Egypt: The gift of the Nile

A Tsunami or just a Ripple?

2011-02-19T13:01:00.000-08:00

The trend in the Middle East might have been delayed two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but it must not be separated from the same underlying causes: political corruption, population overgrowth, scarcity of natural resources, and the modern means of high speed communication.

Egypt fell when Sadat sensed the pending collapse of the Soviet Union in 1971. Sadat kicked out the Russian military experts from Egypt. But, instead of building strong national economy, Sadat resorted to marijuana smoking, embarked on vulgar and abrasive onslaught on his opponents. Mubarak's miraculous escape from two assassination attempts compounded the misery of 80 million people who have to count on a strike of luck to rid of Mubarak's tyranny.

While the USA and Israel indulged into their nuclear defense strategies, the Arab dictators feasted on their blood and bread of their governed population. The dismal economic milieu created fanatic young people seeking radical change. On the Arabian Gulf, the Shitte Moslims grabbed Iraq, now Barhreen. The Suadi Kindgom is not far from the Tsunami of widespread poverty and anger.

The Pyramids are targets for tourists and terrorists, national pride and religious sore wound. The poor and hungry could not tolerate the monstrous outlook on the gigantic piles of rock that served nothing but the ego of the dead Pharaoh.

The Aqsa Mosque another sore wound of the violation of the Holy land by the Zionist occupation of Palestine. The land that could not support its own people is now occupied by by hostile and well armed predictor. Israel is repeating the same mistake of inflating its population beyond the its resources.

Mubarak's ego was only crushed by senility, public outrage, and American inconsistent foreign policy.

The big thugs got away. The little thugs git caught.

Al-Ahram speaks kisses up to who ever could lead, with Mubarak yesterday, with the people, today.

Google's Facebook hero.

The dream of home, sweet home, is the only hope left after Mubarak's fall.

Libya? No one ever thought that the Libyian people have the guts to stand tall. Qaddaif's senility might lend Hope.

Where is Mubarak?

2011-02-14T03:02:00.000-08:00

In order to answer that question, look no farther than the recent history.

The possibilities are:

1. Dead, poisoned, locked up, or killed,
2. Escaped into a remote unknown location

Support analysis:

1. General Muhammad Najeeb was put under house arrest in 1954 by Gamal Abul Naser. Najeeb re-surfaced in the 1960's and died in 1984. He was the first president of Egypt after ousting King Farouk and changing the kingdom into a republic. .

2. Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was flown directly from Haiti to South Africa on American flights in order to quiet the uprising against him.

3. Jehan Sadat was allowed to settle in Washinton, DC after her husband was assassinated.

4. Khomenie changed the rules of the game of political asylum of infamous monarchs after ousting the Shah, putting a bounty on Salman Rushie's head, and inciting the Muslim Brotherhood to assassinate Sadat. Jimmy Carter denied the Shah a visa to enter the USA. Sadat brought the Shah to Egypt and crowned his son the new emperor of Iran.

5. King Farouk was exiled to Italy by General Najeeb. The King's main obsession was overeating and drinking that had put an end to his life in 1960.

6. Naser exiled or house-arrested his main opponents in his unprecedented campaign to modernize Egypt. Naser's young age and genuine intent led him to uplift Egypt from the dark age into the modern developed world.

7. Mubarak ruled Egypt with an iron fist, kissed up to Israel and the USA, crushed the back of every Egyptian, and fattened his wealth beyond comprehension. Mubarak lacked the courage to declare his resignation. A day after he insisted to remain in power until the end of his term, Mubarak disappeared suddenly.

8. The youthful Naser exiled the elderly Najeeb and was able to build the Aswan Dam, nationalize the Suez Canal, and industrialize Egypt for the first time since Muhammed Ali did in the 1800-1840.

9. Sadat locked up all intellectuals and academics who opposed him in the last month prior to his assassination. Sadat's skewed reasoning and deceptive tactics helped secure peace with Israel in the form of military truce, rather than true peace.

10. The Shah of Iran lived outlandish life style while his people were deprived from the basic necessities of living. The Shah was rejected by all nations on earth, except Egypt. Khomenie chased the Shah and Sadat to their and succeeded on both.

11. Yasser Arafaat entrusted the Israelis and the Americans to honor their words for a Palestinian state. Not too long, Arafaat was crushed, poisoned, and humiliated by the Israelis.

As for Mubarak, his old age might have gotten him before any intrusive plot does. The Egyptians are fed with him and the Muslim Brotherhood has the reason and mean to bring him to justice, similar to the American justice brought to Saddam.

