Where is Egypt now?

A lot has happened since my last entry, or possibly nothing at all. First, let me set the stage. Egypt is and has been for more than 50 years a military dictatorship. The three presidents who have ruled Egypt since 1952 (when Gamal Nassar kicked out King Farouk) were all generals. The cabinet positions today are at least half filled with former generals.Of the country's 17 governates (like states in the US), 80% of the governors are ex-generals. While that may sound ominous when compared to our civilian government, each president has done good things for Egypt and as I have said before, if they simply retired after two terms like here, things would be much better for Egyptians today. Unfortunately, any government official in office more than 8-10 years ends up making decisions designed to keep him in power. That usually includes bribery, patronage, intimidation, etc.

So here's the situation now. Former general Suleiman, named vice president by former general Mubarak, is taking the lead to come up with a package of reforms designed to satisfy the Egyptian people - free and fair elections (as long as it keeps the military in control), free press (except for those who disagree with the military), multi-party dialogue (without any strong opposition it is just that -- talk), etc.

Of course, Suleiman (and by extension, Mubarak) is now aided and abetted by the western powers (US, Britain, France, Germany), who agree with Suleiman that the Mubarak regime must be gradually replaced so as not to cause chaos (like the chaos already created by the regime). That takes away the significant pressure for change brought on by the protestors, who have in some cases sacrificed life and limb to achieve their one goal, getting rid of Mubarak immediately. We have not created many friends in the protest movement by supporting the status quo.  Time will tell if anything new and different occurs between now and the September elections. Keep in mind that the people are not looking for an American style democracy. They are quite satisfied with the military government IF it can deliver on jobs, a better standard of living, better education and opportunity for those who are educated. There is another, more serious problem, that will ultimately determine Egypt's future.