Just in case you haven't been paying attention Tunisia recently had an uprising which ousted the Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali regime. This "Jasmine Revolution" has since spread to other nations such as Algeria, Yemen, and Egypt. Currently, the Egyptian government appears to be the most vulnerable and has cut off the internet, set a curfew, and brought in the army.
I have two concerns right now. The first is my usual concern that people in this country will view the use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter by the protesters and think these protesters are like them and think like them. Just because a group of people uses the same website you do does not indicate that they want the same things; i.e., the revolution may not be attempting to establish a liberal democracy. 1979 Iranian Revolution come to mind?
The second concern is that the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian Islamic Fundamentalist organization tied to Al Qaida, is supporting the protesters. I fear either a fundamentalist Islamic regime friendly to Al Qaida being emplaced or several new insurgencies created by these revolutions.
While I do not like dictatorships, the evil that I know is far better than the evil that I do not know.
No comments:
Post a Comment