Unshackled

2011-02-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

Images from Egypt: February 5, 2011

2011-02-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

Mubarak's Price: 70 Billion American Dollar over 30 years

2011-02-04T17:50:00.000-08:00

After 30 years in power, armed, financed, and protected by the USA, the 70 Billion American Dollars has recently surfaced in the last days of Mubarak. The American money was not spent to spread democracy or keep peace in the Middle East. Rather, the USA's $70 billions went straight to Mubarak's bank accounts.

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Egypt's Mubarak Likely to Retain Vast Wealth

Mubarak Family May Have as Much as $70 Billion Stashed Away, Experts Estimate

Feb. 2, 2011

President Hosni Mubarak's power may have visibly crumbled before the world on Jan. 25 when protesters took to the streets of Cairo, but his personal wealth will likely be intact when he leaves office as pledged at the end of the year, or sooner if the crowds have their way.

Experts say the wealth of the Mubarak family was built largely from military contracts during his days as an air force officer. He eventually diversified his investments through his family when he became president in 1981. The family's net worth ranges from $40 billion to $70 billion, by some estimates.
Amaney Jamal, a political science professor at Princeton, said those estimates are comparable with the vast wealth of leaders in other Gulf countries.
"The business ventures from his military and government service accumulated to his personal wealth," said Jamal. "There was a lot of corruption in this regime and stifling of public resources for personal gain."
Jamal said that Mubarak's assets are most likely in banks outside of Egypt, possibly in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
"This is the pattern of other Middle Eastern dictators so their wealth will not be taken during a transition, she said. "These leaders plan on this."
Mubarak, his wife and two sons were able to also accumulate wealth through a number of business partnerships with foreigners, said Christopher Davidson, professor of Middle East Politics at Durham University in England. He said Egyptian law requires that foreigners give a local business partner a 51 percent stake in most ventures.
Aladdin Elaasar, author of "The Last Pharaoh: Mubarak and the Uncertain Future of Egypt in the Obama Age," said the Mubaraks own several residences in Egypt, some inherited from previous presidents and the monarchy, and others he has built.

"He had a very lavish lifestyle with many homes around the country," said Elaasar, who estimates the family's wealth is between $50 billion to $70 billion.

Gross national income is $2,070 per family in Egypt, according to the World Bank. About 20 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, according to a 2010 report by the CIA.

"Gamal and Alaa are partners in the biggest trade and industrial companies in Egypt, practically paying nothing," Elaasar wrote in his book of Mubarak's two sons. Elaasar said the sons have shares in Chili's restaurants, Hyundai and Skoda auto dealerships, Vodafone, and several luxury hotel and residential properties.

Mansour Amer, chairman of Amer Group Holdings and franchisee of 19 Chili's restaurants in Egypt, denied any relation to Mubarak's family.

"We have nothing to do with any political figure," said Amer. "We are very well known in our community and we have no ties to them."

Dina Ghabbour, chief strategic officer of GB Auto, owner of the Hyundai dealership in Cairo, said the Mubaraks do not own any shares in the company.

The Mubarak family owns properties in London, Paris, Madrid, Dubai, Washington, D.C., New York and Frankfurt, according to a report from IHS Global Insight.

Davidson said the family's net worth, however -- $17 billion for Mubarak, $10 billion for his second son, Gamal, and $40 billion for the family -- are really just estimates.

"Of course, by definition, bank accounts in Switzerland are a secret so we cannot get a full picture," said Davidson.

Robert Springborg, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School and a Middle East scholar, said while the family is very wealthy, they have not been extremely overt with their wealth.

"One of the sons has a nice apartment in Cairo but nothing hugely lavish," said Springborg. "There are many other people in Egypt who live a more lavish lifestyle than them."

Whatever Mubarak's wealth is, Jamal said it is certain that whenever the president actually leaves office, there will be an investigation into his assets.

"There's not much of a cover-up," she said. "The people have already outed him as a corrupt leader."

We will not trust.

2011-02-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

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Israel's 63 years of unshakable delusion

2011-02-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

The only democracy, friend and ally of the USA, in the hostile Middle East, Israel shocked by Obama's "betrayal" of Mubarak.

While America recovered from its racist past, banned segregation, adopted new civil rights laws to protect minorities, and turned its back against South Africa's apartheid regime, Israel is the only remaining [skunk] in the mental asylum of racism.

Mubarak's stupidity blinded him from playing the game which Netanyahu is good at. Since he rose to the power, Netanyahu recycles his career every few years, switching positions, intertwined with recesses, as long as he could claim that he was duly elected. But, the rotten mentality of Netanyahu is no different from those of the Arab dictators.

