* Kudos to the Egyptian people for conducting an extremely peaceful revolution. It showed great discipline and moral courage. That is definitely something to build on.
* I've been following President Obama's many comments about Egypt these past weeks (possibly a bit too many), and have been very impressed with his ability to speak with moral authority on this issue. Now that President Mubarak has stepped down, Obama has the responsibility to back up his words. When the most powerful man and leader of the free world repeatedly calls for regime change of a sovereign nation, he establishes ownership of that nation to a meaningful extent. In a sense, the "you broke it, you bought it!" rule applies. Lending financial aid, intelligence on successful transitioning, and establishing structure and organization to "bring all parties to the table" will be essential and obvious steps needed to help Egypt get back on her feet. However, dissuading the participation of certain groups that do not allow freedom will be another essential key to the success of the nation. I hope the President has the fortitude to take this very difficult stand. Since this would involve making additional moral judgments, I question whether Obama will shine on this front. Leadership is NOT running in front of world opinion and chiming in, rather leadership is doing what is right even when the world consensus opposes you.
* Egypt has a pretty cool flag.
* I wish Obama was half as forceful in backing the Iranian uprising a year and a half ago. I wonder why he wasn't.
* I'll be praying for the Coptic Church in the subsequent months and years. The current instability is very likely to lead to a rise in their already extreme persecution in this overwhelmingly "Cristophobic" nation. On a side note that I found fascinating: the first Coptic church was founded in Alexandria in the 1st century by Mark, Apostle of Jesus!!
* My mind also runs to my high school years and wonders how rapper/DJ Greg Broussard AKA Egyptian Lover feels about the revolution.
* Finally, I'm drawn to the Beatles song "Revolution" that is very thought-provoking at this time. "We'd all love to see the plan". Will Egypt be moving from secular despot to Islamic despot? The answer may be up to Mu-barak, I mean Barack.
I agree that President Obama made some strong comments during the 2nd half of the revolution. His silence during the beginning convinced me that he was waiting to see how this thing turned out. Once he saw the people were not going to be persuaded to give up, he jumped on the band wagon.
ReplyDeleteAs far as financial aid to Egypt....we don't have it and also have far too many domestic programs which will face cut backs due to budget cuts. If we do give them money (and I know we will), we need to wait until firm leadership is established. That may take a while.
Lastly, I wonder what President Obama's position will be on future revolutions in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia will eventually revolt and their government will not be as non-viloent as Egypt's. As more Middle Eastern regimes fall, it will also bring more attention to the Palestinians and they will gain support. I guess the point I am making is.....this is only the beginning.