Egyptian Army Showing Signs of Pro-Mubarak Regmine

It didn't take long for the Egyptian Army to show their Pro-Mubarak style of enforcement. Because thousands of Egyptians demand the resignation of the Defense Minister and claiming reform is too slow, the protesters are at Tahrir Square turning their frustrations on the army. Unlike the passiveness of the Egyptian army during the revolution, the army is very aggressive to show who is really in control. Like I said earlier, I think the army like the new found power they inherited. The Egyptian people might as well get use to it. It is their own unraveling.

(Newser)(AP) – Once the defenders of Egypt's revolution, the army is now squarely in the crosshairs of tens of thousands of protesters who again crowded Cairo's Tahrir Square yesterday. Bloggers have been jailed for "insulting the military," thousands have been arrested, and women in military custody have been subjected to bogus virginity exams, reports the New York Times, and the backlash was evident yesterday. “We don’t want a confrontation with the army, but they have to understand that the people will not go quiet,” says a protester. “This is a revolution.”

Protesters had vowed not to leave without the resignation of the defense minister. But even the military crackdown in Tahrir smacked more of Hosni Mubarak's era than that of a burgeoning democracy, notes the AP: Hundreds of soldiers beat protesters in a 3am raid in which two people were reported killed—including one soldier who joined protesters. The military denied there were fatalities. "I saw women being slapped in the face, women being kicked," says another protester.

Freedom Is Not Having a Modesty Police In Egypt

I thought Egypt wanted Democracy after they force Mubarak out of office. The Egyptian people are moving from a dictatorship to a radical Islamic state. I have talked from this from time to time. Regime change doesn't work. The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. Now, the only organization strong enough to impose Sharia Law and radical Islam is the Muslim Brotherhood. They are working with the Egyptian military to impose their Islamic views to the Egyptian people. The virtue or modesty police is one example of forcing Sharia Law to the people of Egypt. This is not freedom. Next, it will be discriminating Christians that live in Egypt because Islam and Christianity doesn't mix. If the Muslim Brotherhood wins the fall elections, I would expect Egypt provoking Israel into an ugly war.

(FavStocks) Muslim Brotherhood officials must be confident in their chances in this fall’s Egyptian parliamentary elections. David Miller of Media Line picked up an Egyptian newspaper report citing a member of the Brotherhood’s governing board calling for a squad of virtue police created to act against “those who commit immoral acts.”

Issam Durbala’s vision aims to protect public virtue and modesty with “limited authorities,” Miller reports, which means something short of Saudi Arabia’s vice police. [Note: Miller identifies Durbala as a Brotherhood official, other sourcesplace him in the Gama'a Al-Islamiya, or Islamic Group].

Moderates and secularists in Egypt are alarmed by the growing influence of religious conservatives in Egypt. They’ll have to scramble to compete in the fall elections against the larger, better organized Brotherhood.

As Dictator Stands Firm, Britain Lowers its Expectations of Victory

The best possible scenario is a stalemate between Gaddafi and the coalition forces. This is a stupid war. It would been easier to freeze assets and impose severe sanctions. Now, we have pissed Gaddafi and it is very likely he will call on his cells to inflict terrorism around the world. Let Gaddafi destroy his anti-supporters. Hillary Clinton and the State Department has informed that the rebels are linked to al-Qaeda. In fact, there are several al-Qaeda factions trying to oust Gaddafi for many years. At this point, it is the lesser of two evils. I would pick Gaddafi, who is controllable, than al-Qaeda any day of the week.

(The Independent) The Western allies yesterday struggled to find a coherent strategy in Libya as Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces renewed attacks on rebel strongholds despite a no-fly zone and a fourth day of allied strikes against government military targets. In Washington, top officials insisted the US intended to hand over command of the operation to its allies within days, but wrangling within Nato continued yesterday along with confusion over what the mission was increasingly clear that despite the scale of the damage inflicted on Colonel Gaddafi's forces, the rebels were highly unlikely to achieve a military victory.

We are Losing the War in Libya, Coalition Forces Confused

This is the most convoluted war ever designed. Obama tells Congress we went to war against Libya 2 days ago. The Arab League broke away from the coalition. Russia and China are against the war. Fractions in the coalition is becoming evident. The mission of the war is unclear. The rebels that the coalition is supporting are al-Qaeda affiliates. There is no game plan except to bomb the crap of the country. Also, no one is willing to lead this fight.

(Mail Online) Deep divisions between allied forces currently bombing Libya worsened today as the German military announced it was pulling forces out of NATO over continued disagreement on who will lead the campaign.

