Are we not in the George H. W. Bush v. George W. Bush dynamic in Egypt?
George the elder chose not to "go on to Bhagdad", because he wanted to keep Saddam as a counterweight to Iran. George junior felt that his manhood demanded that he topple Saddam with American troops.
What I take home is that this is an internal Egyptian matter. Yes, we have poured a lot of money into the pockets of Mubarak and his henchmen. But King George III did the same thing. If there is a revolution, there will be a revolution. The idea to keep firmly in mind is that what Google junior executives can do, the US government cannot.
Cecile Hennion, in Le Monde, who is as knowledgeable as any journalist who has ever covered Egypt, says that the people demonstrating have no leadership or organization. They have nothing to replace Mubarak with.
In addition, she says that the people demonstrating are growing increasingly distrustful of each other, fearing that the secret police are everywhere among them... which is no doubt accurate. Needless to say, the secret police have no desire to get killed but plenty of desire to take vengence once the demonstrations stop.
The odds of this petering out and there being horrific reprisals I would say are much greater than 50-50.
But... has the US backed itself into a corner. Can Obama really go on TV and say that everything that is happening in Egypt is their domestic problem?
Are we not in the George H. W. Bush v. George W. Bush dynamic in Egypt?
George the elder chose not to "go on to Bhagdad", because he wanted to keep Saddam as a counterweight to Iran. George junior felt that his manhood demanded that he topple Saddam with American troops.
What I take home is that this is an internal Egyptian matter. Yes, we have poured a lot of money into the pockets of Mubarak and his henchmen. But King George III did the same thing. If there is a revolution, there will be a revolution. The idea to keep firmly in mind is that what Google junior executives can do, the US government cannot.
Cecile Hennion, in Le Monde, who is as knowledgeable as any journalist who has ever covered Egypt, says that the people demonstrating have no leadership or organization. They have nothing to replace Mubarak with.
In addition, she says that the people demonstrating are growing increasingly distrustful of each other, fearing that the secret police are everywhere among them... which is no doubt accurate. Needless to say, the secret police have no desire to get killed but plenty of desire to take vengence once the demonstrations stop.
The odds of this petering out and there being horrific reprisals I would say are much greater than 50-50.
But... has the US backed itself into a corner. Can Obama really go on TV and say that everything that is happening in Egypt is their domestic problem?
You're kidding right? Can you say, "Larry Summers"?
Obama is doing the things that Bush wishes he could have done.