Guess the post-Tucson kumbayah period is officially over. So much for “civility.”
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Michael Tomasky wonders how far Barack Obama should go in facing down Hosni Mubarak, explores the reasons for Jon Huntsman’s resignation from his role as ambassador for China and gives his prediction for this Sunday’s Super Bowl Michael Tomasky
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So Hillary and Clinton and Robert Gates are arranging or trying to arrange Hosni Mubarak’s immediate departure. The New York Times and the Guardian both have good accounts. From the Guardian: But behind-the-scenes the Obama administration is in contact with Egypt’s most senior military commanders as well as those politicians under Mubarak discussing a plan in which the Egyptian president would stand straight away. Earlier, Suleiman offered political concessions, inviting the long-banned Muslim Brotherhood to a dialogue. However, the Islamist movement and other parties have refused to talk until Mubarak steps down. The Egyptian regime appeared to have dug in today, defying international pressure to begin an immediate transfer of power while launching attacks on journalists and human rights observers, a move condemned unreservedly by the US. Well, it’s the right thing to do under the circumstances. The preference would have been that Mubarak leave without this push, because it would have been cleaner if US didn’t have to be involved here this directly. Obama said in both of his public statements, and Robert Gibbs repeated, that it wasn’t the US’s place to decide on other countries’ regimes. But I guess inevitably it is the US’s place to do exactly that, at least in this case. It’s better than not doing it, especially with signs over the last two days that Mubarak and his cronies were willing to resort to violence to hold onto power (today in Tahrir Square, the army kept the pro-Mubarak demonstrators out, according to Al Jazeera English, which I’ve been watching this morning). Assuming Mubarak does take the hint now, for better or worse now, Obama will “own” Egypt. As of today, the US has taken a more direct role here than it ever did, say, in 1989, when George H.W. Bush and Jim Baker largely stood back and watched. Now, Obama and Clinton and Gates and Joe Biden have committed the US firmly to the post-Mubarak era. If eight months from now, after the elections, there’s a democratic regime and a new openness in the country, then that’s great. Obama is a world hero. And if the democratic fever spreads, then he and his aforementioned team are some of the greatest Americans of all time. But what if…I’m far from sanguine about the Muslim Brotherhood. They can’t in the short term be excluded from the process. But what if eight months from now Egypt is ruled by a fundamentalist regime that reneges on the peace with Israel, and the new leader visits Tehran and poses with Ahmadinejad? The risk had to be taken under these circumstances. But risk it is. So we’ll just have to see. Sorry about the lack of posting yesterday. But I’m back in the saddle today. A new quiz will be up later today. Also a video, shot yesterday, featuring a little (now mildly outdated) Egypt musing plus reflections on John Hunstman and Sarah Palin and most notably my Super Bowl prediction, for which you’ll have to watch to the bitter end! Obama administration Egypt Hosni Mubarak Michael Tomasky guardian.co.uk
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Hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters, from all walks of life protesting regardless of age, gender or religion, gathered at the Tahrir Square in Cairo, to demand the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. After offering the Friday prayer at the Square, the crowd shouted in unison: ‘Leave Mubarak’. Friday sermon demanded regime change, prisoner release and constitutional change.
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After a day of violent clashes with supporters of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak, anti-government demonstrators remained in Tahrir Square for another night ahead of another mass rally planned for today, billed as the ‘day of departure’
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• Egypt braced for ‘Day of Departure’ rally in Cairo • Flashpoints could occur after Friday prayers • US and Egypt reportedly in talks on replacing Mubarak • Mubarak warns: ‘If I resign today there will be chaos’ 8.17am: My colleagues Jack Shenker, Peter Beaumont and Mustafa Khalili in Cairo have filed their first report of the day. They say Cairo is holding its breath for what may be the “Day of Departure” for Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president. Egyptian protesters trying to topple the 30-year reign of Mubarak have called on their supporters to fill every square in the capital on Friday. With internet once again reconnected and mobile phone services largely resumed, organisers have once again been able to mobilise the hundreds of thousands who have flooded the capital on several days during the 11-day crisis. The reporters say Mubarak’s comments to ABC TV that he was fed up and wanted to resign ( see 7.32am ), may embolden the opposition, “which feels it is close to toppling him, amid a rapid draining away of international support for the president”. In anticipation of further violence, soldiers were this morning for the first time carrying riot equipment and setting up checkpoints at key installations and bridges. Those camped out inside the square refused to bow to regime pressure as they prepared for their biggest push yet. “Things are relatively quiet now; we have basically created a liberated republic within the heart of Egypt,” said Karim Medhat Ennarah. “We have our own makeshift hospitals, our own security services who direct efforts to protect the square, our own food supply chains. People are exhausted but exhilarated.” Our reporters also noted that 24 journalists were detained in 24 hours yesterday, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and human rights activists were also targeted. I’ll post the link to the full story as soon as we get it. In the meantime, click here for all the coverage of Egypt in today’s paper . 