Egypt ripe for revolution

A week of insurrection that has left Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak desperately clinging to power makes a return to the oppressive regime of the past 30 years inconceivable. President Barack Obama should recognize that reality and press Mubarak to step down. As protests continued yesterday, it became even clearer that the Egyptian people's tolerance for corruption and poverty has evaporated. The United States should align itself with the generational change sweeping Egypt - and maybe the region.

Egypt is an important ally. It has played a key role in attempts to broker a Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement and has been a bulwark against terrorism. And Mubarak has been a friend to the United States, so getting him to relinquish power will require delicacy. Initially, the message may be best delivered behind closed doors - but it should be emphatic. U.S. foreign policy has always suffered from a tension between our values - freedom and democracy - and our national security interests, and the times we've gotten in trouble have more often been when we put our interests above our values. In the long run, if we are seen in the Muslim world as being a friend of democratic movements - even when they clash with long-term allies such as Mubarak - it's better for our national security.

So the United States shouldn't fall into the trap that Mubarak has long used to justify his oppressive regime: that if he goes, the void will be filled by radical Islamists. This is not a fundamentalist uprising. It's a spontaneous rebellion ignited by young, educated people who have no jobs, can't afford food and otherwise see little hope of a better future.

The events come after the suicide of a frustrated fruit vendor sparked a similar grassroots upheaval in Tunisia, forcing that country's president, El-Abidine Ben Ali, to flee. Now the unrest in Egypt suggests that the uncompromising demand for more representative government and better lives may be contagious. With the future in Tunisia uncertain and Hezbollah firmly in power in Lebanon, a change of power in Egypt would rewrite the map of the Middle East. U.S. interests in the region will suffer if we're seen to be an enemy of that change.

Obama said Friday that the people of Egypt "have rights that are universal," and asked the authorities to respect them. He urged Mubarak to restore access to the Internet, warned that foreign aid to Egypt would be reviewed, and pressed the government to institute economic, political and social reforms. It's the right message, though it's too late for Mubarak.

The Egyptian army will be the key player in the days and weeks ahead. It has prospered under Mubarak. Generals control much of the government, and the public holds the army in high esteem. In the end, it will protect its own interests, so it is unlikely the military will open fire on civilians. Washington should work with those U.S.-trained military leaders to organize a transitional government - and perhaps someone among them to lead the effort - until scheduled elections in September.

The desire for a better life is a force of nature. With so many of Egypt's people impoverished and no institutional way to throw off autocratic rule, some sort of popular uprising was inevitable. The outcome could change the course of history.