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[Aqizzar]

I suspect that Mubarak might not have exactly resigned, seeing as how he didn't make the statement himself.

Something tells me they're going to change the locks on the capitol building before he gets back.  Also, Suleiman himself said Mubarak would be stepping down, which after parroting his lines last night about the need for a strong parent for the unruly children that is Egypt, I somehow doubt that personally going to the microphone and announcing "The King has left the building, for good" will somehow fit into Mubarak's zany scheme.

Then again, it would be pretty great if it did.  A personal upset like this can only be fixed by the zaniest of zany schemes after all.

[olemars]

They're happy for now, but I don't think this is quite over yet. Suleiman is an asshole.

I suspect that Mubarak might not have exactly resigned, seeing as how he didn't make the statement himself.

Based on the statement itself and its brevity, I think this was a silent military coup. It's the military council that is officially in charge now, not  Suleiman.

[alway]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41526422/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/
And there's the GG.

[Nadaka]

I am slightly optimistic here, shocking I know.

[Aqizzar]

Now that they're off the hook for the outcome, it's dribbling out that there were some big power struggles and ideological fights in the State Department over how the United States should approach this, and especially what it should say.  Everybody seems to think Obama was on the side of Mubarak leaving in some fashion, but no one will really know until the books are written.

Some commentary emerges.  This was basically the stated intent of the Iraq War, to inspire people in the Middle East to take their government into their own hands, that they have the power to topple oppressive autocrats.  They got a little messy in a big hurry, and left people across the region with a bad taste for... well, Americans promising freedom.  Now, a President's speech in Cairo two years prior, a global economic crash and inflation, the brutal murder of an anti-government blogger, and some Internet "activists" futzing around with the Tunisian government, all together had the totally unintended effect of inspiring the clearest example of a popular uprising in a generation, that toppled and ejected the thirty year police-government of the powerhouse of the Arab world.

If there's one lesson to take away from this nail-bitter event, and who the Hell knows what lessons there are, it's this: Geopolitics is complicated.


EDIT: The military signaled their tacit endorsement of Mubarak's ouster every way they could.  When the mob reached the Presidential Palace, the commander of the heavy garrison there actually signaled his men to turn the turrets of the tanks away from the crowd and shut the engines off, to make it clear they weren't going to stand in the way.

[Vector]

Switzerland has frozen all of Mubarak's assets.

Alll right.

[olemars]

Mubarak and Suleiman out of the picture. Entire cabinet dissolved. Leader of NDP resigned from the party earlier today because he was pissed off at Muba's speech - now he's speaking for political pluralism. Parliament suspended. Judiciary will be part of the ruling council with the military (judiciaty have been on the protester's side all along). And now it's been announced that Mubarak's swiss bank accounts have been frozen.

This is almost going a bit too well all of a sudden.

[Taricus]

Switzerland has frozen all of Mubarak's assets.

Alll right.

That can happen 

[scriver]

Switzerland has frozen all of Mubarak's assets.

Alll right.

Fuck yea, Switzee-boy. You get a +1 in my book. Only 500 points left till you reach a positive number again.

[Vector]

... What did Switzerland do wrong, in your opinion?

[MetalSlimeHunt]

We don't talk about what Switzerland did.

[Leafsnail]

Massive anti-Muslim sentiments (which some of them seem to want to import over here), minaret ban, tax haven.

[Vector]

Massive anti-Muslim sentiments (which some of them seem to want to import over here), minaret ban, tax haven.

... Oh, that part of Swiss politics.  I thought it had to be something different to receive -500 points.

Meh.  I don't know how much of that was necessary to preserve "neutrality."

[thobal]

Okay, so no reign of terror(yet) and everyone knew that the military would take over. I'm guessing the military will kind of forget to give up some of those emergency powers.

[Tilla]

Okay, so no reign of terror(yet) and everyone knew that the military would take over. I'm guessing the military will kind of forget to give up some of those emergency powers.

They already have for 30 years. This time though the people won't stand for it. And as has been seen, the Military is so divided at this point it would probably be impossible.