An Immediate Exit For Mubarak?

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In The Media

An Immediate Exit For Mubarak?

Mubarak’s continued unwillingness to acknowledge his complicity in the recent violence sharply undermines his ability to play a role in a peaceful transition toward democracy.

By Michele Dunne

Published on Feb 4, 2011

Source: Politico

An Immediate Exit For Mubarak?Mubarak’s argument for staying in power for more than 30 years — reiterated to Christiane Amanpour in a Feb. 3 interview — was that he was the only bulwark against chaos in Egypt. Paradoxically, Mubarak himself put the final nail in the coffin of the stability argument last week, when he unleashed violence against peaceful protesters, journalists and human rights activists. Egyptians have long been familiar with the security services’ use of agent provocateurs, and it took the international media only a few hours to catch on that these were not really “pro-Mubarak demonstrators” but paid thugs.

Mubarak made a fatal error in using such tactics. His Feb. 2 offer to step down at the end of his term and carry out political reforms in the interim had a reasonable chance of taking the air out of demonstrations and splitting the opposition. But accompanying the offer with brutal coercion — and continuing to lie about his complicity in the violence — completely discredited him in terms of playing a role in a peaceful transition toward democracy.

It also raises serious questions about the reliability of Vice President Omar Suleiman. In light of this, Mubarak should step aside now.

About the Author

Michele Dunne

Former Nonresident Scholar, Middle East Program

Michele Dunne was a nonresident scholar in Carnegie’s Middle East Program, where her research focuses on political and economic change in Arab countries, particularly Egypt, as well as U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Recent Work

Research
Islamic Institutions in Arab States: Mapping the Dynamics of Control, Co-option, and Contention
- +6
  Yasmine Farouk, Nathan J. Brown, Maysaa Shuja Al-Deen, …
Research
From Hardware to Holism: Rebalancing America’s Security Engagement With Arab States
- +8
  Robert Springborg, Emile Hokayem, Becca Wasser, …

Political Reform North Africa Egypt

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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