I'm convinced Mubarak is essentially like Saddam Hussein and Yugoslavia's Tito

[zulchzulu]

Both Saddam Hussein and Yugoslavia's Tito held together their countries with an iron fist and a secular autocratic dictatorship that the US and its allies were willing to look away while they killed many of their citizens but left the country essentially intact.

We know the story about Hussein and how we decided to grab the oil fields while drumming up lies to cover up the power grab.

With Mubarak and the absolutely essential geographic importance with the Suez Canal and the close proximity to Israel, we've looked away while he has conducted himself as a secular dictator who arrests those that dissent and throws them in cruel jails where they rot and die.

It's OK. Egypt is too important to give a hoot about real democracy and human rights. :sarcasm:

And as what happened in Iraq after Saddam was taken out and when Tito died and opened up the horrific civil war in Yugoslavia, all hell broke loose.

Yugoslavia splintered into separate nations after much blood was spilled. Iraq elected what appears to be the worst choice in terms of setting up a Shiite government, which would be considered an "Islamic state" government not much different from Iran.

If Mubarak goes, chances that the Muslim Brotherhood will be voted in are a real possibility. So much for a "stable" secular government...

Hang on to your hats. This is going to be a wild ride for years to come.

...imho...

If on Twitter, check out:
http://twitter.com/#!/sharifkouddous

[Cleita]

1. Yes, but he was one of our country's favorite

dictators because he did what we told him to do and he took our money in exchange. We have to stop propping totalitarian and corrupt regimes in the world. Our foreign policy is very wrong about this.

[Hutzpa]

7. That is exactly what we need to change

our foreign policy. It is completely obscured to an extent it causes poverty.

What is happening in the Middle East should give us a chance to change our policy
and create one where people would be self sufficient in their own country which would
prevent an influx of foreign Nationals to the United States.

Think about it..

[golfguru]

2. With differences

There is no kidnapping and rape of women in Egypt by Mubarak.
There is no Abu Ghraib prison in Egypt.
Mubarak is not violating any UN Resolutions.
Egypt never used Poison chemicals WMD to kill 5000 of its own people.
Men are not know to disappear and be tortured in Egypt.

Other than that, both Hosni Mubarak & Saddam Hussein can be called dictators.

[zulchzulu]

4. Many similarities, but you're missing the point

The point was that Saddam Hussein, while a hideous ruthless dictator, held his country together as a semi-secular Sunni state that had a working infrastructure while he was in power. When he was removed and killed, the country fell apart (thanks to the so-called Coalition Forces) and now a more Islamic fundamentalist state exists.

As for Egypt's human rights violations, there is plenty of evidence of torture and other mayhem (http://terrorism.about.com/od/humanrights/a/EgyptTorture.htm) including our country sending "terrorists" to Egypt to be tortured in the name of the War on Terrorism.

No, Mubarak is not as "bad" as Saddam, but he certainly is a ruthless dictator. Of course, if he goes, it could be a lot worse.

[golfguru]

5. Every Muslim majority state will move towards Islamist rulers

First Iran, then as you say Iraq, Saudi is strong Wahabi, Afghan 75% territory controlled by Taliban, Yemen, Tunisia, and Egypt will be next.

Mohammed is the most popular name for newborns in some European countries already.
Islam is on the rise everywhere you look.

[zulchzulu]

6. True indeed... and here's why...

The US continues to help feed the Islamic World with the best marketing tool for their extremists... occupying countries like Afghanistan and Iraq...

[wisteria]

3. I don't think he is that bad. n/t

[Rosa Luxemburg]

8. who?

[MasonJar]

9. How are you going to feel when the Islamic fundamentalists

take over Egypt like they did Iraq and women loose their ability to function as human beings? Does democracy work for all countries? Does it even work here, where corporations have taken over the elections because of the allegedly elected officials fixed the Supreme Court for two generations?

[jenmito]

10. I doubt that the Muslim Brotherhood would win in an honest election. On CNN, an

expert on the subject said they'd get 30%-35% at most. There are way more young, secular people there.