A German military spokesman said it was recalling two frigates and AWACS surveillance plane crews from the Mediterranean, after fears they would be drawn into the conflict if NATO takes over control from the U.S.

The infighting comes as a heated meeting of NATO ambassadors yesterday failed to resolve whether the 28-nation alliance should run the operation to enforce a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone, diplomats said.

Yesterday a war of words erupted between the U.S. and Britain after the U.K. government claimed Muammar Gaddafi is a legitimate target for assassination.
U.K. government officials said killing the Libyan leader would be legal if it prevented civilian deaths as laid out in a U.N. resolution.

But U.S. defence secretary Robert Gates hit back at the suggestion, saying it would be 'unwise' to target the Libyan leader adding cryptically that the bombing campaign should stick to the 'U.N. mandate'.

President Barack Obama, seeking to avoid getting bogged down in a war in another Muslim country, said on Monday Washington would cede control of operations against Muammar Gaddafi's forces within days, handing the reins over to NATO.

But Germany and European allies remain unwilling to have NATO take on a military operation that theoretically has nothing to do with the defence of Europe.
Today the German defence ministry announced Berlin had pulled out of any military operations in the Mediterranean.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu suggested that air strikes launched after a meeting in Paris hosted by France on Saturday had gone beyond what had been sanctioned by a U.N. Security Council resolution.

With Turkey digging its heels in and the Arab League suspicious, it has been pointed out that Mr Obama has fewer coalition partners in Libya than George Bush did at the start of the Iraq war.

President Mubarak and Family Leave Cairo but Unknown if He Relinquish Power

Mubarak give powers to his 2nd in command and the military has taken over to quell the violence, riots, and protest. This scenario sound so familiar to many coup d'etat takeover. If the Egyptian people think they won, wait till they see what is in store for them.

(YAHOO) (Reuters) – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his family have left Cairo for the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, proving he is giving up his presidential powers, a ruling party official said on Friday.

Protesters seeking Mubarak's overthrow moved overnight to the Ittihadiya presidential palace in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis for the first time since demonstrations began on January 25.

"President Mubarak has begun carrying out the transfer of his authorities to his deputy Omar Suleiman by heading to Sharm el-Sheikh," Mohammed Abdillah, head of media with the National Democratic Party, told Reuters. "President Mubarak is intent on carrying out his vows to himself."

Sharm el-Sheikh is a popular tourist destination in the Sinai peninsula which Egypt got back from Israel after a peace treaty in 1979. Sharm el-Sheikh is a world away from the pollution, congestion and poverty of Cairo.

Al Arabiya television station reported that it had confirmed the arrival of the president, who said on Thursday he was handing powers to Vice President Suleiman, and his family in the tourist town.

Egypt army takes control, sign Mubarak on way out

We have seen this many times before. From the Philippines to Cuba, a military takeover is nothing new. It is called a "coup d'etat." As defined, coup d'etat is also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government,usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either civil or military. The civil unrest that leads to a coup d'etat are seen with "banana republic" countries. From within, the military will produce a leader to lead the country.

It is noted that the Egyptian people are chanting "civilian not military," but don't fully understand what is meant when the military take matters under its own hands. If the Egyptian people think Mubarak is bad, wait till they experience a real dictator from within the military. The Egyptian people needs to review the history military leaders in history who took over a country like Fidel Castro, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Saddam Hussien, and Kim Il-Sung, just to name a few. Like the old adage, the grass is not always greener on the other side.

(Yahoo) CAIRO – Egypt's military announced on national television that it stepped in to "safeguard the country" and assured protesters that President Hosni Mubarak will meet their demands in the strongest indication yet that the longtime leader has lost power. In Washington, the CIA chief said there was a "strong likelihood" Mubarak will step down Thursday. By tonight, the fate of the Egyptian people will be revealed when Mubarak will make his announcement.

State TV said Mubarak will speak to the nation Thursday night from his palace in Cairo.
The military's dramatic announcement showed that the military was taking control after 17 days of protests demanding Mubarak's immediate ouster spiraled out of control.

President Mubarak Tells Barack Obama to Lay Off

There are dramatic change in events occurring in Egypt. The protest is waning, but still maintaining a distruptive atmosphere. The audacity of Obama pushing another world leader to step aside and resign is pure hypocrisy. President Mubarak said he will step down in 6 months prior to the elections. Since Mubarak have been in power for 30years, I think 6 months is a reasonable time to allow a transition of power with a Democratic election. Telling Mubarak to step down as president will create a void, which will lead to a chaos worst than the protest. In a state of an emergency, it is important to maintain order. To do that, Mubarak must call martial law and assign the army to quell the situation, incarcerate every radical element within Egypt, and allow the Democratic process of free elections to take place. It is a very unorthodox way to handle the situation, but during desperate times calls for desperate measures.

