The surprise ouster of long-time Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak today came with an additional shock, that Vice President Omar Suleiman, the unsavory torturemaster of the Mubarak regime who Western officials appeared to have hand-picked as his successor, got brushed aside.
While the details of exactly how it happened are unclear, Mubarak’s ouster led to all power being turned over to the military, making 75 year old Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi the new de facto head of state.
Tantawi, clearly, is less menacing than Suleiman, but with 20 years as the nation’s Defense Minister and a 55 year military career, his long-standing loyalty to Mubarak has led many to wonder if he is a less than ideal replacement as well.
It wasn’t long before the WikiLeaks cables, always a source of great information about such things, were consulted, and the official US data on Tantawi came out. The short of it is that he is mocked throughout the documents for his “incompetence and blind loyalty to Mubarak,” and that he had earned the nickname amongst local analysts as “Mubarak’s poodle,” which probably sounds way more fearsome in Arabic than it does in the US.
Egypt’s military, of course, though not as rife with torture as the police, has a shady reputation itself, and its dominance over the entire nation’s economy hardly makes it an ideal instrument of reform. Still, locals seem quite hopeful at the moment, and so long as he isn’t Mubarak or Suleiman, there seems to be almost universal consensus that he will be an improvement.
They must go further down the chain of Army command to find the Caretaker Government. Tantawi is too too too close to Mubarak to be of any use. I did not say he is Mubarak's poodle; But there must be a reason for it; torture & all that. They can find a good someone 50 to 60years old with little or no direct link to Mubarak. One that would be his own man/woman; and not be influenced by the ousted regime. This is important if the people are to be satisfied in the interim. Once news of 'the poodle' tag is out on the streets of Eqypt, will the people not fallout again?
Dear Jason,one of my faorite blog is Antiwar.com,one of my best contributors is Mr Raimondo,and I read a lot of your EXCELENT articles,but I think that the West misunderstood the resignation of the Tyrant.I was reading the article "the west has lost its favored tyrant"in a German magazine.To me as an Arab,the tyrant is gone as well as the totrturer,thats to say the Pres and VP are gone forever,no decent human being will replace a Dictator ,for a Torturer Dictator.Also the comunique of the VP says that the Military Council will be running the nation until new legitamete and constitutional power is installed.Thank you and continue your EXELLENT WORK.911-FFO
Even if this description of Tantawi is accurate, its clear that Mubarak and the military had different ideas of how to proceed after the revolution. Mubarak gave a speech in which he attempted to assert his authority, saying only that he had transferred some of his powers to Suleiman. Less than 24 hours later, Suleiman was announcing that Mubarak had resigned and handed the country over to the military council.
In this situation I trust an interim military government over a cobbled-together civilian one. Why? Because the military, by its nature, is bound by certain rules and regulations and is held to a higher standard in the court of international opinion- and, if anything gets out of hand, there is no need for the laborious finger-pointing process as there is a clear chain of command.
I say good for Tantawi, and I pray he guides Egypt through this period with a fair and firm hand. May Allah(swt) give him wisdom and courage to face the new Egypt.
Your support of a militarism regime over peoples will shows whom you really are.
And supporting in feature time.
The world is holding Egypt in very high esteem for its ability to end the reign of an insensitive dictator in a relatively bloodless manner. Egypt wil be a shining example for all the world if it can transition to a new government it a civilized, non-violent manner.
to the contrary
cheer for the people
and take cheer in their power
for if the Egyptian street actions
prove anything
it is this:
we the people
have the power
to force change
from the bottom up
so, take cheer
and lots of it
but remember this
deposing a figurehead
is not enough
not nearly enough
we need to be willing
to not only take to the streets
for days and months on end
to kick the moneyed politicians
and systems managers
out of their seats of power
in Washington
and on Wall Street
but we need to be willing
to dismantle the system
from the bottom up
in short:
we need a Revolution
a real one
not the thinly veiled fascism
promised by the Tea Party
but a revolution against
property
(real and intellectual)
corporations and money
(as presently conceived, implemented and enforced)
a Revolution against
a System
which views the world
its people
and life itself
as little more than resources
to be used and abused
for the comfort and power
of a few
at the expense of the many
as to whether
this is feasible
in Amerika
i don't know
i suspect not
at least
not any time
soon
we
the average citizenry
are too deaf, dumb and blind
regarding our literal and figurative
enslavement
to Amerikan myths
and free market lies
which means
reactionary
top down movements
like the Tea Party
will manipulate
popular socioeconomic desperation
directing and unleashing
its wandering, undisciplined, dangerous and terrifying wrath
against the poor
against Muslims
against immigrants (legal and "illegal")
against homosexuals
against environmentalists
against "leftists" (as if Amerika had a meaningful, substantive or effective "Left")
our friendly fascism
in other words
as things continue to get worse
and they will continue to get worse
for increasing numbers of ordinary Amerikans
while the rich soak them in the name of saving their predatory system
people will be encouraged to laterally lash out within the Amerikan class hierarchy
thereby dividing and conquering
the Power of the People
to fight
the liars, thieves and thugs
at the top
from the bottom up
disabuse yourselves
The Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy (POCLAD) is a good place to start http://poclad.org/
listen to:
Karen Coulter
and
Jane Anne Morris
(be patient, this video may take a short while to load, buffer and play)