Iraq the Model has several good posts up today. Money quote from one:
It seems that the demand on freedom and democracy in the ME is increasing even faster than we expected. Obviously the effects of the Tsunami of Jan 30 in Iraq and the September 11 of Lebanon have already started to play their role in shaping the region.... Meanwhile, there were demonstrations in Egypt asking Mubarak to step out and calling for elections rejecting a 5th term for the president that has been ruling the country with emergency law since 1981 after the assassination of president Anwar Sadat. The slogan held by the demonstrators was "Kifayah" which means "enough is enough".
Omar links to some photos too.
The Kifayeh folks are not the answer, IMHO. A small smattering of communists, Islamists, and Nasserites who don't agree on much other than that they don't like Mubarak. I'm much more excited about Hizb al-Ghad, and if they (and the US) play this Nour thing right, they may come out ahead. If not, give me Mubarak for a little while longer ... need him for Gaza and more. If the MB takes over, the whole thing comes tumbling down.
Agreed, praktike.
What struck me about this post is how much people in the Middle East are watching one another begin to push for a say in running their countries.
Food for thought, Robin.
Following the bouncing ball ... here.
and your point is what, praktike?
A wide range of groups taught political organizing skills etc. to the Ukrainians - who have not exactly fallen into US arms since.
I get the first link - what do you want me to take away from the second one?
Sorry to be oblique.
My point is that there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes here, and it's not an accident that there is a similarity between different campaigns in different countries. There is a system and a formula that works and a log history of the West supporting democratic change. It's not all magic, although there comes a point at which the hard work pays off. Lebanon, for example, would not have erupted as effectively as it did unless there were folks in there connecting people, agitating against Syria, educating about democracy, etc. But it needed a spark, a trigger. In the Ukraine, it was the fraudulent elections. In Lebanon, the murder of Hariri. In Egypt, it seems so far that the Mubarak succession controversy is not enough because there hasn't been enough lead time.