An Amazing Moment in History

There were several amazing things about this entire revolution.

1) The fact that Mubarak couldn't shut out the rest of the world, no matter how hard he tried. Shutting down the internet and media outlets proved futile. People found other ways to communicate - ie: via satellite, cell phones, and the old broadband method. He thought he could turn everything dark, but failed miserably. And let's not forget the old fashioned word-of-mouth. That's probably how many Egyptians kept being updated.

2) The fact that they could amass such a huge crowd which shows the power of the people. Mubarak figured they'd get tired and go home. He was wrong. Instead, the crowds grew constantly until he was overwhelmed with the chants of people who hate him.

3) The fact that so many people could succeed in such a revolt without violence. The fact that the Egyptians were able to maintain their own dignity and not fall into Mubarak's trap hoping for a violent response to his antics.

I don't know how it is in the rest of the world, but here, I've heard several people refer to the Arabs as a violent people, always fighting. This revolt has proven the exact opposite. Talk about great restraint! They were amazing.

Now, let's pray that their lives are significantly improved for all their efforts.

Sylvia

The military made it clear early on that they would not fire on peaceful protesters. They'd stop looters and anyone becoming violent, but not people simply expressing their views of the government.

That was huge.

If they follow through on their promise to keep order until a new government is in place and then step back to their normal role, I am going to be in awe of them.


Paul

Don't know what you mean, but consider this:

With the deposition of Saddam, Iran found a major obstacle to its expansion removed. This gave Iran a good chance to emerge as a major player in the Middle East....

Iran could find allies in Arab world comprising Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. On the other hand some Arab states including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and United Arab Emirates united against Iran, which are supported by the U.S..

In 2010, leaked diplomatic cables revealed that Mubarak expressed animosity toward Iran in private meetings, saying the Iranian leaders are "big, fat liars", and that Iran's backing of terrorism is "well-known". According to one American report, Mubarak views Iran as the primary long-term challenge facing Egypt, and an Egyptian official said that Iran is running agents inside Egypt in an effort to subvert the Egyptian regime... (source:Iran)

I don't think it needs further explanation to see why Iran might be so happy. At the very least, maybe Iran sees it as a divide between Egypt and the U.S.

Sylvia

We can play word games all day long, but this isn't a contradiction, as there are two different events. One with violence, one without.

Words spoken by two different people likely have different meanings and in this exact case, the two people were speaking of different acts.

Plus, this isn't a legal contract, it's a casual conversation. You can take things literally, or you can take them as they were intended. The burdon isn't entirely on the writer, the reader should also assume that everything posted shouldn't be taken literally.

Like I said, "peaceful" is a relative term, and this is surely one of the most peaceful revolutions we've ever seen throughout history. If you disagree, please post your examples. I already posted Ghandi and India's peaceful revolution...Your turn.

Next ... Yemen, Albania, Jordan, and even Saudi Arabian leaders are looking rather askance ...
There are nascent uprisings spreading in the region due in large part to online social networks.