Arab Spring

"I hope that in Egypt there can be a transition toward a more democratic system without a break from President Mubarak, who in the West, above all in the United States, is considered the wisest of men and a precise reference point."

"On February 9, hundreds of thousands of workers struck around the country. In response to the popular uprisings, the Egyptian military forced Mubarak to resign on February 11. Millions of Egyptians celebrated. But despite the euphoria, little had changed except a few faces at the top of the regime. The basic power structure remained in place. Mubarak, a former military officer, was replaced by a council of military commanders publicly promising to restore civilian rule and allow the establishment of democracy. The armed forces, rather than simply being an organization of professional soldiers, also controlled a large section of the economy. High-ranking officers had their own economic interests to protect from any future elected government and might intervene if they felt those interests were threatened. The government bureaucracy and the high courts were dominated by people appointed by the Mubarak regime. They were unlikely to cooperate willingly with an anti-Mubarak government. And the old structure of economic power remained in place. Essentially the revolution up to that point had succeeded only in removing Mubarak and a few of his cronies, temporarily restraining the violence-prone security forces, and winning a questionable commitment of military leaders to democratization. The new “democratic” future was very uncertain."

"We the people have legitimate demands and we would like to tell the government what to do. Our freedom is not up for negotiation. Secondly how can you negotiate with a regime that is killing its people? When the regime tries to counter a peaceful demonstration by using thugs, some of whom are police officers in plain clothes – we've seen their IDs – there are few words that do justice to this villainy and I think it can only hasten that regime's departure."

"The sooner Mubarak leaves, the better it is for everybody and the quicker we can restore normality and stability in Egypt and establish the cornerstone of democracy in the Middle East."

"Unrest had been in the air for a few years, but no one recognized the signs or the magnitude of what was about to unfold. Then on January 25, 2011, Egyptians took to the streets to express a rage that had been building up within them, maybe for decades. They’d had enough of the corrupt, oppressive, inert, dilapidated swamp they were living in. Next door, Tunisians had just rid their country of their president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. On January 14, Ben Ali had fled to Saudi Arabia. Two weeks of protests had put an end to twenty-two years of despotic rule. Now, Egyptians were going after President Hosni Mubarak and his thirty-year rule. Every day, the protests and the rage grew. But so did the elation, as women with coiffed hair and designer bags or tightly wrapped veils and long manteaus, bearded sheikhs and teens in jeans and football jerseys, peasants in gallabiyas and businessmen in suits, all converged on Tahrir Square. They inhabited different planets, but they met as Egyptians for the first time and found one another on a square with a long history as a symbol of patriotism, dating back to British rule. Surrounded by grand buildings telling Egypt’s story, from the Egyptian Museum to the Arab League headquarters and the headquarters of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, the somewhat shapeless square had several boulevards converging on it, a rare open space in the heart of Cairo, with a grassy roundabout in the middle, a perfect stage for Egypt’s bon enfant festival against tyranny. Ahmed drank it all up. He wasn’t sleeping. He felt alive, perhaps for the first time in his life. Tahrir means “liberation” in Arabic. Ahmed wanted the square to earn its name. Day after day, millions of Egyptians protested. “The people want the fall of the regime,” they chanted. There were violent clashes with the police. More than eight hundred people died. Mubarak promised some reforms, then promised he wouldn’t run again for president. It was no longer enough to send the protesters home. They were camped on Tahrir Square; the nights were tense. For courage and reinforcement, they painted the walls with verses and sang poetry."

"There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history taking place. This is one of those moments. This is one of those times. The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same."

"I know that a democratic Egypt can advance its role of responsible leadership not only in the region but around the world. Egypt has played a pivotal role in human history for over 6,000 years. But over the last few weeks, the wheel of history turned at a blinding pace as the Egyptian people demanded their universal rights. We saw mothers and fathers carrying their children on their shoulders to show them what true freedom might look like. We saw a young Egyptian say, “For the first time in my life, I really count. My voice is heard. Even though I’m only one person, this is the way real democracy works.” We saw protesters chant “Selmiyya, selmiyya” — “We are peaceful” — again and again. We saw a military that would not fire bullets at the people they were sworn to protect. And we saw doctors and nurses rushing into the streets to care for those who were wounded, volunteers checking protesters to ensure that they were unarmed. We saw people of faith praying together and chanting – “Muslims, Christians, We are one.” And though we know that the strains between faiths still divide too many in this world and no single event will close that chasm immediately, these scenes remind us that we need not be defined by our differences. We can be defined by the common humanity that we share. And above all, we saw a new generation emerge — a generation that uses their own creativity and talent and technology to call for a government that represented their hopes and not their fears; a government that is responsive to their boundless aspirations. One Egyptian put it simply: Most people have discovered in the last few days…that they are worth something, and this cannot be taken away from them anymore, ever. This is the power of human dignity, and it can never be denied. Egyptians have inspired us, and they’ve done so by putting the lie to the idea that justice is best gained through violence. For in Egypt, it was the moral force of nonviolence — not terrorism, not mindless killing — but nonviolence, moral force that bent the arc of history toward justice once more."

