Thousands of Egyptians clash with their government

[Guest Jesse]

Tens of thousands of Egyptian anti-government protesters stoned and confronted police, who fired back with rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons. It was a major escalation in what was already the biggest challenge to authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak's 30 year-rule. They are demanding Mubarak's ouster and venting their rage at years of government neglect of rampant poverty, unemployment and rising food prices.

[Guest Desert Rat]

Rueters has reported Oil company Royal Dutch Shell plans to evacuate its international staff and their families from Egypt.

[Guest Adnan Darwash]

And like in Tunisia, the Israelis have evacuated their MOSSAD agents from Egypt. The new regimes in Tunisia and in Egypt will expose Bin Ali and Mubarak's cooperation with MOSSAD in liquidating Arabs opposing their illegal occupation of Palestinian lands. Many expect the Israelis to be chased out of other Arab countries including the Kurdish areas of US-occupied North Iraq.It is highly recommended for the pro-Israeli Americans to keep a very low profile during this critical time.

Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times

[Guest Derek]

President Obama is changing the world for everyone. Respect.

[Guest HUMAN]

I see this as a Great Business Opprotunity for Eygpt, and America.

Once the Eygptian people get a new government, and reforms. WoW!!

 

Not to Partner up with the Eygptian People Would be complete Insanity.

[Guest Nathanel]

I think you are very right. For too long business has been restricted to a certain few in Egypt. With the state of the economy in that region I see people that want to create their own version of the Tea Party and properly share the wealth. Jobs equates to peace. Unemployment equates to revolt.

[Guest wiki]

A plane travelling from Heathrow to Cairo was diverted to Athens last night after a note containing the word 'bomb' was found mid-flight. The EgyptAir flight landed at 8:39pm local time at Athens International Airport, with 251 passengers aboard.

 

Flight MS778 was checked for bombs by police last night, as passengers stayed in hotels in Athens. After it was found to be a false alarm, the jet took off again at around 1:30pm local time today, bound for Cairo.

 

The scare happens as Egyptians protesting the thirty-year rule of the their President, Hosni Mubarak, clash with police for a fifth day. Last night, a curfew was put in place by Egypt's military, a move that was ignored by thousands.

 

The Foreign Office of the United Kingdom is advising against "all but essential" travel to Egyptian locations, including Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez.

[Guest HUMAN]

This would give china one hell of an economic heart attack too. It's not just Egyptians and Americans selling to each other, But to the Rest of the World.

 

Both sides win "got to get back to basics".

 

I really do hope that the Egyptian People get the corruption out of there governmental system so we can all come out winners.

 

 

 

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I think you are very right. For too long business has been restricted to a certain few in Egypt. With the state of the economy in that region I see people that want to create their own version of the Tea Party and properly share the wealth. Jobs equates to peace. Unemployment equates to revolt.

[Guest HUMAN]

By the way; It's not sharing the wealth, IT'S MAKING THE WEALTH. BIG DIFFERENCE!

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This would give china one hell of an economic heart attack too. It's not just Egyptians and Americans selling to each other, But to the Rest of the World.

 

Both sides win "got to get back to basics".

 

I really do hope that the Egyptian People get the corruption out of there governmental system so we can all come out winners.

 

 

 

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Nathanel, on 31 January 2011 - 07:17 AM, said:

 

I think you are very right. For too long business has been restricted to a certain few in Egypt. With the state of the economy in that region I see people that want to create their own version of the Tea Party and properly share the wealth. Jobs equates to peace. Unemployment equates to revolt.

 

[Guest FREEMAN]

The real truth about what is happening.

 

Egypt's Current Security Concerns and National Defense Policy

 

--------------------------------------------- ----------------------

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¶ During the 31 January 2010 meeting, al-Assar

constantly referred to the numerous unstable security situations in

the Middle East that influenced Egyptian military doctrine to

include: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon/Hezbollah,

Palestine/HAMAS, Yemen, Sudan/Darfur, Somalia, Eritrea, Piracy

issues, Algeria, and al-Qaida. Al-Assar emphasized that ethnic

conflict throughout the region and border issues could have a

negative impact on Egyptian sovereignty at any time. al-Assar

commented that he did not expect any of these security situations

to resolve in the near future; instead, he believed the list would

grow even larger.

