What do you mean he's not dead yet?
"Hosni Mubarak: from war hero to prisoner; Once ‘father of the nation,’ now a reviled criminal" by Robert H. Reid | Associated Press, June 03, 2012
CAIRO - Hosni Mubarak has been depicted as a war hero, savior of his nation, and an anchor of stability in a turbulent region. And in the twilight of his life, as a criminal convicted for his role in the deaths of those fighting to oust him.
The frail, 84-year-old Mubarak was sentenced Saturday to life in prison after being convicted of complicity in the killing of protesters in the uprising that forced him from office.
It was an inglorious end for a leader who rose to power after Islamic extremists assassinated his predecessor Anwar Sadat and then steered the nation through the turmoil that swept the Middle East buffeted by wars, terrorism, and religious extremism....
See: Truth and secrets: The Sadat assassination trial 24 years on
Cui bono?
As Mubarak clung to power, the status quo that he personified became increasingly loathed. Like the Great Sphinx that sits immutable through the millennia, this ancient land once revered as the vibrant leader of the Arab world stagnated. Its masses struggled to feed and clothe themselves while countries of the Gulf - once little more than desert oases - seized the role that Egypt once enjoyed.
At home, Mubarak and his aging coterie of generals and business tycoons were unable to check boiling currents of popular fury, or harness the history unfolding in his nation of 80 million - the most populous in the Arab world.
They seem to have now.
A former pilot and air force commander with a combative, stubborn streak, Mubarak took tentative steps toward democratic reform early in his presidency but pulled back toward the dictatorial style that eventually propelled the protests against him that began on Jan. 25, 2011.
A 2009 cable from the US Embassy in Cairo, released by the secret-sharing WikiLeaks website, called him “a tried and true realist, innately cautious and conservative,’’ and with “little time for idealistic goals.’’
It noted that Mubarak disapproved of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein, which he believed was in need of a “tough, strong military officer who is fair’’ as leader.
“This telling observation, we believe, describes Mubarak’s own view of himself as someone who is tough but fair, who ensures the basic needs of his people,’’ the cable said. “In Mubarak’s mind, it is far better to let a few individuals suffer than risk chaos for society as a whole.’’
Yet that very image of cautious stability was once welcomed in the West, which feared that Sadat’s death in a hail of gunfire at a military parade would unleash a wave of unrest that would scuttle the fledgling peace with Israel at a time when America and its allies were panicked over the rise of militant Islam in Iran.
Instead, Mubarak maintained the peace with Israel and kept Egypt free of the grip of Islamic extremism. He struggled with the problems that have long bedeviled the Arab world: choking corruption, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and religious militancy. Economic reforms spurred growth, but the fruits trickled only to a few.
He engineered Egypt’s return to the Arab fold after nearly a decade in the cold over its 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
Early on, Mubarak crushed an insurgency by Muslim extremists, whose ranks had produced Sadat’s assassins and some future Al Qaeda leaders.
Excuse me, folks, I gotta use the crapper again.
In the 1990s, he fought hard against another resurgence of Muslim militants whose attacks included the slaughter of dozens of foreign tourists at the temple city of Luxor....
Mubarak earned nationwide acclaim as commander of the air force during the 1973 Middle East war - a conflict which many Egyptians see as a victory - and was vice president when Sadat was assassinated. Mubarak, who was sitting beside Sadat in the reviewing stand, escaped with a minor hand injury.
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"Hosni Mubarak gets life in prison; Verdict left open to an appeal, lawyers warn" by David D. Kirkpatrick | New York Times, June 03, 2012
CAIRO -A conviction that once promised to deliver a triumph for the rule of law in Egypt and the Arab world - the first Arab strongman jailed by his own citizens - instead brought tens of thousands of Egyptians back into the streets. They denounced the verdict as a sham because the court also acquitted many officials more directly responsible for the police who killed the demonstrators, and a broad range of lawyers and political leaders said Mubarak’s conviction was doomed to reversal on appeal....
By nightfall, tens of thousands filled Tahrir Square in a protest that matched the size and ideological diversity of the early days of the revolt, with Islamists and liberals once again protesting side by side. Protesters poured into the streets of Alexandria, Suez and other cities to rail against what they saw as a miscarriage of justice.
