Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Two Sides to Every Coin

There are two sides to every coin. In the case of Egypt, the other side are the millions of Egyptians that have a vested interest in the regime's survival and who more often than not owe their livelihood to Mubarak and adore him.

Beyond Mubarak and the NDP, there is an entire apparatus of state that employs about 7 million men, making them and their families directly dependent on it. Major organizations often operate out a drive of mutual survival instinct rather than on some high minded principles. This is now manifested in the form of massive street fighting between the anti-regime and pro-regime forces. It seems that the pro-Mubarak crowd has much anger to vent at the anti-regime crowd, whom they see responsible for the chaos that their country is undergoing. There is also a lot of frustration with the US and and the international media. Al Jazeera is particularly hated right now, considering the flavour of their coverage and their ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

It has been reported that machine gun fire was opened at the chaotic crowds, with some reporting over 600 injured and 30 dead. The details flowing out of a Tahrir square are quite murky for the time being. But it seems to me, the new power broker Suleiman and the Egyptian army want to create the appearance that something 'bad' might happen in order to calm the situation down a bit.

-QP

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