If I were still in the US and I heard, "Mubarak replaced by military" I'd wonder, "Is that a good thing? Usually when the military takes over they find one excuse after another to not give up power.
From what I've learned that is not likely here. My Egyptian friends have repeated confirmed: They love the military. The military in Egypt is not the military in most countries. It diversified. They own farms that grow cotton. They own part of the telecommunications industry. They are, by some estimates, one-third of the total economy. The American equivalent would be, "The tyrannical rule of Richard Nixon is over and he's been replaced by management from Boeing, Wal-mart and Apple."
I've spoken with two Egyptian friends this evening. It's safe to say they are positively giddy (phrase for the week) over the news. Every attempt I had of throwing cold water - "What if they simply install more NDP guys (Mubarak's people)? - was met with, "That won't happen. We will be a democracy now."
I hope they are right. I really, really hope they are right. But the older I get the more I see how truly difficult it is to change the culture of an organization, or in this case, a country. Egypt's corrupt government has led to breeding corruption at every level of government. A simply task like setting up a new coffee shop can take almost a year of paperwork and paying bribes. That's system is not easy to change simply because Mubarak is gone.
Still, today is a day to celebrate. The king is dead. And, in this case may there be no new king (dictator) to have a long life.
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