Mubarak struggles to keep power (“We are very disillusioned by President Obama’s speech”)

The Spec ^ | 1/29/11 | DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

[Libloather]

Mubarak struggles to keep power
DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK Sat Jan 29 2011

**SNIP**

Mubarak’s speech just after midnight, in which he dismissed his cabinet, was mainly a defense of his government and the imperative to maintain stability.

Protesters also voiced significant anger at the United States, rushing up to American reporters on the streets unprompted to ask why the United States continued to back the Egyptian government.

“We are very disillusioned by President Obama’s speech,” said Muhammad Shafai, 35, a lawyer, who called for Barack Obama to distance himself from Mubarak.

In his speech Friday night, Obama took on a stern tone, saying he had personally told Mubarak that he needed to listen to his people’s demands for a “better democracy.” But the United States has counted on Egypt for help in the region, whether supporting American moves in Iraq or trying to defuse tensions between the Palestinians and Israelis.

In Sinai, officials said that the security police had withdrawn from broad portions of the territory, leaving armed Bedouin in control. At least five members of the police, both law enforcement and state security, were killed, officials said.

In Cairo, there were some ominous signs of a breakdown in order, with scattered reports of rampant looting and gangs of young men commandeering cars and smashing store windows.

The army moved to secure Cairo International Airport on Saturday as The Associated Press reported that as many as 2,000 people had flocked there in a frantic attempt to leave the country. International carriers reported delays and cancellations.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Libloather. We have never been surprised by Zero's screwups, but now we're no longer surprised at their scale, either.

• Obama Demands Mubarak Halt Violence, Introduce Reforms
• Obama tells Mubarak: Must take 'concrete steps'
• Obama tells Mubarak: Must take 'concrete steps'
• Obama: Mubarak must deliver on democracy promise
• Axelrod: Obama Has "On Several Occasions Directly Confronted" Mubarak the Past 2 Years
• White House: Time for reform to come to Egypt
• Will America Abandon President Mubarak, Like The Shah of Iran?
• Obama will go down in history as the president who lost Egypt

[TheOldLady]

Screwups? Soros would disagree.

But I don’t think anyone on earth, including its creators and fomenters, is going to be happy with the outcome of this world-wide destruction and destitution if it is allowed to progress to its end.

[SunkenCiv]

/bingo