 

¶ Al-Assar outlined Egypt's National Defense Policy

which he stated was based on a defensive, capabilities-based

strategy instead of threat-based. The number one priority is the

defense of Egyptian land and the Suez Canal. Other goals include:

preparedness for unexpected threats such as terrorism; the

achievement of regional stability; interoperability with Egypt's

military partners; and a leading role for Egypt in the region.

Al-Assar provided the Egyptian military's list of regional

threats/concerns such as Nile Basin water rights and the conflicts

in Darfur and southern Sudan. He commented that one never knows

what Libya might do and that it was essential that Egypt maintain

the balance of power on its eastern border. He reiterated the fact

that Israel possesses unconventional weapons and sophisticated

conventional weapons, which creates a regional imbalance and

contributes to instability. He noted that stability in the region

cannot be attained without balance of power. He stated that the

Egyptian military doctrine did not intend to gain an edge on any

other country in the region or cause offense to anyone.

 

¶4. Al-Assar complained that the Egyptian military

sometimes felt pressured by the United States to reform its

doctrine and capabilities to counter asymmetric threats. He

emphasized that the threats faced by the United States were

different from Egypt's. He commented that tanks and aircraft were

necessary to fight asymmetrical threats as well. He referred to

General Patreaus' Sadr City battle plan against extremists and

noted that this plan depended on the use of tanks and aircraft in

Iraq. He called on Dr. Kahl to educate Congress about Egypt's

military needs and not put limits on the numbers of aircraft and

tanks. He noted that the Egyptian military preferred to purchase

 

its weapons and armaments from the United States, but that Egypt's

national security was a red line and they could go elsewhere if

they had to.

[Guest Yusuf]

That is an outdated regime assessment of the situation. Many things happen in one year. People want change and are tired of being bullied by the President and his oil ministry.

[Guest Human]

The American people are with the Eygptian people on this.

 

It's just that You got Barack Obama who has no experience in this field at all.

[Guest 3rdEye]

It's been billed as 'Final Friday'. Hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters in Egypt are gathering in Cairo's central square in the latest attempt to force President Hosni Mubarak out of office. It's the eleventh day of the unrest and protesters say they're hoping for a turnout of about a million people.

All regimes and dictatorships must be replaced with Democracy. My hope is that Mubarak will step down today, and allow the people to move towards a democracy. I deplore violence on principal, and watching the unfolding events has been sickening.

[Guest 3rdEye]

I find that ironic that the Palestinian Authority violently shut down a demonstration Wednesday by activists showing solidarity for the Egyptian protesters.

[Guest HUMAN]

Like I typed in here before; We will be giving china one heck of an economic heart attack.

 

Is it just my word alone? NO

 

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/02/02/whats-next-for-egyptian-entrepreneurs/

[Guest Nate]

I found it interesting that former Bush White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, told Frank Sesno that President Obama was doing a good job handling the delicate affairs in Egypt. It seems that both Democrats and Republicans are with Obama with this issue. Who would have thought???

 

 

Excerpts from the GW's Lisner Auditorium event can be seen here.

 

http://blogs.columbian.gwu.edu/smpa/2011/02/08/video-live-from-the-white-house-event/

[Guest Ron Paul 2012]

Ron Paul tells like it is. The United States needs to stop bank rolling or bombing corrupt regimes.

 

[Guest LAW]

President Obama was right to back protesters over a dictator.

 

Remarks by the President on Egypt

Grand Foyer

 

3:06 P.M. EST

 

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history taking place. This is one of those moments. This is one of those times. The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same.

 

By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian people’s hunger for change. But this is not the end of Egypt’s transition. It’s a beginning. I’m sure there will be difficult days ahead, and many questions remain unanswered. But I am confident that the people of Egypt can find the answers, and do so peacefully, constructively, and in the spirit of unity that has defined these last few weeks. For Egyptians have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day.

 

The military has served patriotically and responsibly as a caretaker to the state, and will now have to ensure a transition that is credible in the eyes of the Egyptian people. That means protecting the rights of Egypt’s citizens, lifting the emergency law, revising the constitution and other laws to make this change irreversible, and laying out a clear path to elections that are fair and free. Above all, this transition must bring all of Egypt’s voices to the table. For the spirit of peaceful protest and perseverance that the Egyptian people have shown can serve as a powerful wind at the back of this change.

