Catching Up With History

The reports from Egypt yesterday showed the usual masses in the streets confronting riot squads, dodging tear gas canisters and hurling rocks. A column of APCs rolled through a congested business district slowly. Reports of deaths and confusing statements didn't help me understand what was going on.

What was this about?

Was it the students in London griping about their college tuition reflecting the actual cost of an education? Hardly. Was it the students in France complaining about adjustment of the work week to 35 hours and moving their retirement to older than 50? Nope. Maybe it was the crowd in Athens demanding more subsidies and redistributive taxes. Not at all.

Apparently it is a much more supportable and inherently fundamental backlash against thirty years of eroded democracy that has gradually abandoned the dreams of post-Nasser Egyptian democracy. It is a demand by the people to have a responsive and representative government.

Anarchy a Prelude to Resignation and Regime Change

Egypt became an ally after Sadat/Begin negotiations at Camp David. The two old terrorist revolutionaries embraced and in very short order the Soviet support of Egypt's vanquished military ended to be replaced by US advisors, equipment and training assistance. In return the US would get a secular democracy as a counter-balance to Islamist extremism in the Middle East.

Would it propel the masses of Egypt into the late Twentieth Century? Of course not. But it would spark investment, modernization, trade and balance in the region.

But the truism about power corrupting seems to have run its course. Mubarak's time has run out.

Last night I watched the Messiah's short comments on the crisis. I heard him waffle and side-step. He didn't support Mubarak and he didn't support the demonstrators. He apparently hasn't read the after-action reports from that type of weak response when it was applied to Teheran three years ago.

Leadership involves action. It requires a position to be clearly stated. It requires courage. It requires awareness of options and history. When the President of the US takes a firm position the results are nearly pre-determined.

Think back to 1987-89 and consider the collapse of the Soviet Union and then the remainder of Eastern European client states. Did Reagan leave any doubt about where we stood?

Frankly, Mr. O, you're no Ronald Reagan.