The United States does not need to meddle in the Democratic process of free elections in another country. On Friday, Mubarak finally told Obama to "knock it off." The Egyptian president is refusing to answer phone calls from foreign parties because it is aimed to incite the internal situation in Egypt. Since Mubarak isn't taking any phone calls from Obama, the Obama Administration is treatening to stop aid to the Egyptian government. Obama wants to see Mubarak resignation happen sooner than later. This provocation by Obama will incite the protest to another level. Because of this, what choices Mubarak takes was caused by Obama's meddling.

(Indian Express) As violence on the streets of Cairo indicated a well-orchestrated attempt by the Hosni Mubarak government to silence the protests against his regime, the US openly broke with its most stalwart ally. Ending days of delicate public and private diplomacy, the Obama administration strongly condemned violence by allies of Mubarak against protesters and called on him to speed up his exit from power.

Egypt’s government hit back swiftly. The Foreign Ministry released a defiant statement saying the calls from “foreign parties” had been “rejected” and “aimed to incite the internal situation in Egypt”. Separately, in an interview, a senior Egyptian government official took aim at President Obama’s call for a political transition to begin “now”.

But the White House was not backing down. “I want to be clear,” said Robert Gibbs, the press secretary. “ ‘Now’ started yesterday.”

The Obama administration seemed determined to put as much daylight as possible between Obama and Mubarak, with Gibbs again raising the spectre of a cutoff of American aid to the Mubarak government. “There are things that the government needs to do,” he said. “There are reforms that need to be undertaken. And there are opposition entities that have to be included in the conversations as we move toward free and fair elections.”

Those elections are currently scheduled for September, but State Department spokesman Philip J Crowley said: “The sooner that can happen, the better.”

As evidence of how far the rift has gone, a senior Egyptian official reached out to a reporter to criticise Obama’s remarks, saying the Mubarak government has “a serious issue with how the White House is spinning this... Mubarak’s primary responsibility is to ensure an orderly and peaceful transfer of power. We can’t do that if we have a vacuum of power.”

Congressman Lt. Col. Allen West Brings Similarity Between the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979 and the Egypt Crisis

It is 1979 all over again. The parallel is uncanny. Congressman Lt. Col. Allen West(R-Fl) said at a rowdy town hall meeting,

“President Carter, President Obama, Iran, Egypt, the Shah, Mubarak, the Ayatollah, the Muslim Brotherhood. It is a scary parallel. We cannot allow the Muslim Brotherhood to fill the void of leadership that can occur in Egypt.”

The new Republican congressman was straight forward commenting on the political crisis in Egypt. Congressman West was drawing parallels between the chaos in Egypt and the 1979 revolution in Iran. Congressman Lt. Col. West said the U.S. must stop the Muslim Brotherhood from seizing power.

Not many people are aware what happened during the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979. This is a very short summary. During that time, Democrat President Jimmy Carter abandoned the Shah of Iran, who was a friend to the United States. Once after the Shah of Iran was dethroned, the United States supported the new leader of Iran, who was a radical religious leader named Ayatolla Khomeini. As it turns out, students of this radical leader stormed the US Embassy in Iran and kept 52 American hostages for 444 days. It was believed that Iran wanted demands from the United States. This parallels closely to what we are seeing in Egypt today. The Muslims are trying to dethrone President Mubarak with the help of Obama. The radical Muslim Brotherhood is waiting to put their own radical leaders in power and make Egypt into a radical Islamic state. The prize is putting a radical state closer to Palestine to end the existence of Israel.

Like the old adage, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Muslim Brotherhood Wants New Prime Minister of Jordan to Step Down. Not Radical Enough

I guess the Muslim Brotherhood feel the new Prime Minister is not radical enough...

(Yahoo) AMMAN, Jordan – Jordan's powerful Muslim opposition on Wednesday urged the country's newly appointed prime minister to step down, calling him the wrong person to introduce democratic reforms and tackle deepening poverty and unemployment.

Also, Jordan's King Abdullah II made a surprise visit to an impoverished northern village. It was his first such trip since the unrest broke out in neighboring Egypt, and appeared to be an attempt to defuse popular anger over the country's troubles and portray himself as a caring leader.

On Tuesday, Abdullah named Marouf al-Bakhit prime minister, bowing to public pressure from protests inspired by those in Egypt against President Hosni Mubarak.
Hamza Mansour, a leader of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, rejected al-Bakhit's nomination, saying he "is not the right person for the job."

Muslim Brotherhood Warns More Protest to Counties Supporting the USA

Muslim Brotherhood is missing the point. We want a regime change here in the USA, but with someone more Patriotic to America. The one we have now is making a mess out of everything.