“It is all an act. It is a show,’’ said Alaa Hamam, 38, a Cairo University employee joining a protest in Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of the uprising. “It is a provocation.’’
For many Egyptians, it was the latest disappointment in a 16-month-old transition that has not delivered the ratification of a constitution, the election of a president, and the handover of power by interim military rulers.
Related: Egyptians Creating Constitution
Sunday Globe Special: Egyptian Election Eliminations
And cancel the handover.
The judges also dismissed corruption charges against Mubarak and his deeply unpopular sons, Alaa and Gamal, on technical grounds.
Against an opaque backdrop of military rule, in which the generals, prosecutors, and judges were all appointed by Mubarak, the degree of judicial independence is impossible to know. Demonstrators slammed the decision as a ruse designed to placate the street without holding anyone accountable for the violence or corruption of the old regime.
The ruling immediately became a political battleground in Egypt’s first competitive presidential race, expected to be decided this month by a runoff between the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood and Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak’s last prime minister. Most analysts called the decision a blow to Shafiq because of his close ties to Mubarak, but any further protests could increase public receptiveness to Shafiq’s law and order message.
Mubarak’s conviction and court appearance - on a hospital gurney in the metal cage that holds criminal defendants in Egypt - offered the kind of vivid example of the humiliation of their onetime invincible ruler that once thrilled Egyptians with a feeling of liberation.
Mubarak, in dark glasses and a light-colored track suit, showed no reaction to the verdict....
After the verdict, a helicopter flew him to a Cairo prison. State news media reported that after complaining of a “medical crisis,’’ Mubarak was treated in the helicopter on the ground, and then he refused to leave it and enter the prison for 2 1/2 hours....
The ruling appeared for the first time to bring together a broad spectrum of both liberal and Islamist political leaders in united opposition to Shafiq. By Saturday afternoon, protesters were tearing down Shafiq’s billboards and burning his campaign posters. “Shafiq you disgrace, the revolution continues,’’ protesters chanted....
And yet the election was a close 51-49 split?
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"Egyptian prosecutor to appeal Mubarak trial verdicts; Former president, sons cleared on corruption charges" by Hamza Hendawi | Associated Press, June 04, 2012
CAIRO - The verdicts triggered a wave of protests on Saturday. Tens of thousands took to the streets in Cairo and elsewhere in Egypt. They chanted slogans against the generals who took over after the popular uprising forced him Mubarak to step down 15 months ago.
The demonstrations touched on the runoff election this month for a president to replace Mubarak, pitting Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi against Ahmed Shafiq, who was Mubarak’s last prime minister.
Some demonstrators tore billboards bearing the image of Shafiq, who, like his mentor Mubarak, was a career air force officer.
Shafiq lashed out at his Islamist rival Sunday, warning that he and his fundamentalist group would monopolize power.
It was a sign that the runoff race between Shafiq and Morsi was turning into a bitter contest over who could frighten the voters of his rival more. The two face off in a June 16-17 vote.
“I represent the civil state,’’ Shafiq said at a press conference. “The Brotherhood represents darkness and secrecy. No one knows who they are or what they are doing. I represent dialogue and tolerance.’’
“They want to monopolize power,’’ he said. “They don’t want to take us 30 years back, but all the way back to the dark ages.’’
Just ignore the torture of the regime of which he was a part.
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Related: Hosni Mubarak’s health deteriorating in prison, official says
I wrote who gives a shit before I crossed out the article.
"Mubarak may leave prison for hospital" New York Times, June 07, 2012
CAIRO - An extraordinary crowd of tens of thousands flooded central squares of the capital and other cities Tuesday night in scenes rivaling the early days of the protests that brought him down. And the outrage has become a powerful but unpredictable variable in the runoff scheduled June 16 and June 17 to decide Egypt’s first competitive presidential election, in which Mubarak’s last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, faces Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest Islamist group.
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Honestly, he doesn't look sick to me.
Update:
"Mubarak’s condition brought to mind former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon — though it was not known if there was any medical similarity in their conditions. Sharon suffered a massive stroke on 2006. Intensive treatment and repeated operations by a team of brain surgeons stabilized his condition, but he never regained consciousness. Sharon, 84, is still alive but remains on life support in a deep coma....
If he recovers and awakens prophecy will be fulfilled.
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