend trillions on the military, its competitors have been stealing the march, leaving it behind in one field after another. Now this has been duly acknowledged by President Obama in his State of the Union address.

The events unfolding mark yet another attempt by an important segment of the Islamicate to end the stasis of history imposed upon them. Starting with the industrial programs of Mohammad Ali Pasha in the early decades of the 19th century, Western powers have reversed several previous attempts by the Arabs to re-enter the stage of history. Will the Western powers again choose to stand in the way of this new beginning? Almost certainly, they will try both overtly and covertly. Is it possible that this time such obstructionism is too late - and counterproductive as well? In the early 1920s, the Western powers failed to dismember Turkey. They have failed to derail the Iranian revolution. Can they now stand up against another surge of people power in the Arab world, in Afghanistan and Pakistan - and beyond?
*****
M. Shahid Alam is professor of economics at Northeastern University, Boston. He is author of Israeli Exceptionalism (Palgrave, 2009) and Poverty from the Wealth of Nations (Macmillan, 2000). Visit his website at Qur'anic Reason (www.qreason.com).

Biden: Mubarak Not A ‘Dictator,’ Shouldn’t Step Down

biden 1006 Biden: Egypt leader Mubarak not a dictator, shouldnt step down

By Sahil Kapur
Friday, January 28th, 2011 -- 10:03 am
Courtesy Of "The Raw Story"


WASHINGTON – Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is not a dictator and shouldn't have to resign, but should be more "responsive" to the needs of his people.
Biden's remarks came as massive unrestravaged Egypt every day since Tuesday targeting Mubarak's 30-year regime, which sought to quiet demonstrators with the use of tear gas, warning shots and water cannon, according to media reports and videos, and by shutting off Internet communication.
"Look, Mubarak has been an ally of ours in a number of things," Biden told PBS Newshour, "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."
"I would not refer to him as a dictator," he added.
The vice president hedged when asked by interviewer Jim Lehrer if Mubarak should step down.
"No," he said. "I think the time has come for President Mubarak to begin to move in a direction that would be more responsive to some of the needs of the people out there."
Biden's reticence to speak out more strongly against Mubarak's government, now the target of a pro-democracy movement, appears to reflect the Egyptian leader's willingness to be a US ally on key issues such as marginalizing Iran and cooperating with Israel on its regional goals.
Leaked diplomatic cables obtained by Wikileaks revealed a strong alliance between the two countries, as well as instances of police brutality and some pressure from the Obama administration on Mubarak to strengthen democratic institutions in Egypt.
Mubarak came to power in 1981 and was re-elected to four six-year terms, though tight constitutional restrictions on challenges to the presidency led to questions about his legitimacy. In 2005, under pressure to enact democratic reforms, Mubarak pushed his parliament to amend the constitution in a way that secured his re-election.
Mubarak officials indicated he would run again in September 2011. He said last year that the upcoming elections would be freer and more open than before.
This video is from PBS' Newshour, broadcast Jan. 27, 2011.
This audio is from PBS' Newshour, broadcast Jan. 27, 2011.

The Army and The People Are One




An Egyptian Army officer shouts slogans
An Egyptian Army officer shouts slogans as he is carried by protesters in Cairo January 29, 2011.
Photo by: Reuters

Military Men, Hoisted Up By The Crowd, Remove Their Helmets; Demonstrators Chant They Will Not Cease Their Protest Until Mubarak Resigns.

By Anshel Pfeffer
Published 19:41 29.01.11
Latest update 19:41 29.01.11
Courtesy Of "Haaretz NewsPaper"

More than 100,000 Egyptians from all walks of life gathered on Saturday at the central square in Cairo, as military officers stationed in the area embraced the protesters, chanting "the army and the people are one – hand in hand."


