Desperation setting in?
I wasn't very happy to wake up early this morning to NPR reporting that gangs of pro-government thugs (probably rent-a_goons) were attacking Egyptian protesters. To think yesterday seemed so hopeful. But maybe this is simply Mubarak's last gasp, either that or he thinks he can simply wait out the protests. As one NPR guest pointed out, a lot can happen in nine months and Mubarak never promised that his son or some other relative wouldn't run. Of course, we had to expect such dirty tricks; if the current Egyptian government had any regard for the welfare of its people, protests wouldn't be necessary--as is the case in all authoritarian regimes.
I wish I could get Al Jazeera English on TV here. It gets old listening to the Western press repeating the same old tired cliches about the Muslim Brotherhood over and over. Even though I'm hardly a fan of religious fundamentalists of any stripe, I seem to remember that it wasn't the end of the world when a pro-Islamist party took power in Turkey. I think it's more likely that the Mubarak regime uses the Muslim Brotherhood as an excuse to maintain its grip on power and Western governments are happy to go along with it.
I wish I could get Al Jazeera English on TV here. It gets old listening to the Western press repeating the same old tired cliches about the Muslim Brotherhood over and over. Even though I'm hardly a fan of religious fundamentalists of any stripe, I seem to remember that it wasn't the end of the world when a pro-Islamist party took power in Turkey. I think it's more likely that the Mubarak regime uses the Muslim Brotherhood as an excuse to maintain its grip on power and Western governments are happy to go along with it.