7.55am: @NadiaE tweets : Getting ready to go to Tahrir. I hope to make today my first in a democratic Egypt. #jan25 #egypt 7.41am: The Guardian’s Harriet Sherwood reports: The demonstration in Alexandria, Egypt’s second city, is expected to be very big today, surpassing the 100,000-plus who came out on to the streets on Tuesday. There have been signs that the Muslim Brotherhood, which has a strong presence in the city, has been organising for today’s protest. A vehicle with speakers has been exhorting people to make a stand, and anti-regime activists have been visiting the mosques calling on people to join the protest. “Tomorrow will be big,” said Ahmed Mohammed, 27, a government employee who was protesting yesterday. “We have demands. They are old demands, but nobody listened until now.” The demonstration is expected to begin after Friday prayers and converge, to begin with, on Alexandria’s seafront. The mood, which was buoyant on Tuesday, has steadily turned more aggressive and edgy as pro- and anti-regime protesters have staged furious verbal confrontations and western journalists have been accused of being Israeli spies. But, although Alexandria was the scene of bloodshed and violent clashes last Friday, it has not since seen street battles like those in and around Tahrir Square in Cairo. There is still a strong army presence guarding key buildings in Alexandria, and tanks could be heard moving through the streets in the early hours of this morning. Police made a reappearance yesterday, but restricted their role to directing traffic. Ebtisam Muhammed, a 22-year-old anthropology graduate, feared that the protests were now being manipulated by “dark forces”. “They’re doing this to bring the temple down,” she said. 7.32am: Anti-government protesters are today hoping they can force Mubarak from office, on a day they have dubbed “departure Friday” or the “Day of Departure”. Fridays after midday prayers are traditionally an explosive point in Middle Eastern countries, with masses taking to the streets after attendance at mosques. Last night the New York Times reported that the White House, the state department and the Pentagon have been involved in discussions that include an option in which Mubarak would given way to a transitional government headed by the Egyptian vice-president, Omar Suleiman. Even though Mr Mubarak has balked, so far, at leaving now, officials from both governments are continuing talks about a plan in which Mr Suleiman, backed by Lt Gen Sami Enan, chief of the Egyptian armed forces, and Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, the defence minister, would immediately begin a process of constitutional reform. The proposal also calls for the transitional government to invite members from a broad range of opposition groups, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood, to begin work to open up the country’s electoral system in an effort to bring about free and fair elections in September, the officials said. Senior administration officials said that the proposal was one of several options under discussion with high-level Egyptian officials around Mr Mubarak in an effort to persuade the president to step down now. They cautioned that the outcome depended on several factors, not least Egypt’s own constitutional protocols and the mood of the protesters on the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities. Some officials said there was not yet any indication that either Mr Suleiman or the Egyptian military was willing to abandon Mr Mubarak. Mubarak was defiant yesterday, the Guardian’s team reported , insisting he intended to remain in office until the autumn election, and even going so far as to suggest he wanted to relinquish power. He said that while he was fed up after six decades of public service and wanted to leave, he feared that an early departure would lead to chaos. In his first major interview since protests began, Mubarak told America’s ABC News: “I am fed up. After 62 years in public service, I have had enough. I want to go.” Mubarak expressed no sense of betrayal over Barack Obama’s call on Tuesday for him to begin the transition to democracy “now”. But there was a hint of resentment when he said Obama did not understand Egyptian culture and the trouble that would ensue if he left office immediately. “If I resign today, there will be chaos,” he told ABC’s Christiane Amanpour. You can follow all the latest from our team in Egypt here. Egypt Middle East Adam Gabbatt Paul Owen guardian.co.uk
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Protests continued in the Egyptian capital late on Thursday as thousands defied another curfew ahead of what Egyptian’s were calling president Hosni Mubarak’s ‘Day of Depature’ on Friday. Al Jazeera’s Nick Spicer reports.
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The main headlines on Al Jazeera English, featuring the latest news and reports from around the world.