The military officers removed their helmets as they were hoisted up by the crowd in ecstasy. The masses gathered at the square singing, praying and chanting that they will not cease their protest until Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns.
The Egyptian government announced earlier in the day that the curfew would be  implemented earlier at 16:00, but no one heeded the warning that they would act "firmly" if it was broken.
Since the early morning police have not been seen in the streets, and the army has not enforced the curfew. The military forces have been stationed outside several government buildings, television stations and the national museum to secure them from looters.
Asalam Aziz, a 37-year-old accountant who joined the protests, told Haaretz that he was "filled with happiness, on the one hand, because my people are acting in a peaceful manner to change the situation, and on the other hand I am filled with anger over a government which does not listen to the desires of the people."
Aziz believed that "we have already crossed the point of no return."
Habba Azli, a 25-year-old physiotherapist, said that "the president is just an evil man, if after all that has happened he continues to remain enclosed in his palace and doesn’t resign."
The protesters in the square are carrying signs saying "Game over Mr. Mubarak."
Mubarak's speech and the cabinet's decision to resign were not enough for the masses that flooded the streets of Cairo and other major cities in the country, and the riots gradually increased toward the afternoon.
So far there have reports of dozens of casualties in the protests. Egypt's medical sources have reported over 45 dead, 38 of whom were killed during the last two days. Al Jazeera reported that there were over 2,000 injured during the days of protest.
Meanwhile, reports of looting have revealed that mummies have been destroyed in Egypt's national museum.

Egyptian Demonstrators, Soldiers Show Solidarity

By Griff Witte
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 29, 2011; 8:18 PM
Courtesy Of "The Washington Post"

CAIRO - Jubilant pro-democracy demonstrators and gun-toting soldiers rode together atop tanks into this capital city's main square Saturday in an extraordinary show of solidarity, even as President Hosni Mubarak took steps to engineer a possible transfer of power to one of his closest confidants.



After four days of nationwide battles between protesters and police, the tens of thousands of Egyptians who have taken to the streets to demand an end to Mubarak's 30-year rule received an unexpected endorsement when the military declined to block their latest rally. Instead, soldiers flashed peace signs and smiled approvingly as demonstrators chanted "Down with Mubarak!'' 

When protesters attempted to mount one of the tanks, the troops invited more aboard, until an entire convoy was covered, leading the crowd to cheer mightily.

It remains to be seen whether Saturday's grand gestures reflected a military endorsement of the protesters' demand or were simply an attempt by commanders to defuse tensions and buy time for the autocratic Mubarak to consolidate control and put in a plan of succession.

Mubarak, 82, owes much of his authority to the military, and on Saturday he made critical appointments that could signal that he intends to keep power within the security establishment. 

Most critically, Mubarak for the first time named a vice president - an apparent step toward setting up a successor other than his son Gamal, whom he had appeared to be grooming for the post.

But Mubarak's pick, intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, is widely despised among demonstrators, who this week have demanded the chance to choose their own president in national elections.

If Mubarak should resign and hand control to Suleiman, it is unlikely that protesters would be appeased. Still, success in driving Mubarak from office would be a monumental achievement for a movement that has spread spontaneously across the nation since Tuesday as Egyptians who have long been accustomed to quietly accepting authority rise up in full-throated reaction.


Reverberations extended across the Middle East on Saturday. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia denounced Egypt's protests for "inciting a malicious sedition,'' while in Jordan the leader of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood warned that the unrest would spread across the region to topple leaders allied with the United States. In Yemen, a small anti-government protest turned violent as demonstrators clashed with security forces.

In Washington, a White House spokesman said President Obama was receiving frequent updates from his national security staff. The National Security Council convened a two-hour meeting to discuss the situation, and participants included Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Biden, the White House said.

Led by a series of three strong-armed rulers since 1952, Egypt has no experience with genuine democracy, and it is unclear who would triumph in a fair and free election. This week's movement has had no visible central leadership from any individual or organization. While the Muslim Brotherhood is the nation's largest opposition party, analysts say it has the support of only a minority of Egyptians.

Protesters this week have been noticeably secular, saying they do not want Islamic law imposed after years of living under Mubarak's emergency rule, and the Muslim Brotherhood has played only a marginal role in the demonstrations.

