"60 years ago, as a young student protestor, Hathout says the scene was almost exactly the same. Thousands of protestors had flooded the same bridge, except then, the protestors were largely students; and, instead of heading to Tahrir Square, their goal was a mile east -- Abdin Square, home to the presidential palace. Then, like now, they demanded that their leader step down." "Hathout and many of the other protestors, shortly after, were jailed, many for years. The student uprising would be quelled and years of relative quiet would ensue. For years, the Mubarak regime has used fear of Islamic groups both at home and abroad to justify it's autocratic rule. Today, the Muslim Brotherhood is taking a back seat in the protests in Egypt. The protestors on the bridge and at Tahrir Square this week come from all walks of Egyptian society. They are young and old, the impoverished as well as the middle class and some well-healed Egyptians. There are Muslims, Christians -- both religious and secular." These are just three perspectives on a very complex situation. Others might cite our brokered deal between Israel and Egypt and the vast amount of American taxpayer money flowing into both countries that is used to buy American made military equipment instead of improving the economic plight of their citizens. As we hear the media reduce the causes of the protest movement into a series of easy to grasp sound bites, we must realize that the situation is far more complex and goes well beyond the boundaries of Egypt. There are distinguished Middle East scholars that are contributing to the dialogue, but on the right there are also people like John Bolton that is advocating that Israel take advantage of the opportunity and bomb Iran. And to think Bolton was our ambassador to the UN. Whatever the causes, the delicate diplomacy in the next several months will be an enormous challenge for all Western countries as they strive for an appearance of "hands off" while the Egyptian people decide their own course of action. We don't need the John Bolton's of this world adding fuel to the fire.
"There are only sketchy details of exactly where the Mubaraks have generated their wealth and its final destination." If the numbers are true, then it is hard to see how he could have accumulated that kind of wealth in 30 years without some kind of corruption. "According to Christopher Davidson, professor of Middle East politics at Durham University, they were able to accumulate wealth through a number of business partnerships with foreign investors and companies, dating back to when he was in the military and in a position to benefit from corporate corruption. Most Gulf states required foreigners give a local business partner a 51% stake in start-up ventures. In Egypt, the figure is commonly nearer 20%, but still gives politicians and close allies in the military a source of huge profits with no initial outlay and little risk." These numbers are not secret. There have been reports in the Arab media about them. It does cast suspicion over why we would call Mubarak a "friend" and continue to make annual foreign aid payments of about $1.3 billion. Some friend. It would seem that the only country really defending him now is Israel. Is this the price of peace with Israel...to condone the corruption? Or have we been so influenced by the right wing fear mongering about the Muslim Brotherhood? I'm sure there is a lot more to this story that we don't know. Maybe WikiLeaks will reveal more.