Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down, placing control of the country in the hands of the military. Their trip down the road to Democracy has begun.
But while Mubarak's ouster took a little over two weeks, achieving a viable Democracy will take much longer. The military must listen to the people and give up control willingly when the time comes. Legitimate political parties must be formed. A new constitution must be created. In no uncertain terms, Egypt must carefully craft this democracy amidst a turbulent climate in the Middle East.
We wish Egypt luck and watch with hopeful eyes.
2 comments:
Two things really worry me in Egypt:
1. Will the military follow through on its promise to hold free elections and then honor the results of those elections? World history has shown this to often not be the case. The smooth, peaceful transfers of power that we almost take for granted in this country are actually an uncommon sight elsewhere in the world.
2. Will the winner of the promised elections be as strong an ally to the U.S. as Mubarak was for so many years? Yes, Mubarak needed to go and it was great to see the Egyptian people accomplish this. But as we learned with Iran 30+ years ago, you sometimes need to be careful what you wish for.
Well said Josh!
I'm worried too, but I'm hoping that this mostly-peaceful demonstration is the new model of change for the Middle East. If the people continue to persist and demand change, the government will have to concede to their wishes. The whole world is watching Egypt and I think they know it!
Another thing to think about: the Egyptian people are decidedly pro-Palestinian, but the previous regime had a decent relationship with Isreal. Whether or not relations between these two countries will make further positive progress remains to be seen.
Post a Comment