

Mubarak ordered Tiananmen-style massacre of demonstrators, Army refused - tc
http://www.americablog.com/2011/02/mubarak-ordered-tiananmen-style.html

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TomOfTTB
This doesn't paint an accurate picture. On that note I practically beg you to
listen to this podcast: <http://tinyurl.com/4g4727g>

Or at very least listen to the 15 minutes between 2:03 and 17:07. Yes it's a
talk radio show and Yes talk radio hosts usually aren't the most informed. But
this guy is (he helped rebuild Iraq, was in the first Gulf War, Bosnia,
etc...)

If you don't have time the gist is that the Egyptian Army is a capitalist
enterprise. They run factories, tour buses, own hotels and so on. Beyond that
they have more exposure to America than most because their officers train here
in the U.S. To understand the military's role in all that you have to
understand those two facts and their implications

(Long story short: the Military was willing to put up with Mubarak but they
weren't ever willing to kill Egyptians for him and were willing to toss him
out on his a$$ once his craziness started to disrupt tourism and goods
distribution)

~~~
Dylanlacey
That... Almost sounds like a sane, rational way to run an army. Provide an
external motivation that doesn't include rabid parochialism and tie it to the
wellbeing of the country.

~~~
drinian
Singapore has maintained an odd tradition, inherited from the British. They
keep a regiment of Gurkhas around, professional soldiers from Nepal. They form
an independent group within the Singapore Police, and are not allowed to form
deep social connections within Singapore. This, in theory, keeps them a
disinterested third party.

[https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Gurkha_Contin...](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Gurkha_Contingent)

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zeteo
Frightening if true, but the story is not exactly corroborated. Fisk himself
(a rather controversial, and politically active reporter) only devotes one
phrase to the allegation, with no support whatsoever ("it is now clear ...").
Repetition of the same claim does not add to its veracity, and the
"corroborating" source is an Iranian website that cites no source whatsoever
for the claim. I'd take this claim with a grain of salt, at least until it
acquires more substantive support.

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Charuru
From what I understand, the army stationed at Beijing also refused to fire on
the demonstrators in 1989. However they obeyed the order to leave the city,
not expecting what would happen next. That is, the politburo mobilized into
Beijing an undereducated army from a remote area in a different province to do
the deed.

The Egyptians have learned it seems. From what I understand the army did not
just refused to fire but is also actively being disobedient.

~~~
randall
Sources? I'd never heard that before. Would love to read more, and a cursory
google search doesn't reveal much.