A successful democratic movement in Egypt would probably have far-reaching implications across the Middle East, which is now dominated by unelected autocrats but which has long taken its political and cultural cues from Cairo. Since Tunisians ousted their longtime dictator this month, imitators have sprung up across the Arab world.

In Tunisia, however, democracy advocates have said they believe their revolution is only partially complete, as many of the former president's loyalists remain in power.

Throughout the day Sunday, rumors ran rampant. At one point just before dusk in Tahrir Square, a report circulated within the crowd that Mubarak had resigned the presidency and fled the country. Almost as one, thousands of people began to jump up and down in triumph, shouting, "He's gone!" Atop tanks, soldiers and protesters embraced.


But just as quickly as the news had spread, a second rumor - this one apparently true - emerged: Mubarak was still the president. The crowd quieted.

Earlier in the day, Mubarak met with Suleiman, Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Chief of Staff Sami al-Anan and other commanders at a military headquarters. When the fighter planes flew overhead, some shouted "Long live the army." Others in Tahrir shouted: "We will not go, he will go, Hosni is going mad."

The defense minister was shown on state television reviewing army units based outside the state broadcasting building. "Egypt depends on you now," Tantawi said to one soldier, patting him on the shoulders.

Jubilant pro-democracy demonstrators and gun-toting soldiers rode together atop tanks into this capital city's main square Saturday in an extraordinary show of solidarity, even as Mubarak took steps to engineer a possible transfer of power to one of his closest confidants.

After four days of nationwide battles between protesters and police, the tens of thousands of Egyptians who have taken to the streets to demand an end to Mubarak's 29-year rule received an unexpected endorsement when the military declined to block their latest rally. Instead, soldiers flashed peace signs and smiled approvingly as demonstrators chanted "Down with Mubarak!'' 

When protesters attempted to mount one of the tanks, the troops invited more aboard, until an entire convoy was covered, leading the crowd to cheer mightily.

It remains to be seen whether the grand gestures reflected a military endorsement of the protesters' demand or were simply an attempt by commanders to defuse tensions and buy time for the autocratic Mubarak to consolidate control and put in a plan of succession.


Mubarak, 82, owes much of his authority to the military, and on Saturday he made critical appointments that could signal his intention to keep power within the security establishment. Most critically, Mubarak for the first time named a vice president - an apparent step toward setting up a successor other than his son Gamal, whom he had appeared to be grooming for the post.

But Mubarak's pick, intelligence chief Suleiman, is widely despised among demonstrators, who have demanded the chance to choose their own president in national elections.

If Mubarak should resign and hand control to Suleiman, it is unlikely that protesters would be appeased. Still, success in driving Mubarak from office would be a monumental achievement for a movement that has spread spontaneously across the nation since Tuesday as Egyptians who have long been accustomed to quietly accepting authority rise up in full-throated reaction.

Reverberations extended across the Middle East on Saturday. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia denounced Egypt's protests for "inciting a malicious sedition,'' while in Jordan the leader of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood warned that the unrest would spread across the region to topple leaders allied with the United States. In Yemen, a small anti-government protest turned violent as demonstrators clashed with security forces.

In Washington, a White House spokesman said President Obama was receiving frequent updates from his national security staff. The National Security Council convened a two-hour meeting to discuss the situation, and participants included Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Biden, the White House said.

Led by a series of three strong-armed rulers since 1952, Egypt has no experience with genuine democracy, and it is unclear who would triumph in a fair and free election. This week's movement has had no visible central leadership from any individual or organization. While the Muslim Brotherhood is the nation's largest opposition party, analysts say it has the support of only a minority of Egyptians.


Protesters this week have been noticeably secular, saying they do not want Islamic law imposed after years of living under Mubarak's emergency rule, and the Muslim Brotherhood has played only a marginal role in the demonstrations.

Echoes in Middle East

A successful democratic movement in Egypt would probably have far-reaching implications across the Middle East, which is now dominated by unelected autocrats but which has long taken its political and cultural cues from Cairo. Since Tunisians ousted their longtime dictator this month, protests have sprung up across the Arab world.

In Tunisia, however, democracy advocates have said they believe their revolution is only partially complete, as many of the former president's loyalists remain in power.