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Click here to view this media Hardball’s Chris Matthews has finally started paying attention to the fact that Glenn Beck’s show is nothing but fear mongering and incoherent rants and touting nonsensical conspiracy theories. Media Matter’s Eric Boehlert and The Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson discuss some of Beck’s latest wingnuttery with the uprisings in the Middle East. They also spent a little time discussing neocon Frank Gaffney who’s been spreading panic about the Muslim Brotherhood taking over our government that John wrote about yesterday . Maybe Matthews will finally quit having him on as a guest on Hardball after this. Best line in the segment by Eugene Robinson after Matthews asks him if Beck has any sense of history: ROBINSON: This is the stuff normally you would prescribe medication. Ain’t that the truth? Full transcript via Lexis Nexis . MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL. As the crisis continues in Egypt and may continue on for quite a while, if you listen to Dr. Brzezinski, the right wing, led by Glenn Beck, continues to traffic in conspiracy theories. Why not? They have more to do with scaring this country than getting the truth out of what`s happening over there. So what are they up to this time? Well, Eric Boehlert is a senior fellow with Media Matters, and Eugene Robinson`s a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for “The Washington Post.” Gentlemen, thank you both for being with us. And I sometimes — I`m not surprised by right or left-wing argument in this country. Sometimes the rhetoric is rather wholesome. Now, catch Glenn Beckon Tuesday night, this diatribe about the Caliphate. He starts talking about ancient Babylon. See if you can follow this. I did. Let`s listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GLENN BECK, HOST, FOX NEWS “GLENN BECK”: Iraq is really important, especially to the Shi`ites, especially to the 12ers who are in charge of this country right now because what is in Iraq? There`s one place that we told our bombers not to bomb. Does anybody know what it was? Two wars in Iraq, we said, No bombing there. Ancient Babylon. Ancient Babylon. Why? Because the Bible tells us that that is the seat right here of power of a global evil empire. Well, that`s also where the 12th imam from Iran is supposedly going to show up! Everybody on this side wants ancient Babylon for their caliphate! (END VIDEO CLIP) MATTHEWS: You know, before we go any further, I have rarely heard anything like this on television in my life, but the — well, let me just ask our guests. Eric, the — what is he saying about the decision by our bombing fleet, our bombers, those who are directed and their civilians who control our military under both Bushes, President Bush, Herbert Walker, and then, of course, George W. Bush — that they somehow decided, as part of some global caliphate they`re envisioning and hoping to move along — they told our bombing people when they put these sorties together, Don`t hit ancient Babylon because that`s going to be the center of evil — ERIC BOEHLERT, MEDIAMATTERS.ORG: Right. MATTHEWS: — the power — it`s going to be the seat right there of power of a global evil empire. He (INAUDIBLE) are the Bushes involved — what in hell is this man talking about? (LAUGHTER) MATTHEWS: Your thoughts. Wide-open question. BOEHLERT: Well, that seems to be one of the hurdles. He`s now rewriting history backwards, and now he`s sort of dragging the Bushes into it, with previous wars in the territory. Look, I mean, Glenn Beck has for years now at Fox, he`s dug himself this sort of conspiratorial hole and he`s just going to keep digging, I mean, regardless. And so now — MATTHEWS: You`re so smart. (INAUDIBLE) because people who believe in these grand conspiracies — BOEHLERT: Yes. MATTHEWS: — they`ll end up saying, It wasn`t just the Dallas police and it wasn`t just the CIA and it wasn`t just the FBI, it wasn`t just Nixon and Johnson, it was the Irish mafia around Kennedy. Everybody was involved! The Secret Service — because once you start going into this — BOEHLERT: Right. Right. Right. MATTHEWS: — conspiratorial mind, you have to make — you have to come up with an explanation why somebody didn`t catch somebody. BOEHLERT: And, so, now every — MATTHEWS: And the reason they didn`t catch him is because they`re in on it. BOEHLERT: And so now, miraculously, every piece of breaking news fits perfectly into his grand plan. I mean, he wasn`t talking about Egypt two months ago. But if you listen to him now, of course, it makes perfect sense — MATTHEWS: OK. BOEHLERT: — because he was warning about this — this leftist Islamist revolution. It`s not just going to happen in America now. It`s apparently going to spread worldwide. So — MATTHEWS: OK. Gene, I want to give you another piece of cake from this — strange cake, in fact. EUGENE ROBINSON, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. MATTHEWS: Now, here`s the story, just as a setup to this, so we all remember, so we don`t forget piece by piece what Beck is building