Posted on 02/04/2011 12:32:01 PM PST by Hojczyk
Who doesn't love a democratic revolution? Who is not moved by the renunciation of fear and the reclamation of dignity in the streets of Cairo and Alexandria? The worldwide euphoria that has greeted the Egyptian uprising is understandable. All revolutions are blissful in the first days. The romance could be forgiven if this were Paris 1789. But it is not. In the intervening 222 years, we have learned how these things can end.
The Egyptian awakening carries promise and hope and of course merits our support. But only a child can believe that a democratic outcome is inevitable. And only a blinkered optimist can believe that it is even the most likely outcome.
Yes, the Egyptian revolution is broad-based. But so were the French and the Russian and the Iranian revolutions. Indeed in Iran, the revolution only succeeded - the shah was long opposed by the mullahs - when the merchants, the housewives, the students and the secularists joined to bring him down.
And who ended up in control? The most disciplined, ruthless and ideologically committed - the radical Islamists.
This is why our paramount moral and strategic interest in Egypt is real democracy in which power does not devolve to those who believe in one man, one vote, one time. That would be Egypt's fate should the Muslim Brotherhood prevail. That was the fate of Gaza, now under the brutal thumb of Hamas, a Palestinian wing (see Article 2 of Hamas's founding covenant) of the Muslim Brotherhood.
We are told by sage Western analysts not to worry about the Brotherhood because it probably commands only about 30 percent of the vote. This is reassurance? In a country where the secular democratic opposition is weak and fractured after decades of persecution,
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
(.)bama just gave another of his meddling speeches. He is beginning to sound like Fidel more and more each day.
I am waiting for Mubarak to tell his to STFU.
A guy who had nothing to say when there was a potential overthrow in Iran has not kept his pie hole shut now. Quite telling, he intends to keep our friends close and our enemies closer.
Speak for yourself Chuck.
Many of us understand that much of the world could care less about 'democracy' as you call it - they want bread on the shelves and a chance to earn a little scratch and could care less what kind of government provides it. That this is a muslim country should've given you more pause.
On the other hand, it didn't take much intelligence to see that Egypt has been a stabilizing force in the ME for 30 years. As recently as the 70s they were invading Israel.
It should take more than TV images of rock throwing protestors to make the viewer, safe in his livingroom a world away, 'euphoric'.
Content, maybe. But say what you want about Fidel he has charisma.
Listening to Obama annunciate the 'a's and 'the's as though he's holding his script up to his nose, and repeating basically the same thing he said the last three times isn't nearly as riviting and a good ol' Castro commie stemwinder.
Obama is not paying any attention to Krauthammer-—
“””United States should say very little in public and do everything behind the scenes to help the military midwife - and then guarantee - what is still something of a long shot: Egyptian democracy.”””
“Who is not moved by the renunciation of fear and the reclamation of dignity in the streets of Cairo and Alexandria?”
What’s this guy smoking?
Bump
Did you read the same article that I did?
Bump
The rest of the article is correct.
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