"Today belongs to the people of Egypt, and the American people are moved by these scenes in Cairo and across Egypt because of who we are as a people and the kind of world that we want our children to grow up in. The word Tahrir means liberation. It is a word that speaks to that something in our souls that cries out for freedom. And forevermore it will remind us of the Egyptian people — of what they did, of the things that they stood for, and how they changed their country, and in doing so changed the world."

"Egypt pulls off a revolution in two weeks. Meanwhile, 20 years in, we’ve gotten nowhere on the whole “Kraft Cheese and Macaroni” thing."

"عيش، حرية، عدالة اجتماعية"

"مش هنمشي ، هو يمشي"

"ارحل يا فرعون"

"الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام"

"أمشی بقی یا عم خلی عندک دم"

"الشعب و الجيش هيغيير الرئيس"

"اذهب الى الجحيم"

"أمس تونس و الیوم مصر"

""In Libya's east, we saw the vast arsenals that were left unguarded when the government fell. So we knew that they were in the west. We knew they were in Tripoli. We knew they were in other cities. And we're finding them. Up to two weeks after Tripoli fell, we are still finding places with large, large amounts of weapons. Yesterday, we found a place with over 100,000 land mines," Abrahams says."

"The establishment applauded. Obama’s overthrow of the Gaddafi government, declared the New York Times, was “an historic victory for the people of Libya who, with NATO’s help, transformed their country from an international pariah into a nation with the potential to become a productive partner with the West.” The triumphant tone evokes another famous Times dispatch, from Cambodia in April 1975. The headline: “Indochina Without Americans: For Most, a Better Life.” That story ran in the paper four days before the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh and began murdering more than a third of the country’s population. The aftermath in Libya hasn’t been quite as bloody, but that’s small comfort. Instead of creating a democratic, Westernized Libya, Obama’s destruction of Gaddafi simply created a new failed state. Rather than marginalizing radical Islam, Gaddafi’s fall empowered it, and by 2014 the country was in another civil war that killed thousands. ISIS militants have found a haven in the lawless country. While Gaddafi had blocked illegal migration to Europe, the new Libya has been powerless to stop it, and hundreds of thousands of African migrants have made their way to Europe from Libyan ports. Things got so bad in Libya after Gaddafi was deposed that even the Times had to acknowledge it might be some time before the country could become “a productive partner with the West.” Luckily, the Times had a solution: more American intervention in Libya."

"We all need to work together on further steps to hold the Qaddafi government accountable, provide humanitarian assistance to those in need and support the Libyan people as they pursue a transition to democracy. … We will continue to explore all possible options for actions … As we have said, nothing is off the table so long as the Libyan government continues to threaten and kill Libyans."

"The uprisings revived pan-Arab consciousness with the hope that Arab dictatorships could be swept away in a democratic revolutionary wave. But as of spring 2014, the results of the Arab revolution have amounted to far less than participants aimed to achieve. A more democratic government was established in Tunisia with an elected president. Qadafi’s rule was ended through a civil war and large-scale foreign military intervention on the side of the rebels. But the new Libya appeared on the verge of another civil war and/or permanent fragmentation while its oil was exploited by foreign powers. Numerous uncontrolled militias and their often lawless violence seemed to constitute a state of institutionalized terrorism with pro-democratic Libyans intimidated into passive submission."

"I am not going to leave this land. I will die as a martyr at the end. I shall remain, defiant. Muammar is Leader of the Revolution until the end of time."

"We stand for peace, freedom and the sovereignty of the Libyan people, Libya is facing a difficult time. The situation must not be manipulated through the media. We repudiate violence, but you cannot stop objectively analyzing this conflict, Some conditions are being created to justify an invasion of Libya, and the main objective of the invasion would be to take over the oil."

"I am with Gaddafi but I want the bloodshed to stop. I am not calling on him to step down. If one Libyan has been killed — not ten or 20 — but one — this is a crime. Gaddafi is brave, he will make a decision. There is confusion — I have spoken to a relative in Libya and there has been no airbombing."

"Muammar Gaddafi is telling the Libyans "either I rule you or I kill you." … Slavery and the rule of one person is finished – it's finished. … The Arab world is going to change completely when Gaddafi will flee. … The whole Arab world will move quickly for freedom, and not by the generals. No, now the Arab people will do it. … All the Arab world, from the ocean to the Gulf, are supporting Libya, all of them in the street supporting Libya, all of them … In one year you will have another Arab world. … I was one of his closest good friends, who worked with him from the beginning of the revolution. Unfortunately we started the revolution with freedom, at the end of it you are killing our people."

