THE EGYPTIAN QUESTION

The Egyptian uprising is more of an exclamation than a question----they made their point very clear---'we want change, and we want it now!' President Mubarak has no choice but to step down, the sooner the better or risk the consequences. The people have spoken and once again shown the universal thirst and quest for liberty and individual rights against a dictatorship,however benevolent it may have been---and however tied to U.S. interests it was. To Mubarak's credit, it has not yet turned into a blood bath, as it could have---perhaps because it was so sudden, large,and unpredictable. Happening on the heels of a civil riot and change of President in Tunisia, this outbreak seemed to echo the age old cry---free us from our misery, or we will burn the house down. Indeed, they have much to complain about, with unemployment at staggering levels, illiteracy rampant, and poverty the standard of living, they were a pot ready to boil over. But the question is, where and how do they get to a different place? And will that place be worse than the last?

Democracy, or even something similar, is not easily born or put quickly into place---particularly without any clear leader or order. Who will fill the vacuum left by Mubarek is the real question. There seems at this point to be no obvious answers. Egypt is a mix of forces, including the military, the ruling regime---and the questionable group known as "The Brotherhood of Muslims", a supposedly non-violent Islamic group, with ties to Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization. If they do grab the reigns of power, we have much reason for worry---thus, the reticence of Obama to finally ask Mubarek to step down, which Obama has done, but only because it seemed he had no choice in the matter. We had supported his regime, because he was the lesser of other evils in the mid east, and because he supported Israel and our own oil interests in the region. But in the end, the tide of events driven from sources we may never know about were too strong to push back. Our involvement was too little, too late---and now, we await the outcome. Could this be the beginning of more extreme Muslim control in the middle east, thereby tightening their grip on oil and promotion of anti-American sentiment? That is the concern, the almost unspoken fear that we face, and it is real. It is even terrifyingly more real for Israel. With Jordan also beginning to shake in terms of a changing of their cabinet and policies, Israel stands warily looking on, as their future hangs even more untenably in the balance.

Nobody knows where this latest development will lead, but it seems that as a worried world watches, huge, possibly cataclysmic events are beginning to shape a far different political landscape. Who are the real architects, and if they are only the masses, without a common focus or organization, who will they choose to rebuild, and what will their country and lives look like? More important to us, what will we look like if we choose to do nothing more than observe or go with the flow? The complexity and balance of a world free from religious tyranny, oppression, and terrorism is hard to come by, and in this case can we adhere to a policy of hands-off? To allow those who would attempt to go it alone, is to risk not only their failure, but also the fragility of emerging democracies to be hi-jacked by those who seek their own self serving power and stifling agendas---and the effects of that could be devastating to many other nations, including ours.

President Obama's plate is full---but it is about to overflow. Is he ready for the challenge? Are we? We do not wish to inject ourselves into the affairs of others---but to remain removed and uninvolved may be too dangerous, not only for us, for all of the middle east. That is but one of the dilemmas as Egypt cries out, and we answer in Obama's words--"we hear you". Interestingly, those were the exact words of President George W. Bush, as he stood atop the 9/11 rubble and spoke into a bullhorn Though he was speaking to the rescue workers, he was really speaking to all of us, as we cried out in anger and anguish at the destruction and murder of our people. He went on to say that the terrorists would hear from us soon. They did, and we have been furiously debating those decisions ever since. It is not an easy task to do the right thing at the right time, in these days of civil unrest, changing allegiances, and fluid power plays---to say nothing of terrorism. Stay tuned---and say a prayer---the future is unfolding at an almost alarming pace, even as this is being written. The battle for freedom and passionate struggle for a better life are ancient and mighty, but so too are the forces for power and agendas of those who wish to rule and dictate. Diplomacy is needed, wisdom is key, but the tipping point will come from strength,will,and an organized hand---may it be the hand of democracy.

Long ago, in the land of Egypt, there were a people who cried out---"Let my people go"---they were the Jews, and they finally found their freedom. Ironic that now, in the land of Israel, they and we who guard it, face a threatening Egypt once again.