Amber,
Life is crazy and I’ve had so many ideas for posts but little/no time to put them down to paper. But I had to take a second to throw a little somethin’ up about the latest events in Egypt, inspired by the protests in Tunisia. The images are intense. I spent the morning watching Al Jazeera show live footage (shout-out to Rob! thanks for the link) and their reporters scurry as police entered their building. Tens of thousands of people have flooded the streets, defying a curfew as the army has been dispatched. The country has gone dark with the internet completely shut down.
I’ll be following closely to see what happens next. My nerdy International Affairs brain is fascinated by the difficult place the United States now finds itself in. Here’s a grassroots movement demanding democracy – we should be on board, right? The snag: the authoritarian government of Egypt has been an ally and stable. Plus, who knows what a democratic government in Egypt will actually look like? We potentially lose our strong ties and face a more hostile government. The diplomatic/foreign policy implications are huge.
So I’m fascinated. And I cheer for the perseverance of those protesting and hope that at the end of this, a government for and by the people is implemented. It will be a long hard road I’m sure. I pray that the violence will end.
This is history.
Check it out:
Al Jazeera has had really good footage. The New York Times, as usual, has some good articles starting with this one. Definitely browse for more. Mother Jones has a very brief rundown. And here’s a collection of the Obama Administration’s words on the situation. And just saw this: Protests happening in Jordan.