iHaveNet.com
World - Hope Amid the Chaos in Cairo | Egypt
  • HOME
  • WORLD
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Balkans
    • Caucasas
    • Central Asia
    • Eastern Europe
    • Europe
    • Indian Subcontinent
    • Latin America
    • Middle East
    • North Africa
    • Scandinavia
    • Southeast Asia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    • Argentina
    • Australia
    • Austria
    • Benelux
    • Brazil
    • Canada
    • China
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Ireland
    • Israel
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Korea
    • Mexico
    • New Zealand
    • Pakistan
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Russia
    • South Africa
    • Spain
    • Taiwan
    • Turkey
    • United States
  • USA
    • ECONOMICS
    • EDUCATION
    • ENVIRONMENT
    • FOREIGN POLICY
    • POLITICS
    • OPINION
    • TRADE
    • Atlanta
    • Baltimore
    • Bay Area
    • Boston
    • Chicago
    • Cleveland
    • DC Area
    • Dallas
    • Denver
    • Detroit
    • Houston
    • Los Angeles
    • Miami
    • New York
    • Philadelphia
    • Phoenix
    • Pittsburgh
    • Portland
    • San Diego
    • Seattle
    • Silicon Valley
    • Saint Louis
    • Tampa
    • Twin Cities
  • BUSINESS
    • FEATURES
    • eBUSINESS
    • HUMAN RESOURCES
    • MANAGEMENT
    • MARKETING
    • ENTREPRENEUR
    • SMALL BUSINESS
    • STOCK MARKETS
    • Agriculture
    • Airline
    • Auto
    • Beverage
    • Biotech
    • Book
    • Broadcast
    • Cable
    • Chemical
    • Clothing
    • Construction
    • Defense
    • Durable
    • Engineering
    • Electronics
    • Firearms
    • Food
    • Gaming
    • Healthcare
    • Hospitality
    • Leisure
    • Logistics
    • Metals
    • Mining
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Newspaper
    • Nondurable
    • Oil & Gas
    • Packaging
    • Pharmaceutic
    • Plastics
    • Real Estate
    • Retail
    • Shipping
    • Sports
    • Steelmaking
    • Textiles
    • Tobacco
    • Transportation
    • Travel
    • Utilities
  • WEALTH
    • CAREERS
    • INVESTING
    • PERSONAL FINANCE
    • REAL ESTATE
    • MARKETS
    • BUSINESS
  • STOCKS
    • ECONOMY
    • EMERGING MARKETS
    • STOCKS
    • FED WATCH
    • TECH STOCKS
    • BIOTECHS
    • COMMODITIES
    • MUTUAL FUNDS / ETFs
    • MERGERS / ACQUISITIONS
    • IPOs
    • 3M (MMM)
    • AT&T (T)
    • AIG (AIG)
    • Alcoa (AA)
    • Altria (MO)
    • American Express (AXP)
    • Apple (AAPL)
    • Bank of America (BAC)
    • Boeing (BA)
    • Caterpillar (CAT)
    • Chevron (CVX)
    • Cisco (CSCO)
    • Citigroup (C)
    • Coca Cola (KO)
    • Dell (DELL)
    • DuPont (DD)
    • Eastman Kodak (EK)
    • ExxonMobil (XOM)
    • FedEx (FDX)
    • General Electric (GE)
    • General Motors (GM)
    • Google (GOOG)
    • Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)
    • Home Depot (HD)
    • Honeywell (HON)
    • IBM (IBM)
    • Intel (INTC)
    • Int'l Paper (IP)
    • JP Morgan Chase (JPM)
    • J & J (JNJ)
    • McDonalds (MCD)
    • Merck (MRK)
    • Microsoft (MSFT)
    • P & G (PG)
    • United Tech (UTX)
    • Wal-Mart (WMT)
    • Walt Disney (DIS)
  • TECH
    • ADVANCED
    • FEATURES
    • INTERNET
    • INTERNET FEATURES
    • CYBERCULTURE
    • eCOMMERCE
    • mp3
    • SECURITY
    • GAMES
    • HANDHELD
    • SOFTWARE
    • PERSONAL
    • WIRELESS
  • HEALTH
    • AGING
    • ALTERNATIVE
    • AILMENTS
    • DRUGS
    • FITNESS
    • GENETICS
    • CHILDREN'S
    • MEN'S
    • WOMEN'S
  • LIFESTYLE
    • AUTOS
    • HOBBIES
    • EDUCATION
    • FAMILY
    • FASHION
    • FOOD
    • HOME DECOR
    • RELATIONSHIPS
    • PARENTING
    • PETS
    • TRAVEL
    • WOMEN
  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • BOOKS
    • TELEVISION
    • MUSIC
    • THE ARTS
    • MOVIES
    • CULTURE
  • SPORTS
    • BASEBALL
    • BASKETBALL
    • COLLEGES
    • FOOTBALL
    • GOLF
    • HOCKEY
    • OLYMPICS
    • SOCCER
    • TENNIS
  • Subscribe to RSS Feeds EMAIL ALERT Subscriptions from iHaveNet.com RSS
    • RSS | Politics
    • RSS | Recipes
    • RSS | NFL Football
    • RSS | Movie Reviews
Hope Amid the Chaos in Cairo
Jonah Goldberg

