We must ensure a peaceful transition of power in Egypt

After weeks of turmoil in his country, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak reluctantly resigned, thus ending his 30-year dictatorship.

Power has been transferred to the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces, and last Friday the council issued a statement ensuring that Mubarak’s plans for political transition would be carried out, and September’s elections would take place as planned, promising Egyptians a “fair and free” electoral process.

Rebellion turned to celebration on the streets of Egypt. The protesters had claimed that Mubarak’s presidency was corrupt and negligent. Currently, approximately 80 million Egyptians suffer from severe poverty, a lack of available employment and rising prices. Coupled with claims of human rights violations, this has driven the people into the streets to loot, burn, protest and fight.

Egypt has maintained a strong culture and an educated middle class, and has traditionally enjoyed good diplomatic relations with the U.S. In an attempt to establish the nation as a force in the region, the U.S. has strategically built up and modernized the Egyptian army, an initiative that has cost billions.

As a result of its close relationship with the Pentagon, the Egyptian military strongly opposes Islamic political radicalism. This is important due to the fact that some 90 percent of the Egyptian population is Muslim.

The U.S. has managed to handle the civil unrest delicately. Taking a lesson from history, we’ve learned that previous pushes for leadership change in the Middle East have ended in disaster.

Let’s look at what happened when President Carter tried to push the shah of Iran to accept democratic reform. The shah was a brutal authoritarian who took away many of his people’s basic freedoms. In 1978, as the people began to revolt and the shah’s power began to fade, the U.S. failed to properly intervene. As a result of our inefficiency, a radical Muslim, Ayatollah Khomeini, who proclaimed himself the leader of the revolt, formed strong relations with Iran’s army and there was a takeover. The shah was forced to flee the country and the U.S. lost stability and influence in the region.