Here, too, demonstrators say they are seeking a total break with a government that they charge has ruled this country ineptly and criminally, with economic benefits clustered in the hands of a corrupt and powerful elite while a majority of the population endures abysmally poor living conditions.

"The resources of this country all go to a few businessmen with connections to the government, not to the people,'' Farouk Hanafy, a 33-year-old engineer, said as he marched down the Corniche, this city's grand promenade beside the Nile. "We want justice.''

Hanafy cradled in his arms his 18-month-old daughter. He said he brought her to the demonstrations because "for as long as I can remember, I have known only one president. I want her to see someone besides Mubarak. I want her to see that I change this society.''

In previous days, bringing a child to one of this city's pro-democracy rallies, which have spread to cities nationwide, would have been reckless. Police have used tear gas, water cannons and live bullets to disperse protesters, and on Saturday authorities said at least 62 have died in the demonstrations. It was not possible to verify the casualties.


But the police pulled back Friday night as the army rolled in. With soldiers under apparent orders to allow the protests to proceed, Saturday's demonstrations were far more orderly than on any previous day.

Looting in Cairo

Still, without hindrance from police, looters fanned out across the capital and the well-to-do suburbs, smashing windows, stealing merchandise and setting fires. In some areas, residents armed with clubs launched vigilante patrols. In downtown Cairo, shopkeepers said they would sleep in their stores to try to fend off would-be thieves.

"If they come to my store, I'll shoot them,'' Izz Mohammed, 54, said as he flashed a pistol and a fresh clip of ammunition under his suit jacket.

Late Saturday, gunshots and sirens were heard across the capital.

Government authorities blamed protesters run amok for the breakdown of law and order. But demonstrators claimed that the ruling National Democratic Party was sending plainclothes loyalists to sow anarchy in a bid to discredit the burgeoning democracy movement and to justify what protesters fear would be a merciless crackdown.

"Mubarak wants chaos,'' said Sayed Abdel el-Hakim, a 30-year-old math teacher.

Officials at Al Jazeera reported Sunday that they'd been informed their broadcasting license would be revoked and that they'd be required to shut down operations in Egypt. The government has sought to strictly control information in Egypt in recent days. Internet connections remained cut for a third straight day Sunday.

On Saturday, demonstrators held aloft banners reading "Don't burn Egypt,'' and some bragged of having guarded the famed Egyptian Museum from looters until army commandos arrived on the scene Friday night.

The museum appeared largely unscathed Saturday, even as the wreckage of the National Democratic Party headquarters - Mubarak's political home - continued to billow thick black smoke. Both buildings face Tahrir Square, and they provided the backdrop at dusk Saturday as thousands of Egyptians streamed into Cairo's central plaza.

The protesters filed past dozens of desert-beige tanks manned by troops in matching combat fatigues who at first appeared impassive but gradually broke into grins as the square rapidly filled.

Unlike the police, who are hated here for their reputation for demanding bribes, the army is popular even among Egyptians who loathe Mubarak, the military's longtime patron.

When it became clear that the military had no intention of enforcing a previously announced 4 p.m. curfew, theprotesters and the soldiers relaxed as both sides enjoyed a brief moment of harmony after a violent and divisive week. Protesters tossed the troops oranges, cigarettes and bottles of water; the troops gave thumbs-up signs and left no doubt where their sympathies lie.


"We are with the people,'' said Ahmed, a skinny 20-year-old soldier who would not give his last name.

When the soldiers invited the protesters onto their tanks, the crowd of thousands whistled, honked horns and allowed themselves to dream of a future for Egypt that just days ago looked unimaginable.

"This is freedom,'' said Abdel Nasser-Awad, a 40-year-old businessman. "Now we know Mubarak will leave. The only question is when.''

Correspondent Leila Fadel in Cairo and staff writers Joby Warrick and Felicia Sonmez in Washington contributed to this report.