HOME > WORLD

 

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

History is lurching in the Middle East, perhaps forward, possibly backward.

Consequently, some see the newly minted revolution in Tunisia and the unfolding one in Egypt (and possibly Yemen, Jordan and elsewhere) as hopeful news, and others as worrisome.

Color me hopeful.

Obviously, things can -- and probably will -- get worse before they get better. In one or more countries, we could have a modernized replay of the Iranian revolution, in which justified popular discontent with an authoritarian ruler was exploited by Islamists who ultimately imposed an even crueler brand of tyranny.

In Egypt, the role of the Khomeinists would be played by the Muslim Brotherhood. The group serves as something like an Egyptian government in internal exile. If the military allowed it, the Muslim Brotherhood could slide into power almost seamlessly.

Also, the Muslim Brotherhood serves as the Islamist equivalent of the Comintern, the old Soviet headquarters that coordinated, fomented and supported communist movements around the world. Al-Qaeda is something of a Brotherhood spinoff, even though relations between the two groups are reportedly frayed these days because the Brotherhood has gone too mainstream for Osama bin Laden's tastes.

A takeover of Egypt by the Brotherhood, according to most analysts, seems to be the worst-case scenario. But it's not the only worrisome possibility. At least a takeover by the Brotherhood -- with the feckless anti-American bureaucratic dandy Mohamed ElBaradei as its figurehead -- would provide a kind of predictability. We could also have bloodshed without resolution.

Nobody knows how far the contagion could spread, how dire the consequences could be.

For the Obama administration, the stakes are enormous. "Jimmy Carter will go down in American history as 'the president who lost Iran,'" writes Aluf Benn in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. "Barack Obama will be remembered as the president who 'lost' Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt, and during whose tenure America's alliances in the Middle East crumbled."

Johns Hopkins' Joshua Muravchik, a brilliant champion for democracy promotion around the world, argues that an Islamicized Egypt would spell a generation of "civilizational" conflict with the Muslim Middle East.

A more prosaic concern for President Obama: The Suez Canal is the most direct conduit for oil from the Persian Gulf. If it closes, even briefly, oil prices could surge. Middle East instability could deal a staggering blow to a still weak American economy.

Meanwhile, the stakes for Israel are nearly existential. Already, Stratfor.com reports that Egyptian police no longer patrol the border with the Gaza Strip. No doubt Hamas is taking advantage. Now imagine the threat if the Muslim Brotherhood, which has sworn to tear up Egypt's peace treaty with Israel, came into power.

These are all valid reasons to watch the news from the Middle East with gritted teeth.

And yet, I remain cheered by the news. This is a moment in which political decency and, eventually, freedom and democracy at least have a shot. That wasn't true a month ago.

U.S. support of dictators is always shameful, even when it is occasionally necessary. But it is unforgivable when necessity gives way to mere complacency. We passed that point with Hosni Mubarak years ago. As Condoleezza Rice said, we traded freedom for stability in the Middle East and got neither. Now, the stability is collapsing, which at least makes freedom possible.

Unlike many pundits who've miraculously become Egyptologists overnight, I don't pretend to know what will happen next. But I do know that you can't get where we need to go without going through moments like this.

Moreover, it's worth noting that chaos cuts both ways. The Muslim Brotherhood sees this as its moment too. But that doesn't mean the path for it is clear. Many Egyptians joined the Brotherhood because it seemed like the only conduit for their justified hatred of Mubarak's regime. The days when the Brotherhood was the only game in town are over as well. Tomorrow remains a blank page. That alone is hopeful news.

