(no subject)

[bobcatmoran]

Okay, seriously, Mubarak? What part of the tens of thousands of people calling for two weeks plus for you to step down immediately don't you understand? I listened to his speech on my way home from work, and I think the words, "Oh, no, you didn't," actually escaped my mouth. They were interviewing a guy on the radio after the speech, and he was so mad that he couldn't even speak straight. The audio from Tahrir Square was astonishing. A very large crowd of very angry and disappointed people is nothing to be trifled with.

Comments

[tehkittykat]

What I don't get about this whole thing is also how many of the supposedly pro-democracy governments aren't being more vocally and outwardly supportive of this movement. Especially us considering that spreading democracy in the middle east is ostensibly our whole reason to be there.

I mean, I know there's the gamble that if we back the January 25th movement and they lose we'll lose out on a military ally in the area. And I realize that a democratically-elected government might not be so eager to support us militarily in our adventures out there since, you know, those are the neighbors and all.. but it seems awfully hypocritical not to support them just the same.

[bobcatmoran]

I think part of it is that we've supported Mubarak, politically and monetarily (those tanks? US made. Many of their military officers? US trained), for pretty much his entire time in office, and if we suddenly turn around and blatently try to boot him out, it makes our government look hypocritical. And there's also the whole Israel issue, where Egypt, under a totalitarian government, was the first Middle Eastern country to recognize Israel and continues to be (relatively speaking) one of that country's biggest supporters in the region. Should Mubarak's government leave, the new government might not be so friendly.

But yeah, none of that really excuses us not supporting a grassroots movement towards democracy. Democracy may be messy and unpredictable, and since we've been making such a big fuss lately about "Democracy in the Middle East," we may as well follow through with what we've said. Especially since this seems to be something the Egyptian people have decided they want on their own, without the US or any other outside powers forcing it on them.

[tehkittykat]

It's sad that our foreign policy has been so hammer-like lately. I can think of a couple of ways to gently apply pressure without letting Mubarak lose face (You must be so proud! Your leadership has allowed Egypt to be so uniquely remarkable! You're such a good guy and we know you'll Do the Right Thing! Gosh, let's make sure you get a consolation appointment somewhere since you've worked so hard! We even have experience in the last bit, since we do it for our resigning politicians all the time!), and if those had run aground, well, we could have put on appropriate tones of horror at Not Knowing Him So Well and gotten a little heavier-handed.

But yay! Mubarak did the right thing and stepped down!

Honestly, this is how it's supposed to work. Just because a place has elections doesn't mean it's truly democratic in the way most Americans think of democracy-- if all your choices are crappy, or if your freedoms are not guaranteed, it's basically oligarchy or worse that's forced to spend money on ad campaigns every so often.