Article

2011-02-02 Africa North

Chaos in Cairo as Mubarak backers, opponents clash

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Posted by Fred 2011-02-02 13:20|| || Front Page|| [10 views ] Top

#1 Opposition figurehead Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace laureate, called on the army to intervene to stop the violence, the worst in the nine-day uprising against Mubarak since protesters fought street battles last Friday.

But troops stood by and watched.

Guess the army isn't going to auto support ElBacardi either.

The emergence of Mubarak loyalists, whether ordinary citizens or police, thrust a new dynamic into the momentous events in this most populous Arab nation of 80 million people.

Maybe they are not necessarily loyalist to the Mubarak clic, but against the El Baradei clan. Maybe they have issues with the MB and/or such heavy internationally forced installment of an unelected regime, as a couple possible motives.

Posted by swksvolFF 2011-02-02 15:21|| 2011-02-02 15:21|| Front Page Top

#2 Or maybe they're Egyptian secret police in mufti, finally fighting back.

Posted by trailing wife 2011-02-02 15:32|| 2011-02-02 15:32|| Front Page Top

#3 ...or maybe something that could pass for the Egyptian 'middle class', relatively speaking, who are connected enough to things outside their immediate life to realize what happened to their equivalent in Iran when the imams took over.

Posted by Procopius2k 2011-02-02 15:55|| 2011-02-02 15:55|| Front Page Top

#4 Could be MB, who also cannot visibly be involved in voilence or their gambit is over, trying to spoil image, or secret police vice versa.

I just do not think it is as simple as pro-whoever. I just wonder how many, if placed between pro-mubarak and pro-baradei forces would attack in both directions.

Posted by swksvolFF 2011-02-02 16:13|| 2011-02-02 16:13|| Front Page Top

#5 An Egyptian (born and bred in the US) acquaintance blames Egypt's troubles (or, specifically, Mubarak's dictatorship) on the US. As I've said before, if my acquaintances and much of what is recorded in the media are representative of Muslim public opinion, it's hard to see how we could mollify these people short of sending annual tribute amounting to trillions a year so that Muslims can live in the style to which they'd like to become accustomed, since anything short of that is obviously the result of American imperialism.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2011-02-02 16:19|| 2011-02-02 16:19|| Front Page Top

#6 The Iran comparison is appropriate.

The Mullahs executed the entire senior military heirarchy in Iran, and Egypt's AF will be well aware of their likely fate should a mullahocracy come to power.

Posted by phil_b 2011-02-02 16:22|| 2011-02-02 16:22|| Front Page Top

#7 The Iran comparison is appropriate.

The Mullahs executed the entire senior military heirarchy in Iran, and Egypt's AF will be well aware of their likely fate should a mullahocracy come to power.

Excellent point. I expect the military to fight to the bitter end, if it's not already thoroughly infiltrated with Ikhwan agents.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2011-02-02 16:47|| 2011-02-02 16:47|| Front Page Top

#8 I'm calling this for Mubarak and the military. When all this nonsense started a few weeks ago in Tunisia, I was surprised. Ben Ali just folded and fled, which I think surprised a lot of people and gave false hope to a lot of the bad guys. However Mubarak seems to have weathered the storm, with a few casualties, his son for instance. Watch the Muslim Brotherhood, who identified themselves during the demonstrations to start doing a runner to all points of the compass, declaring themselves as "democrats" needing asylum, over the next few weeks.
I suggest that they are machined gunned at the border of any country they try to pull their mewling trick on.

Posted by tipper 2011-02-02 18:54|| 2011-02-02 18:54|| Front Page Top

#9 I'd wait till Saturday to say he's weathered the storm. People are probably starting to hurt, food shortages, no pay, etc. And the mullahs will pump them up Friday. If he's still in good shape Saturday, he's got a chance. But he'll have Barry nipping at his heels until then.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2011-02-02 19:22|| 2011-02-02 19:22|| Front Page Top

#10 On NPR they remarked today that the banks are still closed, which means remittances can't come in from abroad... and that people can't withdraw their savings.

Posted by trailing wife 2011-02-02 22:33|| 2011-02-02 22:33|| Front Page Top

#11 The media has become worse than the Soviet's Pravda.

No mention of last year nasty riot by policemen over starvation pay.

No mention of the nastier food riots ten years ago where over a thousand where killed.

Aaaaand even less mention of the Hama, Syria,
Ikhwan(Muslim Brothers) riots where Rifaar al Assad bragged of poison gassing 80,000 of
allah's sand monkeys...

Posted by Eohippus Omirong9605 2011-02-02 22:43|| 2011-02-02 22:43|| Front Page Top

#12 How that name "Eohippus Omirong9605" appear all of a sudden?

Posted by hotspur666 2011-02-02 22:45|| 2011-02-02 22:45|| Front Page Top

#13 And it is Rifaat al Assad...

Posted by hotspur666 2011-02-02 22:47|| 2011-02-02 22:47|| Front Page Top

#14 Ah, tw.

So you actually do tune in to npr?

Why does that not surprise?

Posted by pan 2011-02-02 22:52|| 2011-02-02 22:52|| Front Page Top

23:10 hotspur666
23:05 CrazyFool
23:05 USN,Ret
22:57 hotspur666
22:52 pan
22:47 hotspur666
22:45 hotspur666
22:43 Eohippus Omirong9605
22:41 USN,Ret
22:35 trailing wife
22:34 Frank G
22:33 trailing wife
22:30 trailing wife
22:19 JosephMendiola
22:18 pan
22:05 lord garth
21:56 JosephMendiola
21:53 Frank G
21:48 JosephMendiola
21:40 pan
21:32 newc
21:32 JosephMendiola
21:29 newc
21:24 JosephMendiola