(Jonah Goldberg is an editor-at-large of National Review Online and a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute)

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

 

  • Davos Man and the Real World
  • From Davos to D.C., A Crossroads Moment for the World
  • The 10 Countries With the Most Debt
  • Egypt: The Distance Between Enthusiasm and Reality
  • Egypt Revolt Part of a Long History of Uprisings
  • Hope Amid the Chaos in Cairo
  • Egypt's Uphill Economic Struggles
  • The United States - Egypt Breakup: Washington's Limited Options in Cairo
  • Egypt a 'Textbook' Foreign Policy Dilemma
  • Egypt's Widening Discontent
  • Egypt Aflame
  • Obama Meets Foreign Policy Test in Egypt
  • Tunisia: Moment in the Sun
  • Hunger Fuels Discontent in Middle East
  • No Justice, No Peace
  • American-Israeli Policy To Be Tested By Arab Uprisings
  • Israel, Turkey and Iran: Neighbourly Strain
  • Israel: Testing Times
  • Syria: Washington's New Direction
  • Russia: A 21st Century Alliance?
  • Russia: Podium Pressure and the 2014 Winter Olympics
  • Montenegro: The Survivor Exits
  • Kosovo: A Way To Go
  • Belarus: Back in the Freezer
  • Korea: A Glimmer of Hope
  • Humanitarian Workers: Aid for the Aid Givers
  • U.S. Officials Talk Tough With China
  • Obama Presses Hu Jintao to Let U.S. Banks Into China
  • Obama Served Peace Prize too Early
  • America's China Syndrome
  • Tunisia's Lessons for Repressive Regimes
  • Tunisia: A Popular Uprising But Then What?
  • Unrest in Tunisia and Ivory Coast Send Tremors Through Africa
  • Afganistan: Nurturing a Narco-State
  • Top Global Risks of 2011
  • China and United States Need Overarching Concept for Interaction
  • China's Growing Military Might Poses Many Policy Questions
  • Britain and China: Then and Now
  • How Repressive Regimes Use the Internet to Keep Power
  • Islam's Hijackers and Hijackees
  • WikiLeaks: Diplomacy as Usual
  • Africom: Soft Power Warriors
  • Nigerian Elections: Levelling the Playing Fields
  • Nigerian Elections: Changing of the Old Guard?
  • Sudan: Beyond Southern Sudan
  • Afghanistan: Deadly Addiction
  • The Euro: Until Death Do Us Part
  • Russia: Rewriting History
  • Gulf States Should Take a DIY Approach With Iran
  • Back to 'Normal' in the Middle East
  • America: Uneasy Engagement
  • America: Flying Into Turbulence
  • Obama and Human Rights: Continuity and Change
  • Western Economy on Suicide Watch?
  • South America Enters Middle East Quagmire
  • The Political Power of Social Media
  • West Is Best? Why Civilizations Rise and Fall
  • Exploring the Influence of Culture on Military Doctrine
  • The Good News About Gas
  • Less Than Zero: Bursting the New Disarmament Bubble
  • Why Moscow Says No
  • A Third Way to Palestine - Fayyadism and Its Discontents
  • The Dangers of a Nuclear Iran
  • Plan B in Afghanistan
  • The Fallout of the Global Gun Trade
  • Finish the Job: How the War in Afghanistan Can Be Won
  • Why the Rich Are Getting Richer
  • A Leaner and Meaner Defense
  • Defense Is On The Table
  • The American 21st Century
  • Culture Matters: Real Obstacles to Latin American Development
  • A Wave of Christianophobia
  • Lessons From the Iraq War for Afghanistan
  • Foreign Policy Review Suggests a Losing Effort
  • Iran: Glow, Little Glow Worm, Glow
  • Believe in Violence and Be Saved
  • Colonialism Still at Heart of Africa's Growing Pains
  • The Empty Chair
  • North Korea: The World's Problem Child
  • Save the North Koreans!
  • For Middle East Peace, Israel Must Prepare for Nuclear War
  • Iran Nuclear Talks: A Widening Chasm
  • A Sordid Dance in Afghanistan
  • Holding the Course in Afghanistan
  • As New START Debate Rages, Quiet Nuclear Progress With Russia
  • Argentina Needs to Face Education Debacle
  • A World Full of Fault Lines
  • Facebook, Twitter and the Search for Peace in the Middle East
  • China's Leadership: Fractures Finally Showing
  • China: Uncertain Leap Forward
  • Britain and China: Being Friendly
  • Belarus: Land Between
  • Sudan's Referendum: Prickly Interdependence
  • Saudi Arabian Foreign Policy: Limits of Being Helpful
  • Iraq Refugees: Seeking Safety
  • Troublesome Partner in Afghanistan
  • NATO Presses on With Futile Effort in Afghanistan
  • Counterfeit Medicines: Health and Harm
  • Food Supply: Lunchtime Blues
  • Cybersecurity and Society: bigsociety.com
  • America's Credibility Deficit
  • Global Warming Conference Faces Meltdown
