We have a report telling us that Egypt will NOT fall into the hands of the radical Muslim Brotherhood.

It might seem as "old news," but what is happening in Egypt? We have a tentative answer from Stratfor Global Intelligence. We use Stratfor as do the three network news agency (ABC, CBS AND NBC) as well as O'Reilly on FoxNews. Here is Stratfor's summary report written on Feb 11:

Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman delivered the following statement Feb. 11: “In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country. May God help everybody.”

Suleiman’s statement is the clearest indication thus far that the military has carried out a coup led by Defense Minister Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi. It is not clear whether Suleiman will remain as the civilian head of the army-led government.

Egypt is returning to the 1952 model of ruling the state via a council of army officers. The question now is to what extent the military elite will share power with its civilian counterparts.

At a certain point, the opposition’s euphoria will subside and demands for elections will be voiced. The United States, while supportive of the military’s containing the unrest, also has a strategic need to see Egypt move toward a more pluralistic system.

Whether the military stays true to its commitment to hold elections on schedule in September remains to be seen. If elections are held, however, the military must have a political vehicle in place to counter opposition forces, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. The fate of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) thus lies in question. Without the NDP, the regime will have effectively collapsed and the military could run into greater difficulty in running the country. While the military council will be serving as the provisional government, it will likely want to retain as much of the ruling NDP as possible and incorporate elements of the opposition to manage the transition. Sustaining its hold on power while crafting a democratic government will be the biggest challenge for the military as it tries to avoid regime change while also dealing with a potential constitutional crisis. (we are a paid member of Stratfor). >>>>> END OF REPORT

Editor's notes: when you stop to think about it, the Middle Eastern and North African Muslin nations are not led by raving radical Muslims hell bent on defeating Israel and running the United States out of the region. To be sure, radicals are there and in power (Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Gaze ) but cooler heads prevail in Egypt where more than 3000 of the Egyptian military officer pool has been educated in West Point and related schools in the States. Add to this largest country in the region (80% of the Muslim/Arab population live in this most ancient of nations), Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Iraq (thank you George Bush) and even Libya. Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan remain questionable as to the end game and the ultimate influence of radicals within those countries. Of course radicalized elements of Islam can co-op the region, but that does not appear to be a likely scenario.

Understand that I am not predicting outcomes, in this post. But I am suggesting that when the dust settles, the United States could be in a reasonable good position. Obama has to get it in gear, however. If he continues to sit on his hands, the outcome might be disastrous for our country.

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