Day after day, thousands of Egyptian protesters gather in Tahrir Square to call for the resignation of President Mubarak and an end to his reign of corruption..
Two days ago, government forces charged into the square on horses and camels. Perhaps over a hundred died, and many more were injured. Only a call for restraint from the top prevented Tahrir Square from becoming a second Tiananmen Square. While there is no question that the Mubarak regime's days are numbered, no one knows what lies in the future for a nation split between a large population desirous of democracy and a significant minority with designs on creating an Islamic state.
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What should the United States do? Reports in the New York Times have suggested that the Obama administration is trying to negotiate Mubarak's departure and a transition to a coalition government. If true, this is a fatally flawed approach. Any attempt by America to effect the outcome of one of the largest popular uprisings in recent history can only result in antagonizing the very people Washington wishes to court - the people.
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Although the US and Israel are anxious over the possibility of the emergence of a radical Islamist state aligned with Iran, they ought not be overly concerned. Egypt has a sizable secular sphere, and it is composed not only of secular Muslims but Christians and Jews as well. In a word, the West needs to step back and allow Egypt to find its path to freedom.
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Unsurprisingly, the Mubarak government shut down the Internet. Sound familiar? When the Green Movement broke out in a mass rebellion against the illegitimate government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, they were able to schedule strategic anti-government rallies by passing word through the internet - especially Twitter. Egypt may indeed be the second 'Twitter Rebellion' in the Middle East in the last two years.
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The peaceful rebellion the Mubarak government will continue, and Iran ought to take note. No one is forgetting the brutal crackdown conducted by the Ahmadinejad government after the rigged elections of June 2009. Hundreds and perhaps thousands of men were either killed (Neda), injured, tortured or imprisoned.
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Tyranny will eventually be consigned to a place in history museums. Time is running out on dictatorships worldwide. The march to democracy and human rights for all people cannot - and will not - be stopped.
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(Picture: Egyptian's protesting in their streets).
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J Roquen