here. Beck has, for a while now, said the president is a socialist and a communist. That`s very important to understand who he`s — because there`s no more common term in the world right now. ROBINSON: Right. MATTHEWS: And socialists had a lot to do — they were part of the — the modern Israel — ROBINSON: Mm-hmm. (CROSSTALK) MATTHEWS: — Labor Party, of course, all the heroes were — were socialists. But he has this strange new theory now. Socialists, who he identifies with the president, communists, who he identifies with our president, are the ones behind all this. Here he is. They`re behind the trouble in Egypt. Here he is on the radio today talking about the caliphate and the socialists and communists, who are of course the Obama people, working together with extreme Islam. Let`s listen to this latest. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP, “THE GLENN BECK PROGRAM”) GLENN BECK, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, “THE GLENN BECK PROGRAM”: I want the left to know I plant my flag in this soil. Groups from the hard-core socialist and communist left and extreme Islam will work together, because they are both a common enemy of Israel and the Jew. Islam wants a caliphate. Communists wants a communist new world order. They will work together and they will destabilize, because they both want chaos. (END AUDIO CLIP) MATTHEWS: Gene Robinson. ROBINSON: It — this makes absolutely no sense on any level. It makes no sense on any level. MATTHEWS: Where this Community Party meeting these days? ROBINSON: Well, don`t you know how — (LAUGHTER) ROBINSON: — the communists and the Islamists have always worked together? Except the fact that they`re always trying to kill each other. MATTHEWS: And the socialists, too. (CROSSTALK) MATTHEWS: You know who hates — you know who hates — who hates the socialists the most? The communists. ROBINSON: Yes. MATTHEWS: Doesn`t this guy have any sense of history? (CROSSTALK) MATTHEWS: And socialists were a big part of building the modern Israel. What is he talking about? (CROSSTALK) ROBINSON: This is the stuff normally you would prescribe medication. (LAUGHTER) ROBINSON: He — he — no, I`m serious. And — and, normally, it does nobody any good. Glenn Beck says this. He says that. He says this crazy — (CROSSTALK) MATTHEWS: Yes, but why is he saying it now? (CROSSTALK) ROBINSON: Well — MATTHEWS: Is this to get Obama`s — (CROSSTALK) MATTHEWS: — way? ROBINSON: Well, here`s what bothers me. I think frankly it is a case that he`s dug the conspiracy hole so deep that he just has to keep digging. But here`s what upsets me about it is, watch those pictures from Cairo, and it — it makes you anxious. It causes anxiety among a lot of people because — and why not? These are anxious times. And so here`s this guy who is just compounding people`s anxiety with these loopy conspiratorial theories. MATTHEWS: Yes. ROBINSON: And I just think it`s — if you have that sort of platform, you have that sort of — sort of megaphone that he has, that you have — MATTHEWS: Yes. ROBINSON: — that I have with a column, there`s a certain responsibility that comes with that. And if you don`t recognize that, you`re just a jerk, you know? (CROSSTALK) (LAUGHTER) MATTHEWS: Well, Eric — ROBINSON: And he`s just a jerk. MATTHEWS: — you guys have been studying this guy for a long time. BOEHLERT: Yes. MATTHEWS: Before we move on to Frank Gaffney, another guy who is getting into the full moon category, what — what is he trying to — is there a logic here? Or is it just as Gene suggests? He has just gotten deeper and deeper? BOEHLERT: Yes. MATTHEWS: You`ve said this. Is it just you get so far into these conspiracy theories in blaming everything center — anything left-of-center that`s evil in the world, you blame everything on them and you tie it all together with Barack Obama is a socialist, he`s a communist, that he`s — he`s in with the Muslim Brotherhood? They are all working together against you. That`s paranoid talk. BOEHLERT: Yes. MATTHEWS: That is paranoid talk, definitionally. (CROSSTALK) BOEHLERT: Yes. (CROSSTALK) MATTHEWS: Your thoughts. BOEHLERT: And, so, as Gene was saying, the underlying fear is, what you see in Cairo is coming to the States, where that — MATTHEWS: Yes. BOEHLERT: Beck has been talking about the coming insurrection. And it`s coming from the left. And now we`re being told that it`s going to look like Cairo. And so this is part of — this is just part of the conspiracy. And, frankly, I think it`s basically a programming — it`s a rating shtick for Beck. I mean, Beck is at heart a radio guy. He came up in radio. They are haunted by the idea of falling ratings. January was his worst ratings month ever at FOX News. He — he — he always needs a shtick. And so Egypt is the new one. The caliphate is the new one. And if you look at the numbers, the people are saying — even some of his viewers are saying, OK, wait. Can you explain this again? Where are we going with all of this stuff? (CROSSTALK) (LAUGHTER) BOEHLERT: Where is this going? MATTHEWS: Well, it goes to the unitary theory, which really most crazy people