Egyptian Troops Let Protests Proceed

As Mubarak Names Vice President

By Griff Witte
Saturday, January 29, 2011; 3:00 PM
Courtesy Of "The Washington Post"

CAIRO - Tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators swarmed central Cairo on Saturday in the largest demonstration yet against the rule of the country's longtime autocratic leader, President Hosni Mubarak. The crowd went unchallenged by troops, who, in extraordinary scenes unfolding around the capital's central Tahrir Square, smiled and shook hands with protesters and invited them up onto their tanks.
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Meanwhile, Mubarak named a vice president for the first time since coming to power 30 years ago, a government spokesman said - an apparent step toward setting up a successor other than his son, Gamal, whom he had appeared to be grooming for the post, despite public opposition.

Mubarak chose as his deputy his intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, a close confidant who is well known to U.S. officials.

Even as protesters celebrated, word of Suleiman's appointment disappointed those who had expected wholesale change. "He is one of Hosni Mubarak's people, and we reject those people. 

The people should get to pick their leaders," said Mohammed Abdel Rahman, 25.

As a 4 p.m. curfew came and went Saturday, the square - which police had kept off-limits on Friday - was filled with people as far as the eye could see. The police seemed to have disappeared from the streets after vicious clashes the day before. The army had been hailed on the streets as a potential savior, with protesters giving soldiers thumbs up and openly imploring them to join their movement.

On Friday, the troops had appeared steadfastly neutral. Late Saturday, however, they were doing nothing to move demonstrators out of the streets, despite an earlier announcement by security services that anyone remaining in central squares or major roadways after 4 p.m. would face arrest.

Asked whether they would enforce the curfew, soldiers said they would not.

"We are with the people," said Ahmed, a 20-year-old conscript.

Soldiers accepted fruit, water and soda handed out by protesters in Tahrir Square and smiled as protesters chanted, "Go, Mubarak, go!" Children were hoisted up on tanks in the middle of the square to have their photos taken with troops as the hulking remains of the National Democratic Party headquarters building, home to Mubarak's ruling organization, burned in the background.

"These soldiers are Egyptians, too. They are suffering just like we are," said Khalid Ezz el-Din, a 50-year-old businessman who had come to the square to demand Mubarak step down.

Shortly afterward, a convoy of tanks rolled into the square, with as many as 20 protesters riding on each one. As the soldiers smiled and flashed peace signs, the protesters shouted "We are one!" 

and "Down with Mubarak!" Others held aloft a banner reading, "Game over, Mr. Mubarak."


"This is freedom," said Abdel Nasser Awad. "Now we know Mubarak will leave. The only question is when."

Ahmed Mahmoud, a 50 year-old purchasing manager, said that for the first time he felt proud to be an Egyptian.

"I always wanted to run away from my country," he said. "This moment is the first time I feel like a human being."

Earlier Saturday, there had been widespread looting in some neighborhoods of the capital - including the city's upscale shopping district and the well-to-do suburbs. Government authorities blamed protesters run amok. But demonstrators claimed the destruction was perpetrated by plainclothes employees of the National Democratic Party bent on sowing chaos to discredit the burgeoning pro-democracy campaign.

"We haven't even broken a lamp," said Mohammed Yahya, 23, a student protester. "All of this chaos is caused by the government, so they distort our image."

In addition to waving banners reading, "Down with Mubarak," protesters displayed new placards Saturday that read, "No looting."

Aside from the army, there were few signs of government presence in the streets Saturday, although scattered loyalists remained. On one busy downtown street, a Mubarak supporter dressed in a finely tailored suit attempted to wipe away anti-government graffiti that had been sprayed on the burned-out carcass of an armored personnel carrier.

The capital had descended into near-anarchy Friday night, as the government sent riot police, and then the army, to quell protests by tens of thousands of demonstrators.

News services, citing unnamed Egyptian officials, reported Saturday that the nationwide death toll after five days of protests had risen sharply since Friday to at least 62, including 10 policemen, with about 2,000 injured on both sides. The casualty figures were impossible to verify, however.

"We're not going to stop until Mubarak leaves Egypt. We won't accept anything less," said Dalia Fou-ad, 29, who said she had participated in this week's protests and would continue to do so.

