What exactly do "you" suggest "we" do about the danger posed by the potential rise of "them," about which "you" are so worried, right now?
I would like to point out that the CIA did not expect the Ayatollah to be able to seize power in Iran after the fall of the Shah, and even after he did seize power they did not expect his government to last very long.
Egyptian protesters promise to destroy Israel <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nzKP1vJ8uLg?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>
I do not know. I merely stated my concern that they could gain more influence, which could move the country more into a direction of what we have seen in Afghanistan and Pakistan and Iran (oppression of women, oppression/persecution of members of other religions, etc.). I was not the one who said that "we" would "hold them accountable", that was Mathloom. I am not saying I can offer solutions to everything, which should not stop me from expressing concern. In fact, I am concerned partly because I do not see an easy solution if they in fact gain power, a risk which Mathloom is downplaying, and which he says could then be addressed by "we/us holding them accountable". What do "you", "Carl Herrera"/"vangundier", suggest? Do "you" have a solution? Or do "you" consider it a non-existent threat?
<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-Qm8eFTgddY?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>
Yeah, Israel probably should be worried. A truly democratic Egypt probably will not abide the injustices suffered by the Palestinians as easily as Mubarak did.
I believe that if Israel were to preemptively declare war on Egypt if a group like the Muslim Brotherhood took power, you would see a situation like in Iran. Iraq declared war against Iran after the 79 revolution, and after a lengthy campaign of attrition, the only winner was Khomeini.
Supposedly "pro government" (2000) supporters are clashing with "anit-government" forces...... this might get ugly real quick.
I think there is the possibility of an Islamic government coming to power in Egypt through democratic means but I don't see how indefinitely propping up a secular dictator is any better. In the long run for us to truly have peace we need for people in the Middle East to develop their own democratic institutions. This isn't going to be an easy process but secular dictatorships aren't the answer.
Theocratic dictators/oligarchies aren't the answer, either. Let's hope we see Egypt replacing a secular dictatorship with something that is not a theocratic one. That would be a disaster.
We can hope that Egypt doesn't but the point is that for Egypt to progress as a society is they have to chose for themselves. Us continuing to prop up a secular dictatorship stunts the development of democratic institutions and makes it more likely that what replaces the dictator will be something just as undemocratic.
Of course they should vote in their own government. We should hope that the vote is not overly influenced by outside forces, ala Lebanon, and that includes the United States. Egypt is poised on a knife edge and how it goes will have a huge impact on the region and on nations with interests in the region. Everyone should have their fingers crossed.
While our fingers are crossed for the best outcome for Egypt, a double cross is much more likely to be their fate.
Yeah, and I think it shows Mubarak is still stuck in the mid-to-late-20th century, when you could do crap like this without the entire world watching every move. It really makes his words ring hollow and adds emphasis to the "corrupt, oppressive" cries of the protesters. But sad kudos to Pharoah King -- I was very sad to see his prediction be more or less exactly played out.
If Egypt is supposed to currently be a democracy then why can't the masses vote him out? Obama has no place to tell him to step down, in my opinion. He'd be better served to encourage fair elections via UN oversight. I'd wager the result would be a government less friendly to the US and Israel and also would probably choose to purchase arms from our competitors. It's kind of conflict of interest but if you talk the talk...... Real question in my mind is what happens when all the US friendly regimes democratically get voted out and funamentalist Islamic governments are fairly voted in but refuse to ever give up power or hold elections. Is the US better off? More importantly to me, am I better off?
What are do you propose to do about it, right now or in the future, if the U.S. and you are not better off in such a scenario?
They are a democracy like 1938 Germany was: "Democracy" in Egypt is a thin facade. Very thin. Considering most of our aid is given to them in the form of military support, they'd have to be pretty stupid to start paying someone else for something they are currently getting for free.
