The revolution is not over. It is beginning.

The people of Egypt have chosen to overthrow their dictator. The Guardian takes a very positive spin:

Whatever follows, this is a moment of historic significance. It re-establishes Egypt as the leader of the Arab world and Egyptians at its moral core. This revolution – the only word that fits – was carried out by ordinary people demanding, with extraordinary tenacity, basic political rights: free elections, real political parties, a police force that upholds rather than undermines the rule of law. Try as some may to paint them as the lackeys of Islamism, they did this on their own and, to a large extent, peacefully. This was a fight in which Muslims and Christians stood side by side. No sectarian flags were visible in Tahrir Square, just the national one. Together they showed that if they could conquer their own fear – one that was wholly rational – they could go on to bring down the most entrenched and venal of dictators. Mr Mubarak’s fate will not be lost on every other dictator in the Arab world and beyond.

via Egypt: brave new Arab world | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian.

There are concerns about this means that Egypt will go Islam. I’m not sure about this. Egypt is… Egypt. It is not Arabia. There is a long long tradition of Egyptian patriotism.

However, there is also a long. long tradition of religiously based conflict in Egypt. So…. it could be leading to a more democratic country. However, it could go the other way.

The most interesting thing is that the FOX commentators are saying that they could manage this process. These thoughts are also reflected by the commentariat from the left. Both sides of the political conversation in the USA have to realise that this really, is not their business. It is the business of the Egyptian people.

And the issues and policies that Egypt have to deal with the needs of the people of the Nile, not the perceived needs of those in Washington, Paris, Moscow, Tehran or Riyadh. The role of people in those cities is the same as any other: to pray for peace and to do good where they are.