After a confusing and confrontational day Thursday in Tahrir Square, when President Mubarak announced that he would transfer power, but not resign; the revolution has come full circle inEgypt, with an official statement Friday night that Mubarak had changed his mind and decided to resign.
February 11, 2011, will be a historic date forever. Mubarak stepped down and turned over power to the High Council of the Egyptian armed forces.
President Obama made a speech to congratulate the Egyptian people for the historic event.
“We are watching history unfolding,” said Obama on national television. “There are very few moments in our lives, when we have the chance to see history in the making and this is one of them.”
The president went on to say that Friday’s events were not the end of the Egyptian transition, but it is the beginning.
Obama made the statement that Egypt has played a pivotal role in the history of the Middle East for over 6000 years, but the revolution will be remembered as a great day.
It only took 18 days from the surprising beginning to the stunning end.
A day that many feared would be a blood bath, ended in a day that has changed Egypt forever. The violence and loss of life from the week before, backfired on Mubarak and only served to compel the protestors not to let their comrades die in vain.
“The United States will continue to be a friend and partner to the Egyptian people,” continued Obama. “We stand ready to help in any way, if we are asked.”
A young doctor interviewed outside a make-shift hospital said, “We started this without help and we will finish it without help. We are thankful for President Obama’s offer, but we will continue on our own.”
The people of Egypt have discovered they are worth something and it can’t be taken away from them…ever. This was among the sentiments of joyous Egyptians on the street. They said it has been the power of human dignity that got them to this time in history.
President Obama described it as, “a non-violent moral force that has bent the arch of history once more.”
Obama cautioned that difficult days are still ahead, but for today, “the Egyptian people have inspired us as they have changed the world.”
Experts agreed that other dictators around the Middle East will not be pleased with the successful revolution in Egypt. They say that Osama Bin Laden will hate the seeds of Democracy that have taken root in that country.
“Egypt now has a chance for freedom, Democracy, and sense of dignity,” said former CIA director, James Woolsey by phone to CNN. “The army is in control and the people support the army, but countries like Iran will work to undermine this movement. Iranian officials have quashed previous uprisings before, with brutality and violence. Other factions, like Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood will be watching.”
Hours after the announcement was made that Mubarak was resigning and leaving Cairo, people continued to dance and sing in the streets expressing their euphoria at the realization they had driven out a tyrant that ruled with an iron fist for 30 years. “There’s something in the soul that cries out for freedom.” Martin Luther King
to resign.