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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Egypt Gets Ugly

Egypt Gets Ugly

by John Cole|  February 2, 201110:57 am| 42 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs

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The protests are turning violent, probably agitated by the police and other pro-Mubarak forces. The surest sign that things are getting dangerous is that Anderson Cooper’s live feed no longer shows him wading through the crowds, but is instead a camera shot from high up on a roof.

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42Comments

  1. 1.

    Maude

    February 2, 2011 at 11:00 am

    AlJ live blog says there are pro Mubarak people throwing rocks down on anti governemnt people in the street. Some pro Mubarak people stole a few taks and were trying to drive them into the crowd of anti government people.
    And whose fault is this?

  2. 2.

    cathyx

    February 2, 2011 at 11:01 am

    It’s the emperor’s last stand.

  3. 3.

    meh

    February 2, 2011 at 11:01 am

    Anderson Cooper’s live feed no longer shows him wading through the crowds

    he got his ass kicked by the pro-Mubarak forces…

  4. 4.

    Woodrow "asim" Jarvis Hill

    February 2, 2011 at 11:03 am

    Coop and his crew actually got hit by the thugs (supposed pro-Mubarak protesters, but…) earlier today. That was a really bad plan on their part; CNN isn’t going to let that go.

    Mubarak’s lost his mind, and what little soul he’s had. I think he’s convinced he IS Egypt, and he’s doing all this because he’s the good guy sent to save the country from itself. I doubt he’s at all cackling; that speech was one from a man facing the reality of what he’s built, and deciding to dig deeper into a fantasy.

    One that’s now killing and hurting the very persons he claims to be protecting.

    It’s utterly, utterly awful.

  5. 5.

    Comrade Mary

    February 2, 2011 at 11:03 am

    Fuck. The army is still trying to separate the groups, I hear, but how long can they do that?

  6. 6.

    scav

    February 2, 2011 at 11:06 am

    I did come over here to ask just who the fuck is managing Mubarak’s PR / Political team. Sarah Palin rejects? Sure, bus them in, put them on flashy decorated CAMELS and have them attack a demonstrably peaceful crowd AND have them beat up the press (who are no doubt salivating over the thought of images with the flashy decorated camels).

  7. 7.

    Chris

    February 2, 2011 at 11:07 am

    The protests are turning violent, probably agitated by the police and other pro-Mubarak forces.

    I read about that. One theory I’ve heard on the subject is also that the guys are small business owners and other folk who live off of the tourism trade and are angry at the protests for scaring off their source of income.

    Course, there’s no reason it can’t be both; I’m sure Mubarak’s police force would jump at any opportunity to stir up counterprotests.

  8. 8.

    bkny

    February 2, 2011 at 11:07 am

    richard engel no longer on the ground either … but from above and reporting that mubarak’s forces are now in the majority in the square and surrounding the remaining pro-democracy activists..

  9. 9.

    Poopyman

    February 2, 2011 at 11:10 am

    @Comrade Mary: Earlier reports were that they stood by while “pro-Mubarak protesters” who have been outed as secret police”, charged the anti-Mubarak protesters on horseback and camelback.

    @meh: From The Guardian live updates:

    1.33pm: The CNN reporter, Anderson Cooper, has reportedly been attacked by pro-Mubarak posters.
    __
    George Hale, English editor of the Maan News Agency, tweeted:
    __
    Anderson Cooper punched 10 times in the head as pro-Mubarak mob surrounds him and his crew at Cairo rally – CNN manager

  10. 10.

    NobodySpecial

    February 2, 2011 at 11:10 am

    Looks like we get Tianianmen 2.0.

    Well done. /spit

  11. 11.

    Poopyman

    February 2, 2011 at 11:13 am

    @Chris:

    One theory I’ve heard on the subject is also that the guys are small business owners and other folk who live off of the tourism trade and are angry at the protests for scaring off their source of income.

    From the al Jazeera live blog:

    3:22pm Protesters in Tahrir Square shows the Al Jazeera camera the ID cards of accused plain clothed security (police ID) who came in earlier to create chaos.

  12. 12.

    Elisabeth

    February 2, 2011 at 11:15 am

    @NobodySpecial:

    more likely Iran ’09 with the basiji militia

  13. 13.

    Philonius

    February 2, 2011 at 11:16 am

    Not that we need more proof of how much of a joke Fox News is, but right now they’re broadcasting the release of Murdoch’s iPad app while every other network is focused on Egypt.even CNBC.

  14. 14.