Fou-ad and other demonstrators angrily dismissed as insufficient Mubarak's after-midnight speech Saturday. In the nationally televised address, the president - who had not spoken publicly since the protests began Tuesday - announced he would dismiss his cabinet, but gave no hint that he intends to yield to protesters' demand that he give up office. Egyptian state television said the cabinet officially resigned Saturday. Later in the day, Mubarak named Civil Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq the new prime minister.

President Obama said a short time after Mubarak's speech that he had talked with the Egyptian leader after he spoke and pressed him to make long-promised reforms. "What is needed are concrete steps to advance the rights of the Egyptian people," Obama said.

Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and top national security officials discussed the situation in Egypt for two hours Saturday, and Obama was to receive an update later in the day, the White House said.

Around the region, reaction to the protests varied. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah expressed support for Mubarak, according to the official Saudi Press Agency, which said the king had called the Egyptian president and quoted him as saying, "No Arab or Muslim can tolerate any meddling in the security and stability of Arab and Muslim Egypt by those who infiltrated the people in the name of freedom of expression, exploiting it to inject their destructive hatred."

In Iran, opposition leader Hossein Mousavi likened the uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen to the protest movement that followed the 2009 disputed presidential election in his country and voiced hope that the protests engulfing Egypt might bring the kind of change that so far had evaded Iran, the Associated Press reported.

At the same time, though, Iran's hard-line leaders also tried to take credit for the uprisings, calling them a replay of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the pro-U.S. shah.

"An Islamic Middle East is taking shape," the AP quoted Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami as saying in his Friday prayers sermon. "A new Middle East is emerging based on Islam . . . based on religious democracy."

In the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Saturday, a couple of hundred protesters marched toward the Egyptian Embassy calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, the latest in a string of protests over the past two weeks. But Yemeni police blocked the boisterous crowd of human rights activists and students from approaching the embassy, and moments later, the protesters clashed with pro-government supporters as the police watched. The rally quickly dispersed, as the pro-government faction chanted its support for Saleh and paraded through the streets.

In Jordan, the leader of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood movement warned at a rally outside the Egyptian Embassy in Amman that the unrest in Egypt would spread across the Middle East and that Arabs would toppled their "tyrant" U.S.-allied leaders, the AP reported. Participants in the rally called on Mubarak to step down.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, citing the uncertain situation in Cairo, chartered a plane that brought home the families of its diplomats in the city, along with 37 other Israelis who had been in Egypt for business or as tourists. The Israeli ambassador and his staff remain in Cairo, but the embassy will not open Sunday, a ministry spokesman said.

Cellphone service was restored in Cairo on Saturday morning, 24 hours after a government-ordered communications blackout aimed at stopping Friday's protests. Internet access remained blocked.

Smoke billowed Saturday from the remains of the National Democratic Party headquarters. The building - a prominent symbol of 82-year-old Mubarak's 30-year rule - was reduced to little more than a smoldering mound of concrete.

Success in ousting Mubarak would be a remarkable achievement for a group of demonstrators who have no charismatic leaders, little organization and few clear objectives beyond removing Mubarak and other members of his ruling clique.

Before this week, few thought a mass anti-government movement was possible in Egypt, a country that has little experience with democracy. But after Friday's protests, the campaign to oust Mubarak only seems to be gathering strength.

Egyptian demonstrators are hoping to replicate the success of pro-democracy advocates in Tunisia, who this month ousted their autocratic president and sparked a wave of imitators across the region. Because Egypt has long been seen as the political center of the Arab world, the end of Mubarak's rule would reverberate particularly deeply.

The government had worked assiduously to keep the protests from even happening. It took extraordinary measures to block communications, cutting all Internet connections and mobile phone networks. Overnight Thursday, dozens of opposition leaders were rounded up and arrested.

At dawn Friday, thousands of riot police filled the streets of Cairo.

Mohamed ElBaradei, a political reform advocate and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who returned to Egypt from abroad to participate, was soaked with a water cannon and later placed under house arrest, the Associated Press reported. ElBaradei, the former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has said he wants to lead Egypt in a peaceful transition to democratic government.