Worse yet, none of the Arab dictators steal the lands of others in order to advance the rights of their own race as Netanyahu does. However, both the Israeli military hawks and the Arab dictators are experts in creating unprecedented quagmires.

Bin Laden warned of the pending upheaval in the Middle East. That started with Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt, and Jordon. Yet, since 1948, the fanatic Zionists did nothing less than created an everlasting rift between all religions of the Middle East. It is true that minorities have been eliminated from most of the Arab countries like Libya and Saudi Arabia. But, in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, most religious minorities enjoyed equal rights with the Muslim majorities long before Israel was born.

Israel's unshakable delusion that it could survive, as long as it is armed far and beyond its enemies, shows that neither history lessons nor rational analysis would extricate religious fanatic from their morbid reasoning. The Old Egyptians learned to avoid the mistakes of the Greek artists by building their pyramids and statutes on wide bases, with no limbs extending out of the body. To the contrast, the Greeks sculptured their statutes naked, exposed, with extended limbs and thus risked their shortened longevity. America made the same mistake with building the Twin Towers from steel and glass, projecting a thousand feet above New York and thus enticed three airborne attacks to bring them down.

Israel's delusion of reaching the point of no return of nuclear security dismisses the real and great danger of exploding population and dwindling of natural resources in the whole world, let alone the greater enlightenment of the new generations of the rights of people to equal protection of laws.

Thus, Israel's shock on the early demise of Mubarak is no surprise in the view of a Jewish nation blinded by morbid racism, detached from the realities of its own existence. Israel's worst enemies are not the Arab governments or the exploding populations of the Arabs and Muslims. Rather, Israel is faced with new Jewish generation who have no trust or faith in the old Testament or in the Zionist indoctrination tof its followers o hate and destroy non-Jews.

Indeed, the revolution that started in Tunisia, weeks ago, could soon spread to the two hard core religious fanatics: Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The simplest sign of such radical trend in modern history was the success of Barak Obama to become the first black president of the USA, whose name has the "Hussein" in its middle, despite Saddam's defamation of Hussein, and his last name "Obama", rhymed perfectly with "Osama".

That all attests to the fact that the American people, who represent the strongest nation ever existed in the history of mankind, would embrace change and reason over religious delusion and bigotry.

And the rest of the world follows America through its brand names: facebook, McDonald, KFT, Pizza Hut, ......

Editor's choice

A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Full Article

Israel shocked by Obama's "betrayal" of Mubarak

Netanyahu fearful of Egypt unrest

Mon, Jan 31 2011

By Douglas Hamilton

JERUSALEM | Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:54pm EST

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - If Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is toppled, Israel will lose one of its very few friends in a hostile neighborhood and President Barack Obama will bear a large share of the blame, Israeli pundits said on Monday.
Political commentators expressed shock at how the United States as well as its major European allies appeared to be ready to dump a staunch strategic ally of three decades, simply to conform to the current ideology of political correctness.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told ministers of the Jewish state to make no comment on the political cliffhanger in Cairo, to avoid inflaming an already explosive situation. But Israel's President Shimon Peres is not a minister.
"We always have had and still have great respect for President Mubarak," he said on Monday. He then switched to the past tense. "I don't say everything that he did was right, but he did one thing which all of us are thankful to him for: he kept the peace in the Middle East."
Newspaper columnists were far more blunt.
One comment by Aviad Pohoryles in the daily Maariv was entitled "A Bullet in the Back from Uncle Sam." It accused Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of pursuing a naive, smug, and insular diplomacy heedless of the risks.
Who is advising them, he asked, "to fuel the mob raging in the streets of Egypt and to demand the head of the person who five minutes ago was the bold ally of the president ... an almost lone voice of sanity in a Middle East?"
"The politically correct diplomacy of American presidents throughout the generations ... is painfully naive."
Obama on Sunday called for an "orderly transition" to democracy in Egypt, stopping short of calling on Mubarak to step down, but signaling that his days may be numbered. [nN30161335]
"AMERICA HAS LOST IT"
Netanyahu instructed Israeli ambassadors in a dozen key capitals over the weekend to impress on host governments that Egypt's stability is paramount, official sources said.
"Jordan and Saudi Arabia see the reactions in the West, how everyone is abandoning Mubarak, and this will have very serious implications," Haaretz daily quoted one official as saying.
Egypt, Israel's most powerful neighbor, was the first Arab country to make peace with the Jewish state, in 1979. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who signed the treaty, was assassinated two years later by an Egyptian fanatic.
It took another 13 years before King Hussein of Jordan broke Arab ranks to made a second peace with the Israelis. That treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated one year later, in 1995, by an Israeli fanatic.
There have been no peace treaties since. Lebanon and Syria are still technically at war with Israel. Conservative Gulf Arab regimes have failed to advance their peace ideas. A hostile Iran has greatly increased its influence in the Middle East conflict.

