Thursday, February 3, 2011

Obviously, Egypt is still the major story, so a lot of this posting will focus on events there and their effect in the region and beyond. The situation is so fluid that no one really knows for sure what the new Egyptian reality will be - so there are millions of opinions flying all over the place - so one has to exercise caution in trying to speak too authoritatively. In any event, here are some of the latest developments from various perspectives:

1. The Empire Strikes Back - This was bound to happen:

• In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak still has support, from rich and poor
• Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's supporters have taken to the streets. Why are they so gung-ho? - By Brian Palmer - Slate Magazine
• The World from Berlin: 'Mubarak's Henchmen Will Fiercely Defend the System' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
• The World from Berlin: 'The Pharaoh in the Führerbunker' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

2. The Impact On Israel - several interesting links:

• Why Israel hates the Egyptian uprising. - By Shmuel Rosner - Slate Magazine
• Peter Goodspeed: For Israel, Egypt protests an unfolding disaster | Full Comment | National Post
• Yossi Alpher: Israel's Stakes in Egypt's Streets – Forward.com
• Short-Lived Unity in Israel | FrontPage Magazine

3. The Impact On Other Arab States - nervous times for all:

• BBC News - Yemen protests: 20,000 call for President Saleh to go
• AFP: Regional upheaval 'could spread to Syria'
• PostPartisan - Why Abbas and Abdullah are scrambling

4. The Impact On The United States - Reminiscent of the "Who Lost China?" question in political debate in the US in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the question of the second decade of the millennium may now become "Who Lost Egypt?":

• Obama’s 1979 - Victor Davis Hanson - National Review Online
• The Spirit of Cairo: Obama Has Failed to Fulfill His Mideast Promise - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
• Commentary » Blog Archive » Judgment Calls and the Muslim Brotherhood

5. This Seemed Odd - Hamas worried upheaval in Arab world will spill into Gaza - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News - but doesn't Hamas (or their supporters) claim to be a democracy? See item 13 below.

6. Looking Back - what does history tell us about what to expect to take hold in Egypt?

• Michael Totten » The Iranian Revolution Echoes in Egypt
• Lessons from a revolution (Iran’s, that is) - The Globe and Mail

7. Looking Ahead: what do the experts think will take hold in Egypt?

• A Symposium: Where Should Egypt Go From Here? - WSJ.com
• The Egyptian protests are exhilarating, but it's important to think about what comes next. - By Shmuel Rosner - Slate Magazine
• RubinReports: Egypt: The Turning Point, The Regime's Plan on What to Do Next
• Coptic Christians Worry About Future Without Mubarak - WSJ.com
• VDH's Private Papers:: Egypt: Thoughts on Chaos and Revolution
• George Jonas: Egypt will have a hard time building democracy without democrats | Full Comment | National Post
• After the Revolution - Mona Charen - National Review Online
• Richard Cohen - A democratic Egypt or a state of hate?

8. Interesting Question - Commentary » Blog Archive » Is This the End of Land-for-Peace?

9. "I Told You So" - Commentary » Blog Archive » Go Read Kirkpatrick. Again. and the piece by the Jeane Kirkpatrick, late US Ambassador to the United Nations referred to in the link - Dictatorships & Double Standards

10. A Curious Question - Egyptian uprising FAQ. - By Jeremy Singer-Vine - Slate Magazine. Also see - Egypt Protest Internet Shut Off: How did the Egyptian government turn off the Internet? - By Christopher Beam - Slate Magazine.

11. The Impact Of Social Networking - I posted about this recently (item 3 from last Thursday's edition) - here is an update on the role of social media in all of this - Egyptian protests, Twitter, and Facebook: How do social media tools enable revolutions? - By Jesse Lichtenstein - Slate Magazine.

12. The Muslim Brotherhood - maybe I am an alarmist, but the possibility of the Muslim Brotherhood having any influence on the reins of power in Egypt scares the daylights out of me. Apparently, others agree (the ones who don't are referred to in the following links):

• Fear the Muslim Brotherhood - Andrew C. McCarthy - National Review Online
• Egyptian protests: Should we fear the Muslim Brotherhood? - By Shadi Hamid - Slate Magazine
• Islamists at the Gates - Yossi Klein Halevi - NYTimes.com
• Naïveté on Egypt Is Dangerous. - By Kathryn Jean Lopez - The Corner - National Review Online
• Egypt's Future and the Chameleon Muslim Brotherhood
• Jerusalem Issue Briefs-The Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian Crisis

13. Liberalism In Egypt - I have been saying this in my own way for a long time, but I do not think that one can say it better and more succinctly than this - Commentary » Blog Archive » Egypt Needs Liberalism - and it should be required reading for all the apologists for Hamas who jump up and down and say that Hamas was elected in a free and fair election:

"If Egyptians elect the Muslim Brotherhood in a free and fair election, and the Muslim Brotherhood then rigs or even cancels every election that follows, Egypt will not be in any way shape or form a democracy. It will be a dictatorship that happened to have an election."

14. Advice From An Unlikely Source - A word of advice from Northern Ireland

15. Seymour Hersh - I have never been a fan of this prominent American journalist and author - Seymour Hersh’s Twisted World of Paranoia

16. I Hope He Has To Spend Millions On Lawyers - Jimmy Carter being sued for alleged falsehoods

17. (Ir)responsible Journalism - The Real 'Palestine Papers' Scandal - WSJ.com

18. One Of My Favorite Israeli Songs - performed by Arlo Guthrie, son of the famous Woody Guthrie, in a rather tongue in cheek manner like his "Alice's Restaurant" song.