The protests were launched after Friday midday prayers. They started small, with police moving in immediately to try to suppress them. But the gatherings soon swelled, and the police tactics escalated. Throughout the afternoon and evening, security services fired hundreds of tear gas shells, shot unarmed protesters and beat them with clubs. Despite those efforts, the protesters continued to surge toward downtown Cairo and, after dark, began setting fire to police vehicles and government buildings, as well as the headquarters of the National Democratic Party.

Until then, the protesters had largely refrained from initiating violence, choosing instead to chant slogans and wave the Egyptian flag. When tear gas canisters sailed toward them, protesters swooped in and tried to either throw them back or to cast them into the waters of the Nile.

Protesters vowed to continue their demonstrations until Mubarak leaves office. "This is no longer a time of fear. It's a time of change," said Mohammed Nabil, a 35-year-old doctor who, like many, said he was participating in his first protest. "We want Mubarak to leave and end 30 years of oppression."

Despite calls by Egypt's main opposition party, the Muslim Brotherhood, for members to join the movement, this week's protests have been decidedly secular. Demonstrators, most of whom appear to be members of the nation's middle class, said their campaign has little to do with religion.

"We need a just government. It doesn't matter whether it's Islamic or secular. The issue is justice," said Mustafa Reda, a 22-year-old whose eyes were bloodshot and throat raw from choking on tear gas.

Reda said he took to the streets only after friends were killed earlier in the week in demonstrations in the northeastern city of Suez. Protests there, in Alexandria and in cities across Egypt continued Friday.

It was unclear how many protesters were killed or injured during Friday's mayhem. At one point in Cairo, an armored personnel carrier steered directly into a swarm of demonstrators. A police officer firing from a hatch in the roof shot at least two men. When fellow protesters tried to drive the wounded men away, police stopped their vehicle, forced all able-bodied occupants out and relentlessly beat them in the middle of the street.

Throughout the afternoon, protesters and police waged pitched battles from either side of three majestic bridges that span the Nile. Police would send tear gas canisters soaring from one end of the bridge to the other and temporarily force the protesters to flee. But each time, the protesters surged back, and just after dusk, they forced the police into a full retreat across one of the spans.

In addition to calling for the ouster of the president, protesters also demanded that the U.S. government support their cause. Osama el-Ghazi Harb, a prominent Egyptian writer, held aloft an empty teargas canister that only minutes earlier had been fired at him and several hundred other protesters.

"I'm very sorry to say that it was made in the U.S.A.," Harb said. "The U.S. must condemn this use of force and, at the proper moment, tell Mubarak to get out."

Many journalists who attempted to report on the demonstrations were attacked by plainclothes security officers who smashed cameras and bloodied the face of at least one BBC reporter. The journalist later went on the air to report the assault.

Many of those injured in the protests said they would not go to hospitals for fear of being arrested, and instead went home or simply stayed in the street.

The ranks of the protesters included a significant number of government employees, who used their day off from work to call for their president to go. "All the Egyptian people are oppressed, and their time has come. Enough is enough," said a man who identified himself as a diplomat with the nation's Foreign Ministry but would give only his first name, Ahmed. "I know Egyptians, and they will not stop until Mubarak is gone."

Special correspondents Sherine Bayoumi in Cairo and Joel Greenberg in Jerusalem and correspondent Sudarsan Raghavan in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report.

Note: The following video was not part of the above article, but was included by me.

Egyptian Protesters Ignore Military Curfew

Egypt's Military In A Quandary


Armed personnel tanks have been patrolling the streets of Cairo to enforce President Hosni Mubarak's curfew [AFP]


Al Jazeera's Senior Analyst Marwan Bishara Sheds Light On What The Military Is Likely To Do.

By Marwan Bishara
Last Modified: 29 Jan 2011 16:45 GMT
Courtesy Of "Al-Jazeera"



As Egypt continues to unravel under the pressure of a popular uprising against the Hosni Mubarak government, we look at the role of its military as the guardian of sovereignty and national security.
 