Why does Bin Laden always get it right?

2011-02-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

Twenty Years prior to 9/11, the Muslim Brotherhood executed the assassination of Anwar Sadat in what appeared like a realistic science fiction movie. While Sadat was looking up towards the overhead fighter jets, the shooters sprayed him with bullets from an army pick up truck. First impression was that he would have been shot from air. Few minutes later, the video footage played scenes of the four shooters executing their plot with extraordinary precision. The only glitch was the escape of Mubarak as he ducked down escaping an immediate kill. All Sadat's security men were banned from carrying live ammunition.

Sadat's assassination, October 6, 1981.

Hosni Mubarak, determined to stay until the election. January 31, 2011.

Anwar Sadat, died 1981.

Mubarak, Sadat, and Gazala, October 6, 1981 prior to assassination.

Muslim Brotherhood executing their assassination plot, 1981.

The beginning of the assassination plot.

Mubarak's escape of death in 1981 submerged Egypt into three decades of darkness, poverty, and oppression. Twenty years later, three out of four planes hijacked by members of the Muslim Brotherhood executed their plot in the USA and dragged the American Super Power into two wars. Both wars resulted in the elimination of two brutal dictatorships. All along, the Muslim Brotherhood was right about the menace of tyranny in the Arab World and the destruction of the Palestinian people by the treasures and blood of the American people. As if thirty years were too short for an American president to send a call to Mubarak or King Hussein or the Israelis or the Saudis urging them to respect the American values of equality and human rights.

Mubarak to stay on till election

Clashes erupt in Alexandria shortly after Egyptian president's speech offering a mixture of concessions and defiance.

Al Jazeera Online Producer Last Modified: 01 Feb 2011 22:34 GMT

January 31, 2011

Mubarak's televised announcement came after eight days of unprecedented nationwide protests [EPA]

CAIRO, EGYPT - Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, has announced in a televised address that he will not run for re-election but refused to step down from office - the central demand of millions of protesters who have demonstrated across Egypt over the past week.
His announcement follows a week of protests, in which millions of people have taken to the streets in Cairo and elsewhere.
Mubarak seemed largely unfazed by the protests during his recorded address, which aired at 11pm local time on Tuesday.
Shortly after his speech, clashes broke out between pro-Mubarak and anti-government protesters in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Al Jazeera's correspondent reported.


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Rock-throwing youths at the city's Mahatit Masr Square scattered as automatic gunfire rang out and a tank advanced towards them before halting and then withdrawing. There was no sign of any casualties.
A protester identified as Eslam Kamal played down the seriousness of the incident.
"An argument erupted out of overexcitement," he said.
"The army acted wisely ... and started to separate the two groups."
Mubarak's words were unlikely to carry much weight with the protesters at Cairo's Tahrir, or Liberation, Square: they resumed their "Leave, Mubarak!" chant shortly after his speech, and added a few new slogans, like "we won't leave tomorrow, we won't leave Thursday ..."
Mubarak mentioned the protests at the beginning of his speech, and said that "the young people" have the right to peaceful demonstrations.
But his tone quickly turned accusatory, saying the protesters had been "taken advantage of" by people trying to "undermine the government".
Until now, officials had indicated Mubarak, 82, was likely to run for a sixth six-year term of office. But in his address on Tuesday, Mubarak said he never intended to run for re-election.

"I will use the remaining months of my term in office to fill the peoples' demands," he said.
That would leave Mubarak in charge of overseeing a transitional government until the next presidential election, currently scheduled for September.

Economy and jobs
Mubarak promised reforms to the constitution, particularly Article 76, which makes it virtually impossible for independent candidates to run for office. And he said his government would focus on improving the economy and providing jobs.
"My new government will be responsive to the needs of young people," he said. "It will fulfil those legitimate demands and help the return of stability and security."
Mubarak also made a point of saying that he would "die in this land" - a message to protesters that he did not plan to flee into exile like recently deposed Tunisian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