(My WAY) AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - The leader of Jordan's powerful Muslim Brotherhood warned Saturday that unrest in Egypt will spread across the Mideast and Arabs will topple leaders allied with the United States.

Hammam Saeed's comments were made at a protest outside the Egyptian Embassy in Amman, inspired by massive rallies in neighboring Egypt demanding the downfall of the country's longtime president, Hosni Mubarak.

About 100 members of the fundamentalist group and activists from other leftist organizations and trade unions chanted "Mubarak, step down" and "the decision is made, the people's revolt will remain."

Elsewhere, a separate group of 300 protesters gathered in front of the office of Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Rifai, demanding his ouster. "Rifai, it's time for you to go," chanted the group.

Jordan's protests have been relatively small in size, but they underline a rising tension with Jordan's King Abdullah II, a key U.S. ally who has been making promises of reform in recent days in an apparent attempt to quell domestic discontent over economic degradation and lack of political freedoms.

But as a monarch with deep support from the Bedouin-dominated military, Jordan's ruler is not seen as vulnerable as Mubarak or Tunisia's deposed leader. Even the Brotherhood - a fiery critic of Jordan's moderate government - has remained largely loyal to the king, who claims ancestry to Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

Many believe it's unlikely King Abdullah will bow to demands for popular election of the prime minister and Cabinet officials, traditionally appointed by the king.
Saeed said Arabs have grown disgruntled with U.S. domination of their oil wealth, military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and its support for "totalitarian" leaders in the region.

"The Americans and (President Barack) Obama must be losing sleep over the popular revolt in Egypt," he said. "Now, Obama must understand that the people have woken up and are ready to unseat the tyrant leaders who remained in power because of U.S. backing."

Obama is Responsible Backing Rebel Leaders Behind Egypt Uprising

Many people are questioning why the United States targeted Egypt. A regime change with a country friendly to the United States left many to wonder. The problem is not President Mubarak, but the pro-Muslim conspirators in the government wanting to see him gone. Members of the Muslim Brotherhood, including at least eight senior officials of the opposition group and its main spokesmen, were rounded up overnight. The Muslim Brotherhood may be responsible for the chaos in the streets of Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood is a hard-line radical Islamic organization. They are vying to place their people to head the Egyptian government. If this unimaginable atrocity occur, the fate of Israel will be in jeopardy. Democracy is a good thing, but not for everybody. When religious elements are added to the equation, it is a whole different ballgame.

Obama is causing civil strife and chaos. If the US is adamant about human rights, there are other countries that need major regime change like China, Iran, Palestine, Afghanistan, and North Korea. Egypt has been an ally to the United States and hasn't caused any direct conflict with us. The motives of this Muslim-American president is making itself apparently clear. The United States and its allies are the enemy and Islam is the will of Allah.

The uprising in Egypt can be blamed on the US government. For the past several years, the Obama Administration concocted the revolution in Egypt for a regime change. In the recent headlines from the Daily Telegraph, "The American government secretly backed leading figures behind the Egyptian uprising who have been planning “regime change” for the past three years."

The American Embassy in Cairo helped a young dissident attend a US-sponsored summit for activists in New York, while working to keep his identity secret from Egyptian state police.

On his return to Cairo in December 2008, the activist told US diplomats that an alliance of opposition groups had drawn up a plan to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak and install a democratic government in 2011.

The secret document in full

He has already been arrested by Egyptian security in connection with the demonstrations and his identity is being protected by The Daily Telegraph.

The crisis in Egypt follows the toppling of Tunisian president Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali, who fled the country after widespread protests forced him from office.

The disclosures, contained in previously secret US diplomatic dispatches released by the WikiLeaks website, show American officials pressed the Egyptian government to release other dissidents who had been detained by the police.

Mr Mubarak, facing the biggest challenge to his authority in his 31 years in power, ordered the army on to the streets of Cairo yesterday as rioting erupted across Egypt.

In an interview for the American news channel CNN, to be broadcast tomorrow, David Cameron said: “I think what we need is reform in Egypt. I mean, we support reform and progress in the greater strengthening of the democracy and civil rights and the rule of law.”

The US government has previously been a supporter of Mr Mubarak’s regime. But the leaked documents show the extent to which America was offering support to pro-democracy activists in Egypt while publicly praising Mr Mubarak as an important ally in the Middle East.

The protests in Egypt are being driven by the April 6 youth movement, a group on Facebook that has attracted mainly young and educated members opposed to Mr Mubarak. The group has about 70,000 members and uses social networking sites to orchestrate protests and report on their activities.