Are the Egyptian Riots a Spontaneous Revolt?

Are the Egyptian riots a spontaneous revolt, or a popular uprising without any leader or instigator? I doubt it.  Do we really know what the Egyptian people want? What kind of government do they want to institute? Do we know what kind of leaders are pulling the strings or working behind the scenes of this so-called spontaneous revolt?

I cannot base my opinion on rumors like the one found in an article published by The London Telegraph which says that the United States was behind the planning of this event, without any confirmation from US sources. We can read many articles in the press, but which ones can we trust?

Looking back at Obama’s Cairo University speech, could it be an indication of the direction he intended to take the United States into?

How come our President takes the right upon himself to impose on the leader of a sovereign state an ultimatum to leave his office immediately?  Does he feel he is entitled to do so because of the 1.5 billion in aid the US provides to Egypt? Meanwhile here in the US there is no end to the additional trillions he keeps spending.

He is criticizing the high unemployment rate in Egypt, while we have 9.5% right here in the US.
I remember that Obama had said during the Iranian popular protest, “It is up to the Iranians to make decisions about who Iran’s leaders will be,” after having been silent for a while and not intervening for the rights of the opposition. This was the case for Iran, which is not an ally. Now, however in the case of Egypt, whose President has been loyal to the United States and a stabilizer for the Middle East for 30 years, our President does not give him any consideration and although pretending not to mix himself into the current events, he is encouraging them by publicly humiliating Mubarak, without even knowing who is behind them.

Knowing that Mubarak’s presidency will normally expire in September of this year, and having heard  him confirm that he would terminate his duty with honor and dignity, what is the reason for the US turning up the heat on the Egyptian President now?

Being neither Muslim nor Arab, I feel that  the policy of the Obama Administration is publicly taking away the dignity of President Hosni Mubarak and his entourage, and  that of a large part of the Egyptian Army and maybe even that of part of the Middle East people. Those who do not know the value of an Arab’s honor cannot understand the gravity of the insult brought upon President Mubarak. There is no guarantee that a better leadership team will take over after the elections in September 2011.

Mubarak’s choice for Vice President, intelligence chief Gen. Omar Suleiman was coordinated with the White House the day before the announcement. What happened then? Did the White House change its mind? While P.J. Crowly from the State Department said, “President Mubarak’s words pledging reform must be followed by action,” Hillary Clinton kept saying, “Mubarak must go now!”
Those contradicting messages are confusing to Mubarak, to the Egyptians and to US citizens as well. I am convinced that our government had no idea who the groups of protesters are and who the people providing and shouting the messages for them are. Should our government know, we would have the right to know too.

I wonder whether the demands of the protesters are indirectly coming from the Muslim Brotherhood or any other group. Is this the way we intend to treat our Arab allies in the Middle East? I believe that there is still time to revise our policy before it is too late, as we may find ourselves facing an Egyptian Khomeini!  I am for democracy everywhere in the world but the planning should not come from our people, but rather from the people of the country in question and not from abroad and unchecked. Would we accept the meddling of other powers in our policies?

If however this is the intent of the US Government, is this the legacy our President and  Senator Schumer wish to leave, when they keep saying publicly that Mubarak should go now. It looks like a dictate. Do we know who will come after Mubarak’s departure?

In order to appease all the people in Egypt and abroad I wish that the army would protect first the people and prevent any political abuse and any reoccurrence of the meddling of  illegitimate forces like the ones  who kidnapped the potential new government in Iran.

If Mubarak is to go in September, the army should guarantee a fair transition of power, and make sure that the human rights of the Egyptian people are secured. Furthermore, that the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel is preserved. I hope that Mr ElBaradei knows what he is doing by letting the Muslim Brotherhood organization use him as a figure head.  I hope that the Egyptian people know who Mr ElBaradei is. In any event, I don’t believe that he is a friend of the US.

As for the people we saw in the streets of Cairo, I don’t have the impression that they really want a democracy. Change through violence in Egypt could bring about tyranny and extremism instead of freedom and could be worse than the status quo. Our leader should see the potential for Egypt’s future as it is and not as he wishes it to be. Any mistake in judgment could be a disaster for the Middle East, for our allies, for our country, and for the world.  This is not a time for gambling.

Emile Tubiana
A concerned US senior citizen.