People power

None of the protesters interviewed earlier today said they would accept Mubarak finishing his term in office.
"He needs to leave now," Hassan Moussa said in Tahrir Square just hours before Mubarak's announcement.
"We won't accept him leaving in September, or handing power to [newly installed vice-president] Omar Suleiman. He needs to leave now."
So the protests continue to feel like a waiting game - as if Mubarak is hoping to simply outlast the crowds amassed at Tahrir Square.
"When the people of a nation decide something, then it will happen," Abdullah Said Ahmed, a student from Al-Azhar University, said. "The United States chooses its leaders. We're going to choose ours. Our patience can do anything."
Saber Shanan said: "I'll stay here until I die or until the system changes."
Mubarak's announcement came after pressure from the US, which urged him not to seek re-election.
Frank Wisner, a former ambassador to Egypt, met Mubarak on Monday and reportedly told him not to extend his time in office.
In remarks to the media at the White House on Tuesday evening, Barack Obama, the US president, said he had spoken with Mubarak who he said "recognises that the status quo is not sustainable and a change must take place".
Obama said he told Mubarak that an orderly transition must be meaningful and peaceful, must begin now and must include opposition parties.
Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, said: "It is clear that President Mubarak is in denial over his legacy.
"Until Friday we are probably going to watch a major escalation of tension in events both between the demonstrators on the one hand and the regime of Mubarak on the other."

King Hussein of Jordan fearing the spread of the Tunisian erruption.

Thousands of Jordanians took to the streets inspired by the protests in Tunisia and Egypt [GALLO/GETTY]

King Abdullah II of Jordan has sacked his government in the wake of street protests and has asked an ex-army general to form a new cabinet, Jordan's Royal Palace has announced.

King Abdullah's move on Tuesday comes after thousands of Jordanians took to the streets, inspired by anti-government protests in Tunisia and Egypt. Jordanians had been calling for the resignation of prime minister Samir Rifai who is blamed for a rise in fuel and food prices and slowed political reforms.

A Jordanian official said the monarch officially accepted the resignation of Rifai, a wealthy politician and former court adviser, and asked Marouf Bakhit to form a new cabinet.
"[Bakhit] is a former general and briefly ambassador to Israel who has been prime minister before. He's someone who would be seen as a safe pair of hands," Rosemary Hollis, professor of Middle East policy studies at London's City University, said.
"I wouldn't see it as a sign of liberalisation. With his previous premiership, he talked the talk of reform but little actually happened," she said.
Protests have spread across Jordan in the last few weeks, with demonstrators blaming corruption spawned by free-market reforms for the plight of the country's poor.
Many Jordanians hold successive governments responsible for a prolonged recession and rising public debt that hit a record $15bn this year in one of the Arab world's smallest economies, heavily dependent on foreign aid.

Read the full text of The Times article or other headlines from the day.

SADAT ASSASSINATED AT ARMY PARADE AS MEN AMID RANKS FIRE INTO STANDS; VICE PRESIDENT AFFIRMS 'ALL TREATIES'

AT LEAST 8 KILLED

Speaker of Parliamet is Interim President -- Election in 60 Days

By WILLIAM E. FARRELL

Special to The New York Times

RELATED HEADLINES Israel Stunned and Anxious; Few Arab Nations Mourning
Egypt After Sadat
Who Murdered President Sadat?

CAIRO, Oct. 6 -- President Anwar el-Sadat of Egypt was shot and killed today by a group of men in military uniforms who hurled hand grenades and fired rifles at him as he watched a military parade commemorating the 1973 war against Israel.
Egypt's treaties and international commitments would be respected. He said the Speaker of Parliament, Sufi Abu Taleb, would serve as interim President pending an election in 60 days.
The assassins' bullets ended the life of a man who earned a reputation for making bold decisions in foreign affairs, a reputation based in large part on his decision in 1977 to journey to the camp of Egypt's foe, Israel, to make peace.

Sadat Forged His Own Regime
Regarded as an interim ruler when he came to power in 1970 on the death of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Mr. Sadat forged his own regime and ran Egypt single-handedly. He was bent on moving this impoverished country into the late 20th century, a drive that led him to abandon an alliance with the Soviet Union and embrace the West.
That rule ended abruptly and violently toda y. As jet fighters roared overhead, the killers sprayed the reviewing
Of humble origin, Anwar el-Sadat became a statesman known for daring actions. Obituary, pages A8 and A9. stand with bullets while thousands of horrified people - officials, diplomats and journalists, including this correspondent - looked on.

