Posted on 02/01/2011 11:17:27 AM PST by nuconvert
Few Egyptians will mourn Hosni Mubarak's downfall. His three-decade rule was sclerotic. He not only failed to address growing economic failings but also refused to even listen. As a guest observer at Mubarak's 2006 National Democratic Party convention, I watched as senior officials cut microphone power to party members who used their speeches to complain about high unemployment, poor housing and a lack of basic infrastructure.
While the discrepancy between rich and poor is extreme in many Arab countries, Egypt's population density amplifies awareness. With nearly 80 million people crammed into the narrow Nile River Valley, the rich cannot hide from the poor. Egyptians scavenging in trash dumps could see heliports on palatial mansions owned by Mubarak's cronies. Luxury Mercedes drive by open sewers and the dispossessed living in cemeteries. Even the army will not be sad to see Mubarak go, after he tried to force his son to be his successor against the wishes of the generals.
Nor was Mubarak a good ally to the United States. In 2009, Egypt voted with the United States at the United Nations less often than did Burma, Cuba, Somalia, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Mubarak resisted the liberation of Kuwait in 1991 and undercut the new Iraqi government after 2003. And while Mubarak opposed Iran and kept the Suez Canal open, this had more to do with Cairo's self-interest than winning Washington's favor. The true value of Egypt was its peace treaty with Israel, an event that predated Mubarak's rise.
While the White House should shed no tears for Mubarak's downfall, worries about the future are well-founded.
The best-case scenario would see a transitional government manage the county until the September election. The worst-case scenario would see the Muslim Brotherhood triumph, abandoning any pretense of a commitment to democracy as it consolidates control.
(Excerpt) Read more at michaelrubin.org ...
I watched Iran 1979 happen... Unfortunately, I see NO DIFFERENCE with Egypt 2011
Egypt has 35% illiteracy rate, and the majority of those are women. Some reports say 9 out of 10 women undergo some kind of genital mutilation as girls. 35% believe Israel should be wiped out and Jews exterminated.
The old “income disparity” excuse is an old socialist axiom that is usually is an sympton, not a disease itself.
Egypt is a backward country with a backward culture. Mubarak could be considered a “liberal” compared to his countrymen. In fact, there is little the US can do to change this country.
I am not hopeful.
Do some fact checking...
“Don’t you think that contributing an armored division is a bit odd for an effort that you allegedly oppose? (Kuwait’s liberation)”
Would you expand on this a bit. I’m not quite sure what you’re saying.
Thus, that assertion makes no sense.
It said he resisted - didn’t say he wasn’t talked into it
Yeah, big deal— you had to talk a lot of Democrats into it too!
True. I’m just answering your original comment that made it sound as though Rubin didn’t know his history of Iraq/Kuwait and that he was making a false claim.
(you might want to read up a bit on Michael Rubin. He knows the history & in fact instructs Army & Marine officers deploying to Iraq & Afganistan. Iran, Iraq, Turkey, as well as the Middle East in general are his areas of expertise. He also taught at Hebrew Univ. in Israel)
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