As regular readers know, I like explainers and well informed opinion writing that distills complex issues down to something that average people (and i) can easily grasp and process, taking away the most important aspects of the story. This has been a major fail in most of our globally overrated 21st century digital media. which so often seems to be writing for the sophistication and attention spans of mid-20th century readers. That has to change.

Here's another good example of the kind of opinion piece that I think every news source should try to find and make available for any complex story. Without overt partisan slant or agenda mongering, Fulbright Fellow, Farooq Mitha cleanly sums up the challenges for Obama and the American empire, as Mubarak's Egypt, the first big Middle East domino is poised to fall any minute:

For decades we have allied ourselves with autocrats in the Middle East and looked the other way as they crack down on political expression, free speech and human rights out of fear of the unknown and the desire for stability in the region. We support these regimes because of the uncertainty of who may come into power if we press for democracy. But, we need to question whether this is good long-term policy

The United States should be viewed as a supporter for the right of the Arab people to determine their form of government. Most leaders and policymakers in the U.S. support democracy and the protection of freedoms in the Middle East, but fear extremists coming to power. For this reason it is important that our policies push for a smooth transition so that a power vacuum is not created such as there was in Iraq after Saddam Hussein's regime.


Read the entire article

See also: @Karoli's timeline of unrest in Egypt, '90s to now.

 

Related

@Karoli's timeline of unrest in Egypt, '90s to now.

It's not radical Islam that worries the US – it's independence — by Noam Chomsky

Shoq's Twitter list on Egypt:  http://twitter.com/#!/shoq/egypt