MaxedOutMama
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
After Syria, Egypt?
Speculation has been rife that Mubarak's party in Egypt is planning to put in his son as his successor. Instapundit has an interesting post up about the growing opposition in Egypt and other trends in the region. Lots of good links, including this one at Captain's Quarters regarding Javier Solana's reaction to the Iraq venture, the elections there, and the worried reactions from governments in the region. Mr. Solana does not think history is being set on a more hopeful course, but perhaps the demonstrators in Lebanon might.
Comments:
<< Home
I hate to take the part of an authoritarian dynasty, but Jamal has promise his father never did. To make things worse, Mubarak is *far* more friendly with Israel and the US than the populace is - partially because, like most regimes over there, they distract their people with domestic vilification of the west to draw attention from state failures and corruption. Currently, my best case scenario is that Jamal turns out to be a relatively good guy who relies on corruption-fighting for popularity rather than plutocratic connections to prop up autocratic domination.
Nato,
I hope you're right about him. One of the questions I would have is whether you can fight corruption effectively in Egypt. It is difficult to run a populist government as a dictator.
I agree about the population's attitude to Israel, but don't you also think that it would be more likely to change if they were functioning within a representative system? The extreme nature of the rhetoric is quite hysterical and hard to justify.
I hope you're right about him. One of the questions I would have is whether you can fight corruption effectively in Egypt. It is difficult to run a populist government as a dictator.
I agree about the population's attitude to Israel, but don't you also think that it would be more likely to change if they were functioning within a representative system? The extreme nature of the rhetoric is quite hysterical and hard to justify.
Their attitude towards Israel might be more likely to change, too, if the govt would stop preaching hatred towards Israel. I should know better than to suggest such folly; my bad.
esther, I'm just worried about a Shah vs Ayatollahs situation occurring. In the beginning the Ayatollahs had massive popular support but that quickly solidified into an even worse regime. Meanwhile, when Franco's regime gave way to open democracy in Spain, things improved rapidly. Ultimately, freedom and democracy are the only answers, but I'm searching for a sustainable path.
Uh, I see what you're saying, Nato. Maybe Mubarak will make some sort of gradual redemocratization deal for his son.
Esther - no, it's not your bad. Memri has a clip on its front page in which a reformist Egyptian points out the path they have been walking and where he thinks it has led.
Nothing good can come for a society from devoting itself to a cult of unrealistic hate.
Post a Comment
Esther - no, it's not your bad. Memri has a clip on its front page in which a reformist Egyptian points out the path they have been walking and where he thinks it has led.
Nothing good can come for a society from devoting itself to a cult of unrealistic hate.
<< Home