go. They want one simple theory of everything that scares them. (CROSSTALK) ROBINSON: Yes. MATTHEWS: Let`s go to Frank Gaffney. I don`t know what he`s up to. Frank Gaffney believes we`re about to go into Sharia law in this country. He`s convinced we`re all going to be getting our hands cut off, our heads cut off, whatever else. Here he is speaking out this week on FOX, this week, of course, to warm — to warn us that the Muslim Brotherhood is taking over this administration. Let`s listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FOX NEWS CHANNEL) FRANK GAFFNEY, FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR SECURITY POLICY: What is going on here in part is that the Obama administration`s policies are being viewed through and actually articulated and now implemented through influence operations that the Muslim Brotherhood itself is running in our own country. You cannot possibly get your strategy right, you cannot execute it effectively if you don`t know that the enemy is actually giving you advice on how to proceed. (END VIDEO CLIP) MATTHEWS: What`s he talking about, Gene? ROBINSON: I have no — again, I have no idea. This, it — it just makes no sense. MATTHEWS: He says that Napolitano, the secretary of homeland defense, is getting advice from these people, from the Muslim Brotherhood? ROBINSON: Well, it would — it would be not just the secretary of homeland defense. It would be also you, I guess, and — MATTHEWS: Yes. ROBINSON: — and — and the media in general getting advice from the Muslim Brotherhood? I just — it — it — you know, Sharia — let me just state for the record Sharia law is not coming to the United States. MATTHEWS: You know, when I was a kid — (CROSSTALK) ROBINSON: I would bet a lot of money on that. MATTHEWS: I`m about your age, Gene and — and Eric. When I was kid, we saw “The Invisible Man,” because after you have seen “The Invisible Man” at a drive-in theater with your dad, the first thing you would do when you would go home, when mom was away, you would reach under the bed and make sure he`s not there, right? (LAUGHTER) MATTHEWS: I mean, that`s what this is about, isn`t it? The invisible man is coming to get you. You`ve got to check under the bed. You`ve got to make sure there`s no possible space in your bedroom he could be. (LAUGHTER) MATTHEWS: Isn`t this what it`s about, pure, utter fear-mongering? BOEHLERT: Yes. MATTHEWS: Eric, last thought. BOEHLERT: Yes. And Frank Gaffney is — it`s not just in the Obama administration. He`s been claiming the conservative movement, CPAC, one of the controversies they`re having this year is they have been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood. So — (CROSSTALK) MATTHEWS: Oh, those red — those red SOBs over there at CPAC. (LAUGHTER) (CROSSTALK) BOEHLERT: Apparently, the Muslim Brotherhood has the — the entire Beltway wired. (LAUGHTER) MATTHEWS: We have got trouble in River City. Thank you, Eric Boehlert. Thanks very much. You`re doing great — great work over there. Eugene Robinson, as always.
Continue reading …Britons arriving home after fleeing escalating violence in Egypt describe Cairo as full of marauding thugs Britons arriving home after fleeing escalating violence in Egypt described Cairo as a war zone with marauding thugs and escaped prisoners terrorising the streets. Some of the 161 passengers arriving last night at Gatwick Airport on a Foreign Office-chartered flight spoke of their relief at escaping the riot-hit city. Among those fleeing the violence was 16-year-old Shukria Ahmed-Nur who told how marauding thugs terrorised the streets near where she lived. She said: “There were men with samurai swords, machetes and other weapons. “They were outside our apartments, walking up and down the stairs, which was really scary. “We were just hoping we would get out alive.” Mother-of-two Jala Ibrahim, 33, from Fulham, west London, said: “The country is in a really bad state at the moment. It’s a bit like a war zone but the people are fighting for their rights.” Robert Mant, 34, who lives in Cairo with his 33-year-old Egyptian wife Kariman, said he saw escaped prisoners dressed in civilian clothes roaming the streets. He said: “There are gun battles between prisoners in the streets. I got hit by a rock. It’s disgusting, it’s a disgrace what is happening.” Stephanie Harkin, 25, teacher from Luton, Bedfordshire, said: “Our main problem was prisoners escaping from a nearby prison. We had a lot of men outside our house and so we had to create a makeshift neighbourhood watch. “We had to sleep with knives by us as well. Across the road on the next compound there were reports that seven people had been killed and that neighbours had been attacked by thieves.” Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the violence as “reprehensible”. The Foreign Office has chartered a second plane tomorrow to bring home stranded Britons. British nationals without a pressing need to be in Cairo, Alexandria or Suez were urged to leave by commercial means, where it was safe to do so. Egypt Middle East guardian.co.uk
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