The Praetorian Solution

Shafik Gabr, Egyptian businessman, feels that the U.S. should stay out of Egyptian affairs . Perhaps that opinion should have been uttered before we gave Egypt billions of dollars to prop up their corrupt government and military . Question; who runs Egypt? Mubarak is apparently on his way out, and his newly appointed Vice -President Sailumen has already been the target of assassins . Payback for past crimes against the Egyptian people perhaps? The people? They are in turmoil now, divided between genuine freedom seekers and members of the Muslim brotherhood , who see an opportunity in the chaos to seize power and bring Sharia Law to the embattled country. Who then, does run Egypt? Answer; The Military. They have sat back,  calmly watching the riots , lootings , and burnings , with a cool , confident detachment , as bemused by the events as a cat playing with a mouse.  But, the military is a force of draftees ; made to serve by force, and therefore , have no strong political leanings except that they may lean more towards the people than the ruling class . Then , the question must be; who runs the military? Answer; We do . For many years , the U.S. has given billions of dollars to Egypt; money that has been used exclusively to support their military at the expense of the poverty stricken Egyptian people. Without us, Egypt would have no military to speak of; and rest assured , President Mubarak would have been ousted long ago, without our support of his regime.  The answer to the riddle of the Sphinx may remain, but the answer to this current Egyptian puzzle is quite clear. Indeed , it has been employed in political strategem down through the centuries . The Roman Emporer Caligula , reigned little more than two years, , but , in that time, he robbed , raped, and  pillaged his own people during his madman's reign , without  let or hindrence, until he dared to cross a dangerous political line, declaring himself a god, and appointing a horse a member of the Senate. He had gone too far, and the true rulers of Rome at that time, his Praetorian Guard, saw him now as a danger , not just to Rome and its people, but to their own personal political and militaristic aspirations. Now, the Praetorian Guard of Egypt, funded by the U.S, has reached their Caligula moment. The puppet dictator that they have backed for the last 30 years, with our consent, has now become a threat , not just to Egypt, but to the Egyptian military personally. The military that we , the United States , funds and controls. Who will control Egypt? Not the people, not the Brotherhood, not Mubarek or his sons , or his Vice-President.  We will. Ultimately, the military of Egypt, a force of the people, not Mubarek, will do what we say. They have to. Without our money, they do not exist , and, if they do not exist, then they are mearly citizens , lost amid the chaos that currently reigns in their streets. The chaos and instability that always exists under a dictatorship, The Egyptian military must act now , just as the Roman military acted against Caligula, , and , end it, by force , if necessary. If the people truly want their freedom , then, this is the only way . Yes , ultimately , the only real solution to the problems in Egypt is the Praetorian Solution.