    Philonius

    February 2, 2011 at 11:16 am

    Not that we need more proof of how much of a joke Fox News is, but right now they’re broadcasting the release of Murdoch’s iPad app while every other network is focused on Egypt.even CNBC.

  15. 15.

    Mnemosyne

    February 2, 2011 at 11:17 am

    Crap. The protesters were doing okay as long as they had the support of the military, but it sounds like the army is standing by to see who wins. Not a good sign.

  16. 16.

    CaseyL

    February 2, 2011 at 11:18 am

    Here’s what the US government has to say about it (from AlJazeera):

    PJ Crowley, US Assistant Secretary of State, tweets about violence

    We reiterate our call for all sides in #Egypt to show restraint and avoid violence. Egypt’s path to democratic change must be peaceful.

    Get that? “All sides.”

    Even now, the Obama Administration is afraid to call a thing what it really is. Gotta go for that false equivalency.

    Here’s hoping the Egyptian Army protects the people… from the Mubarak regime, and from its stooges.

    ETA: The formatting daemon strikes again! The paragraph under the blockquote should have been part of the blockquote.

  17. 17.

    donnah

    February 2, 2011 at 11:21 am

    Richard Engel and Brian Williams were in the middle of the protest area on last evening’s news, but they were carefully watched by the crowd and eventually frisked for weapons as they drew closer to the main group of protesters. Engel was acting as interpreter for Williams, explaining what the signs hanging in the square said.

    It must have escalated overnight; there was the ongoing roar of the protesters during the entire segment.

  18. 18.

    duck-billed placelot

    February 2, 2011 at 11:22 am

    I wouldn’t be surprised if House of Saud or Jordan or somebody nearby offers up troops to help ‘quell protests’. All the dictators have to be biting their nails on this one.

  19. 19.

    wobblybits

    February 2, 2011 at 11:22 am

    @CaseyL: Huh what? I think it is a call to get the anti govt folks to get back to their peaceful demonstrating and for the govt to call off their thugs. But it is hard to be peaceful when someone is charging at you with a camel and dropping pieces of concrete on you.

  20. 20.

    wobblybits

    February 2, 2011 at 11:23 am

    If you are unable to access Al Jazeera English directly, here is their live stream on YouTube.

  21. 21.

    Chris

    February 2, 2011 at 11:24 am

    @Poopyman:

    Ah. No surprises there – thanks for the info.

  22. 22.

    A Writer At Balloon-Juice

    February 2, 2011 at 11:31 am

    I blame Obama.

  23. 23.

    cmorenc

    February 2, 2011 at 11:32 am

    Mubarak’s going “all in”. IMHO he’ll ultimately lose, because the key distinction between what happened @Tianianmen Square in China, or in Tehran in Iran, is that:
    1) in China, after local Bejing-area army units were reluctant to deal harshly with demonstrators, the regime called in units comprised of soldiers and officers from more rural, provincial areas well outside Bejing who had little empathy for people they viewed as spoiled urban elitists, and for whom the army was a step up in life. Sort of like the same dynamic where working-class toughs rough up college kids who wander into bars in the wrong neighborhood, except the Chinese army troops had guns and tanks.
    2) in Iran, the regime still had the willing numerous-enough allegiance of the notorious Basij militia to commit wanton thuggery against the protesters, whereas in Egypt It’s questionable whether Mubarak’s thugs still have enough strength to overcome a determined huge crowd of protesters. Also, it’s doubtful Mubarak retains even the pragmatic loyalty of more than a very modest minority of Egyptians, whereas the Iranian regime did retain the loyalty of a substantial proportion of the population who is hard-core Islamacist.

    If Mubarak continues much further, he’s going to meet a very ugly, humiliating end hung in a public square in Cairo rather than a gilded retirement in a comfy, tropical place somewhere safely out of the way.

  24. 24.

    Poopyman

    February 2, 2011 at 11:32 am

    Frickin’ great :

    6:12pm Al Jazeera reporting that the Egyptian museum was fire bombed and the army is now trying to put out the fire.

    ETA WTF?

    6:17pm Al Jazeera’s producer in Cairo is reporting that the Hilton Hotel staff are checking all the rooms for cameras and then the security is confiscating them.

  25. 25.

    HRA

    February 2, 2011 at 11:47 am

    It was only a matter of time for this clash of the opposition.
    If Mubarak has any sense of decency and love for his country, he would step down now.

  26. 26.

    Svensker

    February 2, 2011 at 12:04 pm

    Toronto Star is reporting that the Obama Admin made a deal with the Egyptian generals to keep the status quo — not necessarily Mubarak but possibly a govt headed by Suleiman.

