Image from the UK's The Guardian. (Click image to visit the Guardian page.)
On January 28, the Guardian reported that some members of the Egyptian police forces are now siding with protesters in their opposition to the government of longtime US ally Hosni Mubarak. While it would be misleading to say that this is representative of all Egyptian police forces, this is a significant turn of events, and it makes the end of Mubarak's government .
A Middle East expert at the Guardian has
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also suggested that Secretary Clinton's recent remarks, urging restraint by the Mubarak government, indicate that the United States is preparing for Mubarak's “negotiated departure.” (Please click here and go to the 5:23 pm mark). Given the likely outcome at this point, the United States must be prepared to navigate what will be a very different political situation in Egypt.
While the political upheavals in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen have unleashed longstanding displeasure with the respective governments, will such actions further extend throughout the Middle East? More immediately, in Egypt, the Guardian's Brian Whittaker suggests that Egypt already has the political infrastructure to support a democratic (albeit imperfect) government in place of the Mubarak government.
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