Is Mubarak Trying to Incite the Protesters so that a Crackdown is Justified?

[Junkdrawer]

Seems to me like a real possibility.

[Raven]

1. Yup. No other reason for today's fiasco.

[Junkdrawer]

3. As someone here said, he couldn't have given a more condescending speech if he tried....

I think he tried.

[madmax]

2. Hope to people are able to restrain themselves

and follow the path of Ghandi and MLK.

[RKP5637]

4. It sounds like typical dictator stuff to me, setting them up to mow them down. n/t

[Skip_In_Boulder]

5. There was just something on the CBS radio news feed I get here

at the top of the hour saying there may be a split between Mubarak and the military. Ed Schultz reported earlier in the day that Mubarak is in a location by the airport surrounded by tanks. So what we may be seeing here is a real split within the government itself.

[Selatius]

6. The commentator on Al Jazeera English echoed your ideas.

It is frightening and equally tragic if true.

[JuniperLea]

7. And he will cry, "Poor me!"

You made me hurt you... boo hoo hoo hoo... you made me kill you! You gave me no choice... waaaaaaaa....

[SoCalDem]

8. Of course.. It's the ONLY way he "wins" n/t

[AngryOldDem]

9. Yes.

What an easier way to hold on to his power?

Create chaos, and then say you need to stay on to restore order. He has no intention of leaving in September.

He's playing a dangerous game. He's sending the country into anarchy, and there's no good solution to that.

[Name removed]

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[OneGrassRoot]

10. But everyone knows it, and we're watching. n/t

[JackRiddler]

12. Looks like it but we don't know what maneuvering is going on with the military...

I think he wanted to raise the stakes on the military decision that the demands of the protesters would be met, which was delivered in "Communique No. 1" by a session of the high command without Mubarak or Suleiman present. This was hours before Mubarak's speech, and sounded like a coup was underway. So Mubarak's telling them to make him go, if they dare, and trying to provoke a reaction from the crowd that will be called "violent" and might serve as the justification for a crackdown.

Tomorrow may, finally, tell all.

[Junkdrawer]

13. Create the unrest so as to force the military's hand....

I bet Mubarak has already secretly ordered the military to crackdown and, thus far, the military has ignored the orders.

Generals know that the command to kill massive numbers of their own people has three possible outcomes and "it works and the revolution is quashed" is not the most likely one.

[applegrove]

14. Yup. He was patronizing. Built up expectations and then slammed them. That build up and slam down

is what psychopaths do to cause psychological distress.