"الله و معمر و ليبيا وبس (Allah, Muammar, Libya: That's all!)"

"For many on the American left and right, the "Arab Spring" has become the "Arab Winter" of triumphant fundamentalists... But Westerners should resist nostalgia and depression. Given the awfulness of post-World War II Arab lands, where even the most benign regimes had sophisticated, torture-happy security services, Islamists who braved the wrath of rulers and trenchantly critiqued the moral breakdown of their societies were going to do well in a postsecular age. What is poorly understood in the West is how critical fundamentalists are to the moral and political rejuvenation of their countries. As counterintuitive as it seems, they are the key to more democratic, liberal politics in the region... Secular Muslim liberals may one day form a government. But for now, they are too culturally close to the West, and to the Westernized dictators, to carry their societies with them."

"The Arab revolutionary wave (also known as the Arab Spring and the Arab Awakening) that began on December 18, 2010, resulted in the overthrow of dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, massive uprisings in Bahrain and Syria, and major protests in Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, and Iraq. But the resulting changes varied greatly in degree. Libya experienced the most significant upheaval: the pre-revolutionary armed forces were defeated and the old political system and old ruling elite eliminated. In Egypt, however, changes were ultimately far more limited. Although several pre-revolutionary officials were ousted, the military and economic power structures remained intact. Many persons who had served under the pre-revolutionary dictatorship continued to control government bureaucracies. When large-scale protests broke out against Egypt’s first post-revolution democratically elected president, military leaders removed him on July 3, 2013, and suspended the constitution. The central conservative dictatorship in the region, Saudi Arabia, was minimally affected by the democratic revolutionary movement. Instead, it became the main regional driving force behind a counterrevolution, helping to crush the uprising in Bahrain and providing billions of dollars to support and protect other conservative regimes. The revolution for democracy and social justice in Arab countries continues in the face of enormous and often brutal opposition."

"People all over the Arab world feel a sense of pride in shaking off decades of cowed passivity under dictatorships that ruled with no deference to popular wishes. And it has become respectable in the West as well. Egypt is now thought of as an exciting and progressive place; its people’s expressions of solidarity are welcomed by demonstrators in Madison, Wisconsin; and its bright young activists are seen as models for a new kind of twenty-first-century mobilization. Events in the Arab world are being covered by the Western media more extensively than ever before and are being talked about positively in a fashion that is unprecedented. Before, when anything Muslim or Middle Eastern or Arab was reported on, it was almost always with a heavy negative connotation. Now, during this Arab spring, this has ceased to be the case. An area that was a byword for political stagnation is witnessing a rapid transformation that has caught the attention of the world."

"Though it took a decade to find bin Laden, there is one consolation for his long evasion of justice: He lived long enough to witness what some are calling the Arab Spring, the complete repudiation of his violent ideology. As we debate how the United States can best influence the course of the Arab Spring, can’t we all agree that the most obvious thing we can do is stand as an example of a nation that holds an individual’s human rights as superior to the will of the majority or the wishes of government? Individuals might forfeit their life as punishment for breaking laws, but even then, as recognized in our Constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, they are still entitled to respect for their basic human dignity, even if they have denied that respect to others."

"There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history taking place. This is one of those moments. This is one of those times. The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same. … Egyptians have inspired us, and they’ve done so by putting the lie to the idea that justice is best gained through violence. For in Egypt, it was the moral force of nonviolence — not terrorism, not mindless killing — but nonviolence, moral force that bent the arc of history toward justice once more. … Today belongs to the people of Egypt, and the American people are moved by these scenes in Cairo and across Egypt because of who we are as a people and the kind of world that we want our children to grow up in. The word Tahrir means liberation. It is a word that speaks to that something in our souls that cries out for freedom. And forevermore it will remind us of the Egyptian people — of what they did, of the things that they stood for, and how they changed their country, and in doing so changed the world."

"What happened in Abbottabad … has been the second death of Osama bin Laden. His physical one. Meanwhile, his symbolic, political and ideological [death] had already occurred on the squares of Cairo, Tunis, Damascus, and Bengasi, where Al Qaeda had been ignored. Nobody exalted it. Nobody mentioned it. The "Arab spring" has blossomed and exploded for want of democracy and freedom. It is not provoked by Islamic fanaticism and even less inspired by the idea of a caliphate... launched by bin Laden. His terroristic instrument, Al Qaeda … has been, and is, ignored by the Egyptian, Tunisian, Syrian or Libyan youth. For them, Al Qaeda] is a bloodstained and obsolete tool. It is not a choice. It is outdated, even if its sporadic followers are still able to strike. Before the Americans, bin Laden had been symbolically killed by the people on Tahrir square and Burghiba avenue."