Killers' Identity Not Disclosed
Information gathered from a number of sources indicated that eight persons had been killed and 27 wounded in the attack. Later reports, all unconfirmed, put the toll at 11 dead and 38 wounded.
The authorities did not disclose the identity of the assassins. They were being interrogated, and there were no clear indications whether the attack was to have been part of a coup attempt.
(In Washington, American officials said an army major, a lieutenant and four enlisted men had been involved in the attack. The major and two of the soldiers were killed and the others captured, the officials said.)
The assassination followed a recent crackdown by Mr. Sadat against religious extremists and other political opponents. There were unverifiable reports that some members of the armed forces had also been detained.
Those standing nearby at the parade today said six to eight soldiers riding in a truck towing an artillery piece had broken away from the line of march and walked purposefully toward the reviewing stand. Onlookers thought the procession was part of the pageant. Suddenly, a hand grenade exploded and bursts of rifle fire erupted while French-made Mirage jets screeched overhead.
The 62-year-old leader was rushed to Maadi Military Hospital by helicopter and died several hours later.
Business leaders said President Sadat's assassination underscored the volatility of the Middle East with its vital oil supplies. Page D1. said to have been struck by two bullets. A medical bulletin said he might have been hit by as many as five bullets and shrapnel fragments.
The bulletin said he had no heartbeat when he arrived at the hospital. It attributed his death, at 2:40 P.M. (8:40 A.M. New York time), to ''violent nervous shock and internal bleeding in the chest cavity, where the left lung and major blood vessels below it were torn.''
The death of Mr. Sadat raised serious questions about the direction the nation would now take. At least for the time being, affairs of state are expected to be run largely by Vice President Mubarak, a longtime associate who promptly took over direction of the armed forces after the President died. Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party announced that Vice President Mub arak would be its candidate in the presidential election.
Mr. Mubarek, in his broadcast announcing Mr. Sadat's death seven hours after the assassination, indicated that Egypt would continue to respect the peace treaty with Israel.
''I hereby declare,'' he said, ''in the name of the great soul passing away and in the name of the people, its constitutional institutions and its armed forces, that we are committed to all charters, treaties, and international obligations that Egypt has concluded.''
Security police patrolled Cairo's streets, nearly empty except for some shoppers because of the holiday marking the 1973 war, and government buildings were being closely guarded.
Regular television programming was canceled after the announcement of Mr. Sadat's death and was replaced by readings from the Koran and film clips of his achievements - the 1973 war against Israel, which Mr. Sadat said restored Egyptian dignity after its defeat in 1967, the peace treaty with Israel and other milestones. No film of the attack on the reviewing stand at today's parade was shown on Egyptian television.

Reviewing Stand Awash in Blood
Within seconds of the attack, the reviewing stand was awash in blood. Bemedaled officials dived for cover. Screams and panic followed as guests tried to flee, tipping over chairs. Some were crushed under foot. Others, shocked and stunned, stood riveted.
This correspondent saw one assailant, a stocky, dark-haired man, standing in a half crouch, firing a rifle into the stand used by Mr. Sadat, who was wearing black leather boots and military attire crossed by a green sash.
Some onlookers reported a short, fierce exchange of fire between the killers and Mr. Sadat's security men. Others said the attackers had been overcome by some of the thousands of military men in the area.
While spectators sought a way out, the reviewing stand for a few seconds was nearly empty. Flanked on each side by displays of sleek missiles, the stand was a blood-soaked horror.
Mr. Sadat was promptly carried away, but others felled by bullets remained writhing on the ground. A few did not move. One man, seriously wounded, was slumped over a railing separating Mr. Sadat and his party from the parade about 20 yards away.
Among those hit was reported to be Bishop Samuel, whom Mr. Sadat had named one of five clerics to run the Coptic Christians' affairs after he deposed their Pope, Sheunda III. The bishop was later reported to have died.
Others said to have died were two presidential aides - Mohammed Rashwan, the official photographer, and Sayed Marei, a confidant. The Belgian Ambassador, Claude Ruelle, was seriously wounded, and three American military officers were hurt.
Egypt's Defense Minister, Gen. Abdel Halim Abu Ghazala, who had opened the parade with a speech, stood in the midst of the carnage. His face was bleeding, his gold-braided uniform was blood-soaked. He waved away attempts to assist him and began issuing orders.
Soldiers wearing red berets and perfectly creased uniforms promptly joined hands to cordon off the scene of the attack, widening the circle as more soldiers arrived. Some of the soliders were sobbing, a few screamed hysterically, others looked dumbfounded.
Overhead, the air show continued. Planes looped and swerved and dived and arced and sent colorful sprays of vapor over the pandemonium below. The roar of engines drowned out the screams and the clatter of chairs.
Camel Corps on Parade
The parade ground, which had witnessed a joyful procession of Egypt's most advanced arms as well as the colorful camel corps, with its turbaned soldiers, and the cavalry, with its sleek, elegant Arabian horses, was littered with little Egyptian souvenir flags dropped by panicked guests. As members of military bands scattered, the brilliant sun beamed off shiny, yellow tubas and other brass instruments.
The Egyptian military establishment has long been regarded as the ingredient needed by any leader to remain in power. Diplomatic and military analysts said that Mr. Sadat had the support of the military and that it assured the stability of his regime and permitted him to take daring steps, such as the peace overture to Israel and, finally, the peace treaty. In the absence of information, it was hard to tell whether the assassins represented a disenchantment with Mr. Sadat within the military.
Speculation abounded. Some thought the attackers, who many felt must have kno wn that they were on a suicide mission, might be Moslem fundamentalists opposed to the alliance with Israel and to Mr. Sadat's recen t crackdown.
About a month ago, he ordered the arrest of some 1,500 Coptic and Moslem extremists, along with some of his political opponents. He said they had fomented sectarian strife and endangered his efforts to bring democracy to Egypt.
A devout Moslem, Mr. Sadat was harsh toward fundamentalist groups, such as the Moslem Brotherhood and the Islamic Association. He banned both groups, calling them illegal. He said that he would not tolerate mixing religion and politics and that these groups were using mosques to denounce him.
Arrest of Some Military Rumored
The published names of those arrested in the crackdown did not include those of military personnel. But there were reports that some of those detained were in the armed forces.
After Mr. Sadat's helicopter had left the scene, diplomats rushed to their limousines. Soldiers cleared the grounds and drove away the stunned spectators. Ambulances wailed, women clutching their children raced away. And the airshow above continued.
Early in the parade, a rocketlike object had been launched. It rained down Egyptian flags and portraits of Mr. Sadat hanging from tiny parachutes that were whipped by the wind. Most of them floated over a nearby housing development called Nasser City.
As the grounds were being cleared, one of the parachuted portraits was seen hanging from a flag pole on which it had become impaled in landing. The portrait of Mr. Sadat had been torn by the sharp tip of the Egyptian flag that was fluttering from it.