  27. 27.

    Holly McLachlan

    February 2, 2011 at 12:06 pm

    he got his ass kicked by the pro-Mubarak forces…

    check the background headlines in the video of him reporting from that high rise hotel balcony. While he was stating, unequivocally, that pro-Mubarak thugs beat him and his (female) producer & tried to take their camera — the mid-screen headline was “Egyptians beating one another in the streets”.

    Fortunately, no one reads the mid-screen. But it looked like an editorial attempt to downplay the import of the actual events.

  28. 28.

    Svensker

    February 2, 2011 at 12:33 pm

    Sounds like something bad is going to happen now. Police are going into streets and army is telling people to go home because it is going to get dangerous very soon. 12:30 pm EST.

  29. 29.

    Poopyman

    February 2, 2011 at 12:38 pm

    Oh, lovely ….
    (al Jaz:)

    7:21pm An anti-government protester tells Al Jazeera, “It’s a siege mentality. The image that comes to mind is Tiananmen Square.” Seconds later, Egyptian TV begins making an announcement repeatedly:

    You have to evacuate Tahrir Square immediately. We’ve got confirmed information that violent groups are heading toward Tahrir Square carrying firebombs and seeking to burn the Square.

  30. 30.

    Josh

    February 2, 2011 at 12:39 pm

    Yeah, saying “the protests are turning violent” is a little like saying that about Birmingham 1963. Mubarak obviously left his last conversation with Obama thinking he could get away with this, which is not a good sign.

  31. 31.

    NobodySpecial

    February 2, 2011 at 1:12 pm

    Yeah, wake me up when the Israel Firsters and the US Government stop wetting themselves at the thought of talking with Shia’ groups. I should get a good long rest at that rate.

  32. 32.

    Agoraphobic Kleptomaniac

    February 2, 2011 at 1:27 pm

    @Svensker: Suleiman would be the worst possible outcome for continued stability and addressing of the grievances that the protesters have. It would also be seen as a big american fingerprint, which will not endear Egyptians to us.

  33. 33.

    Svensker

    February 2, 2011 at 2:25 pm

    @Agoraphobic Kleptomaniac:

    Agreed. I hope this is not what the O Admin has been up to, but I’m starting to believe it is.

  34. 34.

    Chris

    February 2, 2011 at 3:59 pm

    @Holly McLachlan:

    While he was stating, unequivocally, that pro-Mubarak thugs beat him and his (female) producer & tried to take their camera—the mid-screen headline was “Egyptians beating one another in the streets”.

    Both sides do it, doncha know? This, is CNN.

  35. 35.

    matoko_chan

    February 2, 2011 at 5:04 pm

    @Josh: Mubarak thinks Americas pants-wetting pansy ass fear of the Muslim Brotherhood and another Iranian Islamic Revolution is going to outweigh justice and the will of the people.

    He could be right.

  36. 36.

    matoko_chan

    February 2, 2011 at 5:04 pm

    @NobodySpecial: the Brothers are sunni, not shi’ia.

  37. 37.

    matoko_chan

    February 2, 2011 at 5:09 pm

    @Svensker: if there is a FREE election in september (and i dont see how they can avoid that), the MB will still take control. this buys some time is all.

  38. 38.

    Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther

    February 2, 2011 at 5:38 pm

    I’ve done more blogging about why what we’re seeing unfold today in Egypt isn’t like Iran 2009 — and why that’s actually a bad thing.

    emilylhauserinmyhead.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/egypt-2011-iran-2009-democracy/

  39. 39.

    Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther

    February 2, 2011 at 5:38 pm

    @A Writer At Balloon-Juice: The answer to all questions, really, if only people would be honest.

  40. 40.

    Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther

    February 2, 2011 at 5:40 pm

    @NobodySpecial: @Elisabeth: Actually, I don’t think so, & wrote about why at my place (I don’t reference China, but the implication will follow from the fact that Mubarak’s regime is, as far as I can see, done).

    emilylhauserinmyhead.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/egypt-2011-iran-2009-democracy/

  41. 41.

    Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther

    February 2, 2011 at 5:42 pm

    @wobblybits: Also, it’s a good idea to write to your cable company and ask them to add al-Jazeera to their rosters:

    bit.ly/gZU67C

  42. 42.

    Silver Foxxx

    February 2, 2011 at 6:27 pm

    What kind of asshole do you have to be to bring a punch to Anderson Cooper’s adorable mug? Fuckers.

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