Thursday, February 10, 2011

Hosni Mubarak - What part of "Go Away" do you not understand?

Tonight Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak made a recorded speech to the Egyptian people and the world. What he had to say was just not acceptable. He did announce he was handing over some of his powers to his vice president Omar Suleiman, but basically said Mubarak would be staying on until elections in September.

Protesters in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, hoping he would announce his resignation outright, watched in stunned silence to his speech, slapping their hands to their foreheads in anger, some crying or waving their shoes in the air in a sign of contempt. After he finished, they resumed their chants of "Leave! Leave! Leave!"

Seventeen days of protests have not gotten the message across to Mubarak. Strikes have brought the economy to its knees. Yet Hosni Mubarak continues to cling to power. It is going to take a crowbar to get him out of power.

Concerns are for tomorrow as the crowd grows angrier by the minute. Shock. Disbelief. Anger. Those are the emotions in Tahrir Square and those eotions are expected to spill over when daylight comes. Will the people continue to support the military? Will the military continue to stand by? If either of those conditions erode then it could be quite ugly. So all eyes continue to be on Egypt as they struggle to move forward. Everyday that goes by without resolution moves Egypt closer to a crisis.