Khaled Said is one of hundreds killed by Police Brutality in Egypt over many decades. The only new player in the game -which led to the uprising, was facebook.
With facebook, with a click of a mouse, millions -literally- in the country would see videos showing Mubarak's doings. Millions would hear opposing voices to the regime. Before facebook, the only way you'd know someone was killed was if you read it in the newspaper. Two years before Facebook, independant newspapers were given a limited space of freedom (emphasis on limited). That helped steam out some anger. But you can't even hint at a demonstration in a newspaper. With facebook, you can mobilize an entire nation, which is exactly what happened.
When they turned the Internet off on Friday, they basically gave everyone who was following the uprising on facebook a reason to join it.
Unlike the respected army -who are university educated, Egyptian police are known to be more like regime thugs who have the best interest of the people LAST, as evidenced by what's happening now (looting, burning).
The youth had to form shields around historic buildings downtown to protect it, since the police was nowhere to be seen... Here's the youth in front of the Egyptian Museum:
During the uprising, the police had its thugs (guards in civilian dress code) burning, looting, and ripping the city apart -trying to justify a violent response. So far, over 100 have been shot dead in three cities. Bodies haven't been buried yet. Others have been buried without their families seeing them, to hide them away. Watch the families' anger here:
http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
How long until the extremists like MB are able to use this situation to their advantage? My fear is these moderates/freedom fighters are simply paving the way for radicals to move in and fill the power vacuum. Who else is there besides Muslim Brotherhood?
The Muslim Brotherhood are the largest "organized" opposition, only because the other secular groups were disfractionated -till a year ago when Elbaradei joined them together. The secular groups -and only the secular groups- were responsible for the uprising over that started Tuesday.
That said, the MB have undergone transformational changes over the past decade or two... I wouldn't call them "jihadists" at all. As a matter of fact, the Muslim Brotherhood were the ones who organized the Muslim human shield around Coptic churches during Coptic Christmas, a week after Alqaeda attacked the Christians in Alexandria -and needless to say, they're publically anti-Alqaeda. However, most people in the big cities do not want them in power. They draw their support from the smaller cities in the Nile delta.
I wouldn't worry at all about the MB taking control of the country. The army wouldn't serve under a MB rule, plain and simple. The MB know that. They would only be satisfied by a decent chunk of the parliament.
Will there be a void after Mubarak? Of course. Over 30 years, he was known to distance any potential competitor -even those under the umbrella his own regime and ruling party, going as far as placing them under house arrest and framing them with scandals.
There are many names suggested...
General Abdel-Salam Al-Mahgoub: Current minister of development (after being too popular as --->), ex-Govorner of Alexandria and Ismaeleyya (Egypt's #2 and #4 cities); beloved by the people, known for transparency and not being corrupt, known for transforming both cities and cleaning them up, supported by the army, connected within the system, supported by Amr Khaled (biggest moderate muslim preacher in the Arab world).
Amr Moussa: Current head of the Arab league (after being too popular as --->); ex-Minister of Foreign affairs; loved by the people. However, most of his accomplishments (mideast negotiations) were thanks to the efforts of the chief of intelligence, Omar Soliman.
General Omar Soliman: Egyptian chief of intelligence over 18 years. Very secretive. Responsible for all Middle-east negotiations. Respected in the country and out.
Mohamed Elbaradei: Well known Noble Peace prize laureate, ex-Head of UN Nuclear Agency, brought in the country by the oppositional groups to bring them together and serve as an internationally recognized face. His support inside the country was immense over the past year, up to 6 months ago. Since then, it's been declining rapidly, and he isn't enjoying as strong a support as he used to, being viewed as a "tourist". Needless to say, he is not connected in the regime at all, and won't be supported by the army.
Gamal Mubarak: Yeah that dude is history. May he enjoy his $225 million apartment in 1 Hyde Park, London.
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