 

The United States will continue to be a friend and partner to Egypt. We stand ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary -- and asked for -- to pursue a credible transition to a democracy. I’m also confident that the same ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that the young people of Egypt have shown in recent days can be harnessed to create new opportunity -- jobs and businesses that allow the extraordinary potential of this generation to take flight. And I know that a democratic Egypt can advance its role of responsible leadership not only in the region but around the world.

 

Egypt has played a pivotal role in human history for over 6,000 years. But over the last few weeks, the wheel of history turned at a blinding pace as the Egyptian people demanded their universal rights.

We saw mothers and fathers carrying their children on their shoulders to show them what true freedom might look like.

 

We saw a young Egyptian say, “For the first time in my life, I really count. My voice is heard. Even though I’m only one person, this is the way real democracy works.”

 

We saw protesters chant “Selmiyya, selmiyya” -- “We are peaceful” -- again and again.

 

We saw a military that would not fire bullets at the people they were sworn to protect.

 

And we saw doctors and nurses rushing into the streets to care for those who were wounded, volunteers checking protesters to ensure that they were unarmed.

 

We saw people of faith praying together and chanting – “Muslims, Christians, We are one.” And though we know that the strains between faiths still divide too many in this world and no single event will close that chasm immediately, these scenes remind us that we need not be defined by our differences. We can be defined by the common humanity that we share.

 

And above all, we saw a new generation emerge -- a generation that uses their own creativity and talent and technology to call for a government that represented their hopes and not their fears; a government that is responsive to their boundless aspirations. One Egyptian put it simply: Most people have discovered in the last few days…that they are worth something, and this cannot be taken away from them anymore, ever.

 

This is the power of human dignity, and it can never be denied. Egyptians have inspired us, and they’ve done so by putting the lie to the idea that justice is best gained through violence. For in Egypt, it was the moral force of nonviolence -- not terrorism, not mindless killing -- but nonviolence, moral force that bent the arc of history toward justice once more.

 

And while the sights and sounds that we heard were entirely Egyptian, we can’t help but hear the echoes of history -- echoes from Germans tearing down a wall, Indonesian students taking to the streets, Gandhi leading his people down the path of justice.

 

As Martin Luther King said in celebrating the birth of a new nation in Ghana while trying to perfect his own, “There is something in the soul that cries out for freedom.” Those were the cries that came from Tahrir Square, and the entire world has taken note.

 

Today belongs to the people of Egypt, and the American people are moved by these scenes in Cairo and across Egypt because of who we are as a people and the kind of world that we want our children to grow up in.

 

The word Tahrir means liberation. It is a word that speaks to that something in our souls that cries out for freedom. And forevermore it will remind us of the Egyptian people -- of what they did, of the things that they stood for, and how they changed their country, and in doing so changed the world.

 

Thank you.

[Guest wiki]

Al Arabiya is reporting that former president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak, 82, has fallen into a coma. According to the network, Mubarak went into a coma on Saturday night after falling ill. Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian ambassador to the United States said on the Today Show on NBC, that Mubarak is "possibly in bad health." He is currently being treated at his home in Sharm el-Sheikh on the coast of the Red Sea.

 

"I am following the rumors and the press reports related to his health, and might have received some communication at a personal level indicating that he is possibly in somewhat of bad health," added Shoukry. "I really don't have sufficient information so I wouldn't like to speculate [on his condition]."

 

Al Arabiya was quoting an article published in an Egyptian newspaper called al-Masry al-Youm, which states that Mubarak fainted at least two times while recording his last speech as president on Thursday night. Other newspapers reported that he stopped taking medications and was depressed. Shortly after leaving Cairo and arriving at his seaside home, Mubarak became ill and reportedly went into a coma. Egyptian State Television denies that Mubarak is in a coma, but does say that he is severely ill.

 

"[Mubarak is suffering from a] severe psychological condition and is declining treatment, despite his illness," Al-Gomhuria daily, a pro government news agency in Egypt.

 

Mubarak was ousted as president of Egypt on Friday after 18 days of mass, pro-democracy protests which mainly called for his resignation. He had been president for nearly 30 years.