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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 2/4/11

Is This the "Day of Departure" for Mubarak?

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Message Dave Lefcourt
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Today in Egypt millions of protestors throughout the country are mobilizing calling this "the day of departure" for Hosni Mubarak to step down.

What is occurring in Egypt started in Tunisia and has spread to Yemen, Jordan, Syria (and most probably next in Algeria).

The self immolation of the Tunisian fruit seller Mohhammad Bouazizi and the subsequent overthrow of Tunisian dictator Ben Ali have been the catalysts to spawn political uprisings now spreading throughout the Arab world.

All Arabs are living under similar circumstances that made Bouazizi take the desperate act he did. The repression and oppression of all Arab regimes, the indignity and humiliation suffered at the hands of police and security officials, detention, torture, official corruption and extreme poverty (under $2 per day for half the Egyptian population) all prevail throughout the Arab world; thus the identification with Bouazizi and the desire of Arabs to rid themselves of their own dictator as happened in Tunisia.

Quite simply, with the modern communication tools of the internet (Facebook and Twitter), cell phone cameras and the live video streaming by the Al Jazerra network, the Arab people are fast removing their own chains of fear based repression and throwing down the gauntlet in opposition to their own government's tyranny.

Arab governments are trembling. The Algerian government "voluntarily" said it would lift restrictions on demonstrations but not in the cities. Jordan's King Abdullah sacked his government amid protests over food and fuel prices and called for a new cabinet to be set up. Yemen's President Ali Saleh said he wouldn't run again amid protests in Sanaa, the capital. Syrian protestors are calling for weekend protests demanding freedom, human rights and the end to emergency law (outlawing protests). All tyrants are scrambling, desperate in the face of legitimate rage that is engulfing their countries and most of the Arab world.

As to Egypt and Mubarak he said yesterday "he is fed up being president" but he is afraid to step down because of the "chaos it would create" once he leaves. He remains in denial failing to acknowledge the turmoil will continue until he does step down (the main demand of the protestors) as all opposition groups have said they would not negotiate to end the crisis until Mubarak steps down.

The genie of freedom, spontaneous and undirected, is sweeping the Arab world. It is unrelated to fundamentalist, radical, Jihadist inspired terrorism associated with Osama bin Laden and his coterie of fanatics which have nothing to do with the current uprisings.

This Arab revolution tears to shreds the idea held in the West and particularly the U.S. that all insurgents and insurgencies are terrorists spawning terrorism. The "war on terrorism" perpetrated by the Bush administration was concocted by the neo conservatives after 9/11 to take the place of Communism and the defunct Soviet Union as the new "enemy", the new bogeyman we must fight to the death in endless war. It is the lie foisted on the backs of the American people based on irrational fear and the demonizing of Islam and Muslims.

All over the world people are connecting with the protestors now seen most prominently in Egypt.

Nobody knows the eventual outcome of these uprisings in the Arab world or whether these events could spawn rebellion in other parts of the world.

Little more than one month ago the events happening in Egypt (and elsewhere) would have been considered unimaginable. It shows peoples march to the tune of their own drummer, not the song mouthed by pundits, talking heads and assorted "experts".

Tyrants may reign over the people for a time, but because of the regimes fundamental illegitimacy it is unable to completely crush the spirit that yearns to be free of the tyrant. The basic sense of righting the injustice of tyranny by the people connects with all of humanity. It is why we feel a kinship with those protesting against Mubarak in Egypt today.            

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Dave Lefcourt Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Retired. The author of "DECEIT AND EXCESS IN AMERICA, HOW THE MONEYED INTERESTS HAVE STOLEN AMERICA AND HOW WE CAN GET IT BACK", Authorhouse, 2009
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