Where Is Egypt Heading After Days Of Revolt? 
Clearly the way forward is not the way back.  But since President Mubarak has opted for more the same old and bankrupt ways of dealing with national uprising, making promises of change and cosmetic alteration to governance essentially, all now depends on the momentum of the popular uprising and the role of the military. 

Mubarak's attempts to delegitimise the popular revolt as isolated incidents exploited by Islamists has fallen on deaf ears at home and abroad. As the revolt continues to expand and gain momentum in major Egyptian cities and protestors demand no less than the removal of his regime, it's now the military's choice to allow for the change to be peaceful or violent. 

So far, it has opted for merely policing the streets without confronting the demonstrators, whether this will turn into a Tiananmen scenario of tough crackdown or not, will be decided in the next few hours or days. 

But Egypt is not China, and it could hardly afford such national confrontation.

But What Else Can The Military Do?

The Egyptian military could follow the Tunisian military by refusing orders to shoot at demonstrators or impose the curfew.

Click here for more on Al Jazeera's special coverage
The military can replace Mubarak with a temporary emergency governing council or leave it for civilian opposition groups to form government in consultation with the military.

This depends on the cost and benefits of keeping Mubarak who's long been the  military man at the helm of the regime. Appointing intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as his vice president, and hence ending his son's chances for succession, will make little difference on the long term.

There is direct correlation between continued momentum of the uprising and the need to remove Mubarak, his family and his political leadership from the helm. Also, the military will make its calculation on the basis of delicate balancing act that insures its own influence and privileges while not allowing the country to descend into chaos.

And as the ultimate guaranteur of the national security, the Egyptian military must also take regional and international factors in consideration, notably the United States.

Will The Chief Of Staff Of The Egyptian Military Play A New Role For The United States?
The Obama administration has probably put the Egyptian military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Sami Hafez Anan, on notice before he left the US capital on Friday, and explained what it can, could not or would not stand for in terms of the military's response to the revolt.

Washington has been a major backer of the Egyptian military over the last three decades, supplying the country with around $2bn in annual aid mostly for military purposes. When the uprising broke out, Anan was in Washington as part of their annual strategising sessions.

Clearly caught by surprise, the US has been a mere spectator over the last several weeks, as people took to the streets in Tunisia or Egypt.

The Obama administration continued its predecessor's policy of nurturing contacts and consultation with various Egyptian opposition groups in addition to the military.

It understands all too well that the response of the Egyptian military will have far reaching influence, not only on the situation in Egypt, but also on other countries in the region, no less on its future relationship with Israel.
For the military to be the guardian of the state's sovereignty and stalbility, it must  be the protector of Egypt's future politics, not its permamnent leader.

NOTE: The following video was not part of the above article, but was included by me.

The Egyptian Army and The Uprising

What's Happening In Egypt Is Not Our Business

By Peter Oborne
Last updated: January 28th, 2011
Courtesy Of "The Telegraph"



An onion is used to revive an unconscious protester (Photo: Getty)
An onion is used to revive an unconscious Egyptian protester (Photo: Getty)
The United States, Britain and our allies have an atrocious record in the Middle East. We have consistently given our support to a series of despotic, murdering, torturing regimes including Egypt, Tunisia and, for a long time, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. These eruptions in the Middle East present a moral challenge to Western governments. There is no question that we will feel very tempted to try and control events and maintain regimes which, however morally loathsome, are seen as sympathetic to the West.
We must resist that temptation. The future of Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries is not up to us. Over the coming days we are likely to hear from a number of commentators who will claim that we must intervene in order to prevent victory for “international Islam” or some other bogeyman. It is very very important that we ignore these voices.
Remember the example of Algeria, where in 1991 an Islamic movement secured victory in democratic elections. The West refused to accept the result and, as a consequence, plunged that country into a decade of civil war in which more than 160,000 people were killed.
The lesson is straightforward: that America, Britain, France and other Western countries do not have a legitimate role in determining what kind of government Egypt and other countries around the world choose for themselves.