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[NightmarePatrol]

So Egypt is now without Hosni Mubarak running the sandbox for its second day (at the time of this post)  At the moment the military is in control with the promise of democratic reform. The Swiss have frozen 70 Billion of Mubarak's assets. (evidently the job pays very well)  Yes, Mubarak is gone and nobody has emerged a leader to take over the wheel. Egypt has long been a stable spot in that regions for three decades. I would attribute a great deal of that stability to US foreign aid to Egypt.  I don't know what's going to happen next over there I'm just hoping it can happen without the US government (God forbid the military) getting involved.

Any thoughts?

[E-L Man]

I agree NP. The USA doesn't need another "sandbox" to play in. I keep hearing that this unrest over there is why our gas prices a going up again. There always seems to be a reason for good old greed. 

[NightmarePatrol]

That's part of. The US has paid Egypt handsomely for thirty plus years to play nice with Israel, keep the Suez canal open and in general not stir things up. That, however... may be coming to an end depending on who gets to drive next. The other Arab states don't want Mubarak gone and they are flat out pissed off (and I agree with them)  that Obama told Mubarak it was time to step down the way he did.  It's going to be very interesting over there until things settle in to place.

[lifefeedsonlife]

I'm curious to see what happens in Jordan.

[Jayhawk]

Ironic how the US joined the chorus that this govt. was so evil and deserved to step down immediately, yet this didn't seem to cross our minds for the past three decades.

So if the successor govt. blows us off (as it happened under the same circumstances in Iran), we have no right to act surprised.

[Amidala]

The young people of Egypt are the ones who spoke up and started the peaceful revolution.  While Mubarak DID keep the peace and the oil flowing and the Islamists under control, he was a ruthless dictator with a horrible human rights record. The economy of Egypt is in bad condition and most of the educated young people are under employed or unemployed. Also remember the women of Egypt have had better civil rights than any other Arab country.  So the educated class ( a majority at this point) will want freedom and economic growth as will the women of Egypt. I don't think anything "bad" or "dangerous" will happen at least in the short term. The military is very pro-Egyptian and well-respected by the general populace. I have a lot of hope, really, for Egypt, and many, many Christian groups are praying for the country and the future elections. Read the nytimes.com coverage if you are interested and in particular, Tom Friedman's column, Postcard from a Free Egypt.

[Amidala]

I'm curious about Jordan, too. I think King Abdullah is a pretty good king, but the freedom ball has started rolling in the Arab world.  Gaddafi, I bet, is the next target!

[Lifetime]

Those young people are the ones with NO jobs or are part of the population who lives on $2 per day. If there are NO JOBS or the PAY doesn't increase, does that make them better off? In Vietnam, most of the population could have given a crap who was in charge...they didn't know them for crap and all they wanted to do was to be left alone to care for their family. We saw a lot of people in Cairo for 2 weeks but I think the majority of the population wasn't there or even cared. Political power and knowledge of it, has always been with the city dwellers.
 
Time will tell because it is the PEASANTS who generally end up fighting a civil war... I hope they have peace but ....Who knows.

[Amidala]

Cairo is a city of 18+ M people and most of the population of Egypt lives there. They are all poor. Mubarak and his ilk have had a stranglehold on the economy, etc, amassing their own wealth. Mubarak is estimated to have been 1 & 6 BILLION dollars. Imagine if that money was paid to the populace as fair wages?!?!!?!?

[Jayhawk]

While Mubarak DID keep the peace and the oil flowing and the Islamists under control, he was a ruthless dictator with a horrible human rights record.

Still, ya gotta admit, the trains ran on time...

Insert the name of your favorite country:
The economy of ______ is in bad condition and most of the educated young people are under employed or unemployed. Also remember the women of ______ have had better civil rights than any Arab country.

[Lifetime]

Ya know what I noticed.... a hell of a lot of cars and..... a TON of cell phones... Hmmmm I wonder what the peasant's cell plan is. Look, I am not sticking up for the dictator... I am just stating a fact I know as I have seen it..... the POOR will remain poor.... no matter what. Most of the population of Egypt can't remember wat it was like BEFORE Mubarak because they are too young. We see China as an up and coming nation??? Most of their people are still dirt poor. The power is and always will be in the hands of those in the cities. Oh... and
 
Population of Cairo as of January 1st 2010 is approximately 7,749,561 ( round up to 8 Million if you want)
 
Egypt's population is approx 82,999,393 (round up to 83 million if you want)
 
Maybe your sources for the population of Cairo was totaled by the DNC???
 
How much do you think Putin is worth, Merkle, Hu, Sarcozy(sp) or Berluosconi (sp) not to mention that Obama is worth way more now than before he won. Not saying it is right.... just saying it all looks like creative accounting...at best and full blown robbery at worst. Money gravitates... legal or illegal to power.
 
 

Cairo is a city of 18+ M people and most of the population of Egypt lives there. They are all poor. Mubarak and his ilk have had a stranglehold on the economy, etc, amassing their own wealth. Mubarak is estimated to have been 1 & 6 BILLION dollars. Imagine if that money was paid to the populace as fair wages?!?!!?!?

[Amidala]

City proper vs. metro area. I was talking about metro area.

[lifefeedsonlife]

Still Ami - with 82M people in Egypt - "most" of the folks ain't in Cairo even with your 18M quote. Might be the most densely populated area, but that'd be like sayin' most folks in PA live in Philly (or Philly and the surrounding 3 counties.) Meh - not quite. 

[Amidala]

Ok, I'll grant that, but it IS the center of the action.

[NightmarePatrol]

Urban areas always are. More notice and bang for the buck. Just imagine if something like that happened here and protesters decided not to mass in New York or Los Angeles, but Titusville. Things would peter out really quick I suspect. Of course, the infrastructure could not support an influx of that many people.