Military Dictatorship In Egypt?

Unrest in Egypt is getting worse and not better. What is unclear is which groups stand to gain if, or more likely when, Hosni Mubarek is forced to step aside. We would love to see true democracy, but should be concerned about the Moslem Brotherhood (backed by Obama, of course.) Egypt has tried to retain a secular government in the face of a tide of dangerous fundamentalism. Inviting a religious group to the table is a bad idea. Just because they came does not mean they should get to sit or speak.

History shows us that revolutions such as the one brewing in Cairo tend to turn out badly much of the time. Radicals shove aside moderates and spill blood when they consolidate power. Radicals want to control the people body, mind, and spirit. Radical Islamofacist terror will be bad for Egypt, Israel, Europe, and the United States.

In 1933, German democracy selected Communists and Nazis overwhelmingly in elections for the national legislature (Reichstag.) Its system required the President to choose a government from the dominant political parties. The President selected what he thought was the better of two evils, the Nazis. Of course the Communists had already killed thousands and wrecked Russia. The Nazis had not done as much yet, although they eventually would. The best case scenario for that desperate nation would have been a temporary seizure of power by the military.

Is that what is best for Egypt? If the Moslem Brotherhood or any other Islamic front group try to seize power, the military needs to step in and shove them aside. We need no more radical religious groups running nations in the Middle East. It is not a great result, but better than a lot of alternatives if true democracy cannot be established.

This all being said, that military government (as we have seen this morning actually take over the country) needs to put together a transition plan to democracy that reflects the secular nature of the country and respects all of its religious groups. It needs to promise to prevent terror as well. Hopefully, temporary military rule will result in real democracy and positive change for Egypt.