What’s Happening Behind the Scenes in Egypt?

The images out of Egypt are as troubling and surreal as they are striking.  Thousands upon thousands of angry protesters have been taking to the streets in open defiance of martial law and curfews while Egyptian tanks, armored personnel carriers and helicopters stand in limbo.  There is widespread looting, and neighborhoods are being forced to form armed community militias to defend property and lives.  Political opposition against the three decade old regime of President Hosni Mubarak is mounting furiously and the situation throughout the Arab world is growing increasingly perilous.

In an exclusive interview with Politic365.com, highly respected Eurasia and Middle East expert Webster Brooks helps us make sense of an increasingly complex situation, offering insightful analysis on everything from the Obama Administration’s response to the deals and negotiations between opposition leaders in Egypt over the Arab power’s new course.

Should we be worried about a complete breakdown of authority in Egypt? “I don’t think we should worry about complete anarchy given the leverage the Obama Administration has in the situation,” Brooks tells Politic365.com.  Brooks, the Founder and Chief Editor of the Brooks Foreign Policy Review, is cautious however, warning of the implications not only for Egypt – but the entire Middle East.

“The question is how are they going to restructure the society so it doesn’t degenerate into complete chaos,” warns Brooks.  “The key question there is how does the Obama Administration want to preserve the Egyptian military as the key balancing power.”

“It’s a question of how you manage the transition.”

Why is this important to U.S. interests?  And is a new Egyptian government that is less repressive than Mubarak’s regime the best thing for U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East?  What is triggering the wave of unrest in the Arab world now that is different from the previous three decades?  And how will this impact Israel, the center of U.S. military and economic interests in the region?

Here to answer these and other questions is Webster Brooks on Politic365.com.

Charles D. Ellison, Managing Editor for Politic365.com, Washington Correspondent for The Philadelphia Tribune and a weekly political analyst providing insight on WDAS-FM (Philadelphia), WVON-AM (Chicago) and KSRO-AM (Sonoma County, CA). He is author of the critically-acclaimed urban political thriller TANTRUM. More information can be found at http://www.cdellison.com

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