So, Who Are The Bad Guys?

Good guys or bad guys?

"In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain." ~ Pliny the Elder

I've been trying to get a handle, with the limited time and intellect I have, to understand the events transpiring in Egypt. I know Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is under fire from protesters, and I know about their accompanying riots, resulting in deaths, injuries, and destruction.

But I don't know who the bad guys and good guys are.

I'm not too sure anyone knows. Yesterday, while listening to Sean Hannity, I heard him say something (I don't remember his exact words) that seems to indicate he isn't too sure who the bad guys are, either.

So, I'm trying to figure out exactly who I should be supporting. To that end, I've come up with a few things that I think I understand so far. Walk through this with me:

I know there is a faction calling themselves the Muslim Brotherhood, who, although they didn't start the protests, now seem to be running the show.

As an aside: Anytime the word "Muslim" comes up in a story about the middle east, you know automatically, that death and destruction will be involved.

Regardless of what American Liberals would have us believe, the words, "Muslim" and "Terrorist" have become somewhat synonymous. If not synonymous, at least, inexorably linked.

Additionally, the Muslim Brotherhood is calling for war on Israel, which gives me a fairly strong clue.

So, right away, I assume the bad guys in this situation have to be the protesters.

But hold on! Not so fast!

We are told by the American media guys that Mubarek is an evil dictator, who has been oppressing his people for decades.

I had never heard that about him up until now, but then, I tend to be more concerned about domestic matters than international events.

So, in order to ascertain for myself how much of what I've heard is accurate, I took a little of my limited time to google "Hosni Mubarak" to see just how evil he is.

I will confess, now that I've done a little research (very little), I don't see how the media have arrived at the conclusion that he is particularly evil. At least, in comparison with other world leaders. Or a dictator.

Probably, I haven't done enough research. I suppose I should have gone directly to the experts on evil dictators: The Daily Kos, Democratic Underground, and The Huffington Post, perhaps.

OK. So let me assume that the American media are being truthful, and that Mubarak is indeed a very bad man. Why wouldn't they be truthful? They have the public trust. That is a great and awesome responsibility. It would be a very bad thing for them to attempt to mislead us. Why would they ever want to do that?

In doing my limited research, I read that Mubarak has been a loyal friend and ally of the United States since he gained power shortly after the assassination of Anwar Sadat. He has maintained control of a "secular government", which, as every one knows, is one of the main goals of the Liberals in this country.

You know, separation of church and state, and all that.

And yet, It seems the Liberals in our country support the Muslim brotherhood in their desire to create a decidedly non-secular government.

I wonder. How do the Liberals explain this apparent dichotomy?

And then, I wondered, where does Obama stand in all this? Who does he support? Because, as you know, knowing who Obama will back would be a definitive indication of exactly who the good and bad guys are.

Actually, I kind of knew what Obama would do when I read that Egypt's Nobel laureate, Mohamed El Baradei, had demanded that Obama call for Mubarek to step down.

And, now, since Obama never met a Nobel peace prize winner he didn't love (particularly if they are antagonistic to the United States), Obama has done what Baradei suggested.

Of course, Obama never met an evil dictator he didn't love, either, so with that in mind, it still could go either way. If Mubarak is really an evil dictator, that is.

That said, according to an ABC news story headline, "Obama Calls On Mubarak to Hand Over Power Immediately".

Well, that kind of answers the question for me. I know if Obama doesn't support Mubarak, Mubarak must be the good guy and the protesters must be the bad guys.

It's really not a difficult conclusion. If it's a question of right or wrong, like most (and I resist the temptation to say "all") Liberals, Obama will always come down on the wrong side.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I support Mubarak's Egyptian government in this one. I figure I have the odds on my side.

Anyone Obama doesn't support can't be all bad.