Some in Army Appear to Side With Demonstrators

[cal04]

http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=106141

Egypt was engulfed in a fifth day of protests on Saturday, but an attempt by President Hosni Mubarak to salvage his 30-year rule by firing his cabinet and calling out the army appeared to backfire as troops and demonstrators fraternized and called for the president himself to resign.

By the early evening, as protesters filled the streets in defiance of a curfew, Mr. Mubarak began to name the new members of his cabinet.

Omar Suleiman, Egypt’s military intelligence chief, had been sworn in as the country’s new vice president, according to state media. It is a post once occupied by Mr. Mubarak and not filled since he took power. State media also said that the country’s new prime minister would be the air force chief, Ahmed Shafik.

(snip)
Even as pockets of protesters clashed with police, army tanks expected to disperse the crowds in central Cairo and in the northern city of Alexandria instead became rest points and even, on occasion, part of the protests as anti-Mubarak graffiti were scrawled on them without interference from soldiers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12316465
A BBC Arabic correspondent at the scene reports a friendly atmosphere between the army and the demonstrators.

[Tejas]

1. Army are the sons, brothers and fathers of demonstrators.

No way the military would kill their own families. Best report so far was where a commander spoke to the crowd asking them to consider obeying the curfew, he emphasized the .mil was there to combat looters etc and cooperation on the part of fellow citizens (ie: honoring curfew) would go a long way to helping the .mil to do their job. Sounded like a good effort at compromise to me.

[yurbud]

2. that's the tipping point that happened in Venezuela & Tunisia

[yurbud]

3. with some cities laying off half their police forces, we could reach that point here.

since cops won't be called on to beat up just their neighbors but guys who were their fellow cops until a few days before.

[snot]

4. That's what I hope for; but

Mubarek has appointed as new v.p. and prime minister men with "strong military ties" (see http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/01/29/live-blog-291-egypt-protests ), possibly partly to try to keep the military on his side. (Former aviation minister Ahmad Shafiq is the new prime minister. Head of Egyptian intelligence, Omar Suleiman, is the new vice president.)

We'll know the military command is on the side of the people when the army escorts Mubarek out of Cairo.