American Made Immortal Dictators

2011-02-01T12:44:00.000-08:00

Reza Shah Pahlevi was a true American success in oppressing the Iranian people from 1953 till the arrival of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1988. In contrast, America failed to do with Naser in his socialization and nationalization revolution of 1952.

Jimmy Carter denied the Shah asylum in the USA but made his loyal friend, Anwar Sadat lend hand to the beleaguered Emperor. Ironically, Sadat inaugurated the son of the Shah as the new Emperor of Iran. Sadat's winning of the Noble Prize and backing of the American government inflated Sadat's ego beyond comprehension. In his last infuriating speech, Sadat declared that all nations have corruption and that he was not in the ranks of the noble prophets of Islam.

Then, Khomeini was amidst his revolution to transform Iran into a new theocracy. Not too long after, Khomeini took care of the business of assassinating Sadat.

America did not give up on bringing down Khomeini. It enlisted Saddam to fight Iran from 1979 till 1988. Later, America fought two wars in order to dwarf Saddam's madness. With Saudis' money and the Israelis' strategists, America sacrificed its treasures and the blood of its people to conduct the proxy wars for the sake of protecting the Saudis, Kuwaitis, and Israelis, and the expense of the scapegoats: the Palestinians.

The Palestinian Holocaust at the hands of the Israelis and with the American made weapons gave way to radicals such as Bin Laden and the new movements in Tunisia and Egypt.

Khomeini's phenomenon was replicated by Ahmad Chalabi with a twist of using the enemies of Iraq; Israel, Saudi Arabia, and America, to topple Saddam's regime and to expand the Shiite's dominance. Chalabi's contract with the West was less durable than the Shah's contract. Both ended up with the oppressed anger of the masses in Iran and Iraq. For the first time in history, the Iraqis learn how to commit suicide and organize in defense of their raped culture and histsory.

The lesson of rising to leadership from within never passed to Mohamed ElBaradei. With Noble Prize under his belt, ElBaradei's fool heartedly believed that he could become another American-made poppet. "There is nothing short of Mubarak leaving power that will satisfy the people," Mohamed ElBaradei, the country's leading pro-reform activist told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I think what Mubarak said yesterday was an insult to the intelligence of the Egyptian people."

ElBaradei's ambition to become the next Pharaoh of Egypt might end with the same fate of Benazeer Bhutto of Pakistan, assassinated by the Muslim Brotherhood. That is the most probable outcome of ElBaradie's foolish dream to oppress the Egyptians for decades to come.
A dull-minded bureaucrat, ElBaradei could not infer the inspiration of the Egyptian youths to a leader from their own fiber, which ElBaradei was not. Simply, the man failed to bring Israel to the club of nuclear-free nations. Rather, ElBaradei labored to fatten his resume at the expense of destroying Iraq and appeasing the West. ElBaradei's analysis is one-sided since it assumes that Mubarak was too old to kick back and the Egyptians were too desperate for a straw to keep them afloat. But, ElBaradei is not that straw. The man suffered from the same paranoia that ended Sadat, Shah, and is now finishing Mubarak. Depending on foreign credentials never made heroes. And Egypt is in dire need for one.

