Africa and middle east ......

[tkobo]

Another of the prime players in this has now had some light shown on him.Wael Ghonim has now admitted to setting up and organizing thru the primary website that got the ball rolling,and organizing and prompting the protests.He's a wealthy google exec,working in Dubai,who was born in egypt.After getting things set up and rolling,using facebook ,twitter,etc... he asked for a leave of absense to travel to egypt for "personal problems"(sick father) from his job.

He was arrested soon after he arrived.Seems though few else knew his role at that point,egyptian intelligence did.

Google claims it didnt know what he was up to.

He's an interesting figure to say the least.He's currently posing as the "reluctant hero",despite all hes done to make this happen.His repeated dishonesty is troubling...but it could be simply that the 30 year old child is in over his head and simply doesnt know what he's a apart of.

That makes two of the prime players we now have at least a glimpse into,at least 2 more players to go.....

[tkobo]

Word is right now, that the military is about to be given control of the country by Mubarak as he steps down....He's said to be about to speak and make it official.

[Benjaminvallen1]

Quoting would be tedious, so I'll just do it this way.

I agree absolutely, Tkobo. Israel is the only free democracy there, with Turkey being the only one who can even come close. Perhaps withholding our aid and allianceship would have progressed the cause of freedom in the region more effectively than propping up dictators for 'stability', only to have THIS happen years down the road.

The latest word is an announcement from the military that they are 'stepping in to protect the country.' I believe this can be translated as a military coup, though the new VP is supposed to take control as Mubarrak steps down. The MB has strong support of and among the Egyptian military, and I ponder if we are about to see an accelerated version of 1979 Iran. The pieces are falling together all too well for the Muslim Brotherhood.

[tkobo]

...looks like word was wrong....hehhehehheeh

[tkobo]

Well, day late in this case.

[Benjaminvallen1]

As of now, a military council is in control of Egypt. Mubarrak has stepped down. However, if Suleiman or El Baradei take control, Egypt will be in perhaps as bad of shape as they were before ousting Mubarrak, possibly worse. If the military steps in as a permanent ruling body instead of a transition authority, God save Israel! I fear the odds of TRUE freedom, of limited government, the free market, and individual rights, arising in Egypt is all too unlikely. Between the Egyptian Marxist Party and the Muslim Brotherhood (both of which Suleiman called 'legitimate political authorities), we may see a whole new era of tyranny in the Middle East.

Let me clarify El Baradei as a danger. He has deep connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, and as the UN's nuclear watchdog, he claimed Iran had no nuclear weapons or nuclear intentions. What we may be witnessing is the rise of a MB dominated Egypt, a Sunni sharia state in counterpart to the Shia sharia state in Iran.

[SoB]

And to think yanks gave where allso giving iran a lot of milltrie aid before it whent all rouge. Maby th USA should take a closer look at it's ally's to see just how stable they are.

[tkobo]

20 years of peace .....some might say "money well spent".

[The Khan]

If the military steps in as a permanent ruling body instead of a transition authority, God save Israel!

Trust your God. Why defend it?

All this is the US's fault of propping up ANY dictator or autocrat just because they happened to be "anti-communistic" or "anti-radical" without even trying to see if they had a relatively OK human rights records.

[Benjaminvallen1]

If the military steps in as a permanent ruling body instead of a transition authority, God save Israel!

Trust your God. Why defend it?

All this is the US's fault of propping up ANY dictator or autocrat just because they happened to be "anti-communistic" or "anti-radical" without even trying to see if they had a relatively OK human rights records.

I wouldn't say it is entirely our fault, though I certainly think we should not ever have given so much to these dictators.


As for Israel, if her hour of need arose and the American government abandoned her, I feel the American PEOPLE would not. I think I'd be finding a way to get to Israel and fight. But that's just me.


As for Egypt, I have a feeling this whole thing just died. Looking at it, I wonder if anything will change at all. The military is in control, supposedly until the election, but will they relinquish that control? Maybe, maybe not.

[The Khan]

Although saying 100% fault is certainly wrong, you wouldn't think a fight would not be one-sided if the side is backed up by the US?

Whatever the US backed up ended up emerging victorious. The US looked there more of a mad scientist tampering with genes without fully mapping the subject's DNA.

[Benjaminvallen1]

Although saying 100% fault is certainly wrong, you wouldn't think a fight would not be one-sided if the side is backed up by the US?

Whatever the US backed up ended up emerging victorious. The US looked there more of a mad scientist tampering with genes without fully mapping the subject's DNA.

It was the concept of 'enemy of my enemy is my friend.' We felt the danger of raising up extremists was less than the danger of, for instance, having the Soviet Union continue. Our efforts DID bring down the Soviets, but enough foreign policy debacles followed after-wards that Russia is still a threat, and other threats have arisen from the people we trained up. We trained a ferocious dog to defeat our enemies, but that dog turned and bit us. Now we have to put it down.

In all this, however, arming Egypt I do not understand. I could understand humanitarian aid and such, which would be little more than bribes, but it seems we've even failed at doing THAT, considering how much of that humanitarian money has ended up in Mubarak's bank account. Selling weapons to a country that has attacked an ally of ours three times since 1948 was, I feel, idiotic.

I also feel concerned about recent moves to sell Abrams tanks to Morocco and Iraq. Iraq may be an ally at present, but we've seen Iraq come and go as an ally before. Same with Iran. What we are looking at right now is an entire region of the world at risk for collapsing into sharia rule, transforming into a new Caliphate, if you will, and within this region are 5 nations (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, and Iraq) which are (or will be) equipped with one of the very best tanks in the world, as well as our aircraft, SAMs, and AFVs. I don't think anyone was thinking very clearly when they worked out this strategy.

[The Khan]

Your country houses arms dealers that would sell their own mothers for profit. And yes, not even we have that kind of armament right now as we scramble for a national tank project.

If you can't control that kind of arms dealers in the name of "free market", the blood of every non-Islamists in the future there will be on your hands. 'tis said friends speak bitter. I speak bitter now.

[tkobo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12476771

It says the attack occurred on Friday in Cairo's packed Tahrir Square after President Hosni Mubarak stepped down.

Just fills your heart with faith in how well this all will go..... one can only wonder how long til they convict her for being assaulted and get in line for the stoning...

[Necrophobia_70]

My prayers with her. What a bunch of animals...
Still, I have to admit, I found the following paragraph extremely ironic in the current turn of events.
"This is the Tiananmen Square of the cyber age. There's no question."
I hope the western world could finally begin to realize the sequence of romanticizing all those "Freedom Fighters".