Explosion in Rafah, Egypt

[Ropey]

The zionist jews and their supporters here on the board do not care what happens to the people of Egypt or Yemen.

All they care about is Israel.

If the arabs have to live under brutal pro West/Israel sponsored dictators in order to protect Israel.

Then that's just too bad.

 

[Modbert]

I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised if the new power in Egypt (if and when it takes over) would not be so Pro-American. I've seen people in this thread and elsewhere talk about how the religious fundamentalists co-opted the 1979 revolution. However, just like in the 1979 revolution, the U.S were the ones who not only propped up but supported brutally oppressive regimes in the first place that led to said revolutions.

As Egyptian Unrest Builds, Obama Left With Two Bad Options - FoxNews.com

No wonder the White House keeps insisting it's not taking sides.
"We have backed the wrong horse for 50 years," said former CIA officer Michael Scheuer. "To think that the Egyptian people are going to forget that we backed dictators for 50 years, I think is a pipe dream."

I'm not sure why people keep wondering why history would keep repeating itself such as with Iran and Egypt when we keep making the same mistakes.

 

[Trajan]

BBC...twitter.....



its a shame, this is what they will be reduced to when they are done cutting costs, they are for instance closing down their foreign language shortwave broadcasts........

 

[Trajan]

I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised if the new power in Egypt (if and when it takes over) would not be so Pro-American. I've seen people in this thread and elsewhere talk about how the religious fundamentalists co-opted the 1979 revolution. However, just like in the 1979 revolution, the U.S were the ones who not only propped up but supported brutally oppressive regimes.

As Egyptian Unrest Builds, Obama Left With Two Bad Options - FoxNews.com

No wonder the White House keeps insisting it's not taking sides.
"We have backed the wrong horse for 50 years," said former CIA officer Michael Scheuer. "To think that the Egyptian people are going to forget that we backed dictators for 50 years, I think is a pipe dream."

I'm not sure why people keep wondering why history would keep repeating itself such as with Iran and Egypt when we keep making the same mistakes.

sure, but not loving us isn't the issue really, being anti 'western' is.

 

[Modbert]

sure, but not loving us isn't the issue really, being anti 'western' is.

Anti-Western? How does one define Anti-Western? Why would they be Pro-Western anyway? Though I suppose it depends how you define Pro-Western. Remember, we're considered the largest Western power there is and look how we treated them.

We pride ourselves on being a country of freedom and democracy while we support some of the most oppressive regimes in that area of the world. It's not just Egypt and wasn't just Iran either. Saudi Arabia would also get a mention on that list. Why would people in Egypt, Iran, or Saudi Arabia have any inclination to trust those in the West after the regimes we put in power there?

 

[JimH52]

Egypt protests draw mixed reaction in region - CNN.com

I would think the Saudis are afraid that their own population may get an idea from the Egypt situation. the Iranian are illustrating what total hypocrites that they are. A few months ago they were killing their own people in the streets of their cities.

 

[Valerie]

At Liberation Square al Jazeera is covering it live. There's at least 50k protesters. They are not going home and the curfew is over 1/2 hour past. The army is there and doing nothing, some are accepting flowers from the protesters.

Wow! I hope they stay calmed down...

No surprise that many of the commentators on al Jazeera are blaming the poverty on Israel and US. Common theme with all Arab revolutionary attempts.

However, one thing they are all saying is that the protesters are trying to win the military over to their side. From what I'm seeing, that makes sense.

When tens of thousands hit the streets to decry an authoritarian regime -- calling for its overthrow, trying to overrun police, setting fires -- one might expect the arrival of army tanks would be met with fear, consternation and violence.

But not in Egypt.

The warm embrace that demonstrators gave troops this week illustrated the military's respected and central role in Egyptian society. This fact makes the armed forces potentially a kingmaker in the current crisis, while also showcasing its challenge to somehow re-establish security without undermining its popularity.

"How they behave on the streets is going to matter a whole lot," said Shibley Telhami, a Middle East expert and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank. "That's going to be the dilemma: Can they maintain the order without antagonizing the public that they need?"

The ascendance began in 1952, when the military helped overthrow Egypt's ruling monarch. Its support for a constitutional democracy and its performance in various wars and battles earned it the admiration of many Egyptians.

...

All males between ages 18 and 30 must serve one to three years, as the CIA World Factbook notes, meaning almost every family in Egypt has some personal connection to the military.

Experts: Egypt's fate rests in hands of popular, powerful military - CNN.com