Yes, it is time for Mubarak to go. And the people of Egypt not only want to make sure Mubarak makes his exit from Egypt, but for his entire regime to leave. As the Egyptian government has shut down all internet and social media services, limited cellular and SMS/text messaging communication, and tried to limit the international media by arresting, harassing and attacking journalists, it has not done anything to stop the Egyptian people’s plight for freedom. To sum it up, the Egyptian government is in denial of this revolution. And while Mubarak attempts to cling to his 30 year reign and avoid resignation by appointing a new cabinet and a vice-president for the first time, there is a dilemma for Obama administration.
For President Obama, it is crucial he takes the correct side. The Unites States has always supported and turned their shoulder to the brutal and inhumane dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak, as Mubarak has always blindly followed and agreed to United States and Israeli Foreign Policy. In fact, in a recent interview, Vice-President Joe Biden said he did not consider Mubarak to be a dictator or unfair. This is contrary to the U.S. State department, which have produced reports of the Egyptian government’s human rights violations against their own Egyptian people. If the Obama administration does not distance itself from Mubarak and his regime, the U.S. risks alienating the Egyptian people, thus helping to open the way to a new regime that would, by default, be anti-anyone who was pro-Mubarak and thus, most likely anti-American. The United States should not make the same mistake it made in 1978 in Iran, when President Carter and his administration backed up the Shah and his regime, thus creating an anti-American government and regime as a result of that revolution. This is something the United States is still suffering from.
The different political groups of Egypt who were once suppressed by Mubarak and his regime now have the opportunity to express their political ideologies, and they definitely will. Who the Egyptian people will elect to run their new government is still not clear. Yet, one thing is: The Egyptian people are united with another. Not just united for a new government and new era, but united under humanity. The people have stated their own neighborhood watch groups against thugs and vandals since the local police have disappeared. As someone I personally know who is currently in Cairo said, “We are safe. Things are not as bad as they seem. The Egyptian people are heroic and brave. The youth are protecting us all with their lives. It can be said that this is perhaps the safest our streets have been in 30 years.”
As the revolution in Egypt was inspired by the recent revolution in Tunisia, the question is how far will the uprising of people in the Middle East against their autocratic leaders and dictators spread and last? Only time will tell.