"Why Does He Pop Up On Television After The President Of Egypt Speaks?"

So queried Charles Krauthammer after Obama's short appearance last night following his half hour phone call with President Mubarak. I had the same question. Why? I'll get to more of Obama's speech, and the response of Krauthammer to it, but I have another question first.

Perhaps someone can answer this for me. Here's the thing. Cairo has over 18 million people. Relatively speaking, the number of protesters in the streets are a small number of the populace there. How is it this small mob is able to force the resignation of their president?

I should interject at this point that my partner remarked that they learned it from us. As in, they saw how a bunch of union, party, and thugs of all kinds broke laws and rules to make Obama the presidential nominee. Seeing how that worked, they decided to give it a go themselves. Ahem.

Back to my question, which is rapidly becoming more than one: Is this not a coup? And if so, who is behind this? Who would fill the void if Mubarak stepped down immediately? If it is Mohamad ElBaradei, what experience does he have in running a country? And why has the Muslim Brotherhood been pushing him as a presidential candidate?

As for the "Brotherhood," which first said it was not going to involve itself in politics, but now, maybe just a tad (cough, cough), what are we to make of this statement in their Supreme Guide:

[snip] The current Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Muhammad Badi', gave a sermon in September 2010 stating that Muslims today "need to understand that the improvement and change that the [Muslim] nation seeks can only be attained through jihad and sacrifice and by raising a jihadi generation that pursues death, just as the enemies pursue life."6 In short, the Muslim Brotherhood remains committed to supporting militant activities in order to advance its political aims. From looking at the biographies of its most prominent graduates, one can immediately understand the organization's long-term commitment to jihadism...[snip] (Click here to read the biographies.)

And why is Obama sticking his nose in all of this? I think that is the question Krauthammer wants answered, too:



Obama's speech was exceedingly light on substance (what else is new), but yes, why is Obama sticking his nose into this at this point? And has involvement by Obama and the US escalated the violence as was reported this morning that the Egyptian Foreign Minister claimed?

Breaking News: the Museum in Cairo is now on fire. A protester hurled a molotov cocktail at it, and it is on fire. This is terrible, terrible news...

Oh, my - what an intense time in Egypt. I have lots of questions, though. Can anyone help make sense of how this relatively small mob has the power to oust their president?