Thursday, February 10, 2011

Mubarak is "a stubborn old man"

"Mubarak’s speech was a striking reminder of the capacity of dictators to fool themselves and see themselves as indispensable. If he thinks that his softer tone will win any support, he’s delusional. As he was speaking, the crowd in Tahrir was shouting “Irhal!” or “Go!” And the Egyptian state media — from television to Al Ahram, the dominant newspaper — have been turning against Mubarak, so he’s losing control even of his own state apparatus. An Arab friend of mine who has met Mubarak many, many times describes him as “a stubborn old man,” and that seems exactly the problem right now. UPDATE HERE and throughout: Suleiman just spoke as well, praising Mubarak and asking the youth of Egypt to go home and stop watching satellite television. Only possible conclusion: he’s delusional, too. The regime seems so out of touch as to be almost suicidal." --Nicholas Kristof

1 comment :

Ayman said...

Dictators should not be allowed to become billionaires by stealing money from their people. When Mubarak does have to leave power, he should be forced to give back all of the money he stole from the people of Egypt. Of course, some of this money should be refunded to use taxpayers!