  • WikiLeaks Disclosures Not Earth Shattering
  • WikiLeaks May End Up Helping America
  • WikiLeaks and The Invisible Government
  • Wikileaks: More Than Just an Embarrassment
  • Wikileaks: Undiplomatic Diplomacy
  • A WikiLeaks Wake-up Call
  • Will WikiLeaks Hobble U.S. Diplomacy?
  • How WikiLeaks Can Make Us Less Free
  • Wikileaks: Small Revelations That May Cause a Big Idea to Take Hold
  • G20 Summit: Hitting Singles in Seoul
  • The Consequences of Fiscal Irresponsibility
  • GDP Now Matters More Than Force: Policy for the Age of Economic Power
  • What Population Growth and Decline Means for the Global Economy
  • Leading Through Civilian Power: Redefining Diplomacy and Development
  • The Future of American Power: Dominance and Decline in Perspective
  • Who Do You Call If You Want to Divide Europe?
  • The Game Changer: Coping With China's Foreign Policy Revolution
  • Why the Retirement Age Is Increasing
  • Religion's Growing Influence in International Politics
  • The Difficulty of Integrating Rising Powers
  • Ban-ki Moon Has United Nations 'Drifting Into Irrelevance'
  • Bachelet Faces Uphill Battle at U.N. Women
  • Murderous Tactics Fueling Terrorist Propaganda
  • Benjamin Netanyahu: A Hawk in the Ointment
  • Diminished Capacity
  • Moscow's Modernization Dilemma: Is Russia Charting a New Foreign Policy?
  • NATO Summit Unlikely to Answer the Most Important Questions
  • Franco-German Call for Change in the EU Meets with Much Opposition
  • A Tenuous Deal in Iraq
  • Conflict or Cooperation? Three Visions Revisited
  • A New Global Player: Brazil's Far-Flung Agenda
  • Pax Ottomana? The Mixed Success of Turkey's New Foreign Policy
  • Rise of the Mezzanine Rulers
  • Globalizing the Energy Revolution
  • Democracy in Cyberspace
  • The Digital Disruption
  • Africa: Agriculture's Final Frontier
  • A Reading List for the Twenty-first Century
  • Latin American Leaders Could Have Learned From South Korea
  • Region Ignoring Venezuela Coup Threats
  • To Fight Corruption, Start Cutting Red Tape
  • New Congress Won't Lead to 'Fortress America'
  • The Shifting Balance of Power
  • Checking China's Territorial Moves
  • Why China Has a Point About Quantitative Easing
  • China's Rate Hike: Winners and Losers
  • Taiwan's Shadow
  • Fools Rush in Where Europe Rushes Out
  • Germany to Muhammad: Go Home
  • Can NATO Nudge Russia Westward?
  • French Demonstrations Tell a Familiar Tale
  • Chavez a Pain for Spain
  • Nestor Kirchner's Death May Mark End of an Era
  • Petraeus Follows Iraq Formula in Afghanistan
  • Heavy Handed Intervention Has Stalled Arab-Israeli Peace Process
  • George Clooney Urges Obama and Media To Focus On Sudan
  • Fighting Hunger in Des Moines
  • Rise in Tourism to Miami May Signal Danger Ahead
  • Peru May Be Next Latin American Success Story
  • Nobel Winner Right About Risks of e-Books
  • Nestor Kirchner's Death May Mark End of an Era
  • Chavez a Pain for Spain
  • Economic Woes Put Brittle Nations on Edge

 

Available at Amazon.com:

Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World

Displacement and Dispossession in the Modern Middle East (The Contemporary Middle East)

Enemies of Intelligence

The End of History and the Last Man

The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics

The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?

Running Out of Water: The Looming Crisis and Solutions to Conserve Our Most Precious Resource

Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water

Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization

The Great Gamble

At War with the Weather: Managing Large-Scale Risks in a New Era of Catastrophes

Friendly Fire: Losing Friends and Making Enemies in the Anti-American Century

Dining With al-Qaeda: Three Decades Exploring the Many Worlds of the Middle East

Uprising: Will Emerging Markets Shape or Shake the World Economy

 

Copyright 2011 Jonah Goldberg; DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

 

Recommend

Search Powered By Google

Google Search   

ADVERTISEMENT

Advertisement

Advertisement

ADVERTISEMENT

Job & Career Search

career & job search                    job title, keywords, company, location
  • HOME
  • WORLD
  • USA
  • BUSINESS
  • WEALTH
  • STOCKS
  • TECH
  • HEALTH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • SPORTS

World - Hope Amid the Chaos in Cairo | Global Viewpoint

  • Services:
  • RSS Feeds
  • Shopping
  • Email Alerts
  • Site Map
  • Privacy