Quote of the Day

. . . There's a domino effect underway in the Arab world. Tunisia was the spark, not only because its uprising came first but because the people of Tunisia won and the dictator fled. Egypt remains for the United States the most important strategic Arab ally.

The fall of Hosni Mubarak, the U.S.-backed dictator in power for more than three decades, would mean an end to Washington's ability to rely on Cairo to stave off Arab nationalism and independence and an end to Egypt's role as a collaborator in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Whatever happens, what's likely, though not inevitable, is that never again will Tunisia be used as a transit point or Egypt as a "black site" secret prison for U.S. agents engaged in the "extraordinary rendition" of detainees for interrogation and torture.

Stirrings of popular dissent are already underway in Yemen and Jordan too. All the other U.S.-backed monarchies and pseudo-democracies across the region are feeling the heat. The U.S. empire in the region is crumbling. . . .

– Phyllis Bennis
"Tunisia's Spark and Egypt's Flame: The Middle East is Rising"
Foreign Policy in Focus
January 31, 2011

See also the related Wild Reed post:
Quote of the Day – January 30, 2011

Recommended Off-site Links:
Mubrak's Regime Cannot Satisfy the Demands of Egyptians – Ahdaf Soueif (The Guardian, February 1, 2011).
Why Fear the Arab Revolutionary Spirit? – Slavoj Žižek (The Guardian, February 1, 2011).
Thirty Years is Too Long For One Man, Be That in Cairo or Rome – Colleen Kochivar-Baker (Enlightened Catholicism, February 1, 2011).

Image 1: Egyptians shout slogans as they gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square heeding a call by the opposition for a "march of a million" to mark a week of protests demanding for the ouster of Hosni Mubarak's long term regime. (AFP/Marco Longari)
Image 2: Volunteers protect demonstrators during a march in Alexandria, Egypt – Tuesday, February 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Ahmed Muhammed) Image 3: Anti-government demonstrators march in Alexandria, Egypt – Tuesday, February 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Ahmed Muhammed)
Image 4: A soldier walks past anti-government demonstrators in Tahrir Square, Egypt – Wednesday, February 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)