Egypt after the fall of Baghdad

This blog is a reflection on the developments that took place in Egypt after toppling Iraq’s former dictator Saddam Hussein:

• Press and Mass Media: Press language has changed. Egyptian mass media had international politics as its main focus rather than domestic affairs before the fall of Saddam. The U.S. had the lion’s share of media attacks for supporting Israel and the misery of the Palestinians...etc. Egypt, claiming to be a US ally, is the second recipient of the US aid after Israel. Egypt’s press was not shameless to attack the US in the nastiest way ever. The Egyptian regime failure was always laid on the US in an indirect way.
  Today, the Press is taking the domestic reform and affairs as a focus. The regime is receiving the toughest criticism ever in 25 years through Egyptian opposition press. Writers and journalists are shifting their writings to corruption, opposition figures and Egypt’s presidential and parliamentary elections. The press is not mingling between the regime’s corruption and dictatorship and the US. as before. Criticism is directly targeting the regime rather than the US. The US support to the Egyptian regime is diminishing. Hence the US succeeded in separating itself from Egypt’s dictatorship. The only group in Egypt that claims that the regime is a close ally to the US is the Muslim brotherhood. They are selling the same song because they are the second face of the same coin of the regime. The US has been so clear about its policy in the Middle East and that does not exclude Egypt.
• The Palestinian Cause is no longer Egypt-sponsored: The death of the late Palestinian dictator Yasser Arafat put an end to the monopoly of the Palestinian cause at the expense of the Palestinians. The Arab League is not longer foiling all attempts by the US and EU to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict The Palestinian Cause is back to the Palestinians. Today US secretary of State succeeded in striking a deal between the Israelis and Palestinians on Gaza crossing in the absence of Egypt’s leadership or the so-called Arab League. The US is smartly trying hard to keep the Palestinian cause away from the Arab dictator regimes who claim that freedom and democracy for their peoples are pending on solving the Palestinian cause.
• The longstanding alliance between Egypt and Syria was unveiled: Egypt claimed for a long time to be an ally for the US when it was not. Syria is open about its enmity to the US. The Egyptian regime is in a critical position now because it was not open about it hatred to the US. Egypt’s alliance with the Syrian regime was uncovered after disclosing the role of Syria in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories and its deals with Iran.
• Popular opposition movements for change in Egypt strengthened: The US succeeded in sending the right support signal to the opposition movements which are calling for change, democracy and freedom. The Egyptian streets witnessed unprecedented moves in a country ruled by emergency laws for 25 years. Opposition figures are reconsidering their political stands from the regime, knowing that changes are coming and that the people will have to rule at the end. Those opposition figures once in the past struck several deals with the Egyptian regime at the expense of the Egyptian people. There is only one path now to lead. The path of freedom and democracy.
• Electoral Setback and Renaissance: Despite the fact that Egypt is witnessing electoral setbacks, rigging and illegitimacy, however staunch campaigns by NGOs and the opposition groups and parties are directly accusing the government’s National Democratic Party of rigging and giving up on true reforms and crushing the citizens' rights for a democratic future. Those reforms are the same calls by the US in which the Egyptian regime is ignoring. The Egyptian regime is defying the US calls for economic change and political freedom. Opposition movements that once rejected electoral international monitors, today many of them are calling for international observers for Egypt’s elections to avoid the regime’s rigging tricks. The regime is claiming that international monitors are considered an interference in domestic affairs. Many opposition groups separated themselves from the regime’s calls because they realized that it does not comply with a future of freedom and democracy for Egypt.
• Reform is not a priority for Egypt’s regime: The way how the regime handled the presidential elections and the current handling for the parliamentary election prove that the regime has no true interest in reform as it claims before the world.
  
  

Egypt is shaking positively, however the Egyptian regime is so adamant and does not want to give up to the calls of freedom and democracy.

The Egyptian regime is dangerously playing with the fire that could burn the country. The support of the Egyptian regime to the Muslim Brotherhood is not auguring well. The Egyptian regime released hundreds of the MB’s prisoners. The Egyptian regime is strengthening the MB intentionally giving them parliament seats. Egyptians knew all the time about the ongoing deals between the government and the MB. However the recent dangerous message that is being sent by the regime is that there is a possibility to flare up a sectarian violence as in Alexandria or hand over the authority to the Islamists if the regime is not to remain in power. It is like the terrorists' message: "It is either they are in power or they will blow up cities, trains and any place they can hit". Photo by AP.