The paradox of labeling outsiders "anti-Americans" when they oppose the foreign policy of the American government, while internal opposition to the American government is viewed a healthy sign of democracy, has not confounded Hamas. The Palestinians of Gaza chose their people to oppose the USA for the simplest reason that Israel uses the American weapons and citizens to displace and slaughter the Palestinians.

Compared to Gamal Abdel Nasser, ElBaradei's myxedematous outlook and his dull-minded approached the true struggle of millions of young Egyptians, will soon get him to face the same fate of Ahmad Chalabi.

Thus, Egypt's quagmire will remain so, until an new attractive hero is borne locally. One who could chase the Muslim brothers into their underground world, curtail the sensitivity and overreaction of the edgy Coptic freaks, and inspire the homeless and jobless youth with new dawn.

30 Years Of Darkness

2011-01-26T21:52:00.000-08:00

While Ben Laden enjoyed an iconic status as the purist, can-do Islamist, Mubarak endured the ridicule and resentment of every living Egyptian.

Ben Laden's prophecy spoke directly to the hearts and souls of every common person. Slim, eloquent, and focused, Ben Laden was able to convey a massage of genuine belief, despite maniacal, compared to his sluggish, confused, and erratic partner; El-Zwaherri.

In contrast, Mubarak's lazy and sedentary life style reflected on his ugly presentation and detached mind. With extreme poverty and exploding population growth, Mubarak's detachment sickens millions of Egyptians, Muslims, and Arabs. Those always believed in the great leadership of Egypt, the Gift of the Nile.

With the Shock and Owe war on Baghdad, many folks viewed Bush as ruthless as the radical Islamists. Both the USA and the fanatic Islamists lacked any insight into the underlying cause of misery. For good or for bad, change in the Middle East is always a positive sign in the face of the overgrowth of population, the dwindling of natural resources, and the deepening of religious conflicts.

That however does not offer any way out of the conundrum of the Middle East. Islamists would kill their own family members for trivial issues such as uncovered women's skin, mixed gender gathering, or being perceived as infidel. The apparent paradox between the overzealous concern about women's chasteness and unconditional submission to the word of God, on one side, and international Jihaddism, may be so for casual observers. Even in Christian extremism, the cause and effect between personal conduct and the fate of nations is well perceived.

The latest riots against the Egyptian Government would soon die out.

The Egyptian Police, prisons, and legal system have always been efficient for burying people alive with impunity and with no trace. A day in an Egyptian prison suffices to end life as we know it in modern society. Indeed, the 2000 people riots is merely a suicidal attempt. All those 2000 will be haunted and eliminated and everyone else will look the other way.

Mubarak's son would soon be declared the new King of Egypt.

Every Western dignitary, heads of state, and people of influence would soon sit and walk in Mubarak's inauguration as the new Pharaoh of Egypt.

The above scenario is not completely impossible. The Shah of Iran and Sadat of Egypt were treated in similar fashion, before they were both killed or ousted. Both the Shah and Sadat were downed by Islamists.

The hoax that the USA would soon spread democracy in the Middle East by eradicating the Baathists of Iraq was too naive to discern the real motives of the Iraq war. Yet, Ben Laden deserves the credit from getting the West to topple Saddam and his brutal regime.

Who would topple Mubarak?

No one.

The anger and resentment of outsiders, on the hypocrisy of the USA in conducting foreign policy, is another paradox.

The USA spent billions of dollars (a billion per week) to topple Saddam and occupy Iraq. Yet, America oppresses and humiliates 30 million illegal immigrants who pick the trash, clean and care for the elderly, and keep the American economy afloat.

Only Britain cared for banning Micheal Savage from entering its land for his racist campaign against illegal immigrants.

Indeed, America is inflicted with the same disease of tyranny, no different from any third world country.

American courts thrive on expensive and protracted litigation that could only benefit the rich and wealthy. Most middle and low class Americans are aliens in their own country. The two parties are chewing each other to death, in total disregard to the welfare of their own great nation.

Here, you got it, Mubarak. Another 30 years in deeper darkness.

Neither your own people got the guts to run you into exile, nor America cares about its own people, let alone yours, nor would your dead conscience ever rise.

Further, if Mubarak runs for reelection for another 30 years, he will win single handedly, without any need to tamper with votes. This irony is never perplexing at all. Most oppressed people never gain confidence in change. Thirty brutal years of tyrant suffice to enslave a nation into complete submission.