Sunday, February 13, 2011

Catch-22 in Egypt

Unless you've been under a rock for the past two a half weeks, President Honsi Mubarak who after thirty years of rule, has been ousted from power in Egypt.  After a failed attempt to boot Ahmedinejad in Iran and a successful outing of Zine el-Albidine Ben Ali in Tunisia, the most populous country in the Middle East has prevailed in outing their dictator.  To the poeple of Egypt, Mubarak was a cruel dictator who ruled with an iron fist and needed to go since his election after the assassination of Anwar Sadat.  However to western style countries, most notably the United States and Israel, he was if not a staunch ally, at least some what of a friend in an otherwise hostile region.  Mubarak appeared to be one of the few Middle Eastern politicaian in favor of supporting Israel and now that he is gone it leaves big questions on Egypts stance toward Israel and America.  During the recent protests signs in Arabic could be seen that when translated, had statements such as "Death to America" and "Death to Israel".  Also, talks of perhaps the Islamic Brotherhood who even though claim to be toned down, have historically been against the state of Israel.  So even though the people of Egypt are happy to be free from the regin of Hosni Mubarak, what does that mean for Egypts relationship with America and Israel?      

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