An orderly transition is best for Egypt

Wednesday’s front-page story was informative [“Protests swell as Egyptians vow to oust Mubarak,” page one, Feb. 9]. A comparison can be made between the uprising in Egypt and the revolution in Iran in 1970. The turmoil in Egypt against the Mubarak regime is a matter of concern to both the U. S. and Israel after 30 years of peace and stability in the area.

It is important that the new government that eventually emerges in Egypt be democratic and honors the peace treaty it signed with Israel in 1977. Also that there be an orderly and peaceful transition to democracy from Mubarak’s autocratic regime. Mubarak did not renounce the peace treaty with Israel that had gotten his predecessor Anwar Sadat assassinated by members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

If the Brotherhood has its way, Egypt will become a Sunni theocracy modeled like Iran. The process should not be hijacked by the Brotherhood, which is linked to Hamas and could use violence, deception and rigged elections to seize power. Their goal is to turn the world into an Islamist empire which would have catastrophic consequences to the U. S. and Western civilization..

Egypt needs enough time to allow opposition parties to form and reform its constitution to make democratic voting credible. An orderly transition that does not result in a fundamentalist Islamic regime would be in the best interest of Egypt and the civilized world.

— Josh Basson, Seattle

Obama kept quiet about democracy

When Barack Obama was running for the presidency the media told us it was uncanny how similar he was to President Abraham Lincoln. Then when he was in office we were told how he was another Franklin D. Roosevelt. Recently Time magazine told us that he really resembles Ronald Reagan most of all and after his speech to the Chamber of Commerce he was just like John Kennedy. Now as a champion of freedom in the Middle East, I guess he’s another George Bush.

Unfortunately he’s none of these people. Despite all his posing the world’s leaders have judged Obama to be a man of no consequence. After being severely schooled by Hosni Mubarak and the King of Saudi Arabia, I guess Obama has finally learned to keep his mouth shut.

— Peter Kogler, Seattle