People are mysteries.  No matter how many classes you take on understanding and analyzing them, some of them still baffle your mind.  I'm thinking of the incredibly brave men and women in Egypt who are daily risking their lives for their freedom and that of the rest of the populace.  One would think that in all of their poverty and rejection, they wouldn't want to face more.  That notion, however, is wrong.

Mubarak is a dictator with a nicer label.  The statement that Egypt is an autocratic regime falls short of the mark.  While most people really don't have a clue concerning the goings on in Egypt, there are simply horrible things occurring.  To put it shortly, the witch hunts have begun in Egypt.  The police and military have officially stepped up their game in suppressing the demonstrations of innocent protesters.  It can be wondered whether the very police who are arresting, shooting, and gassing these freedom fighters don't really agree with them behind their shields and masks.  In all reality, what citizen, whether government worker or not, would not wish for rights and freedoms to be granted to them?

One aspect of these events that seems to have mostly missed the eye of reporters is the fact that the very guns the military is using to fire upon the protesters are very likely to have been paid for by the United States.  After Iraq, Afghanistan, and Israel, Egypt is the largest recipient of U.S. assistance, including $1.3 billion in annual military aid.  The United States is the largest benefactor of Mubarak's regime, as it pays us back with favors in the area.

It's apparent, then, that this issue is not quite as cut and dry as it seems.  The lines are surely blurred.  In the past few days, however, the violence and disaster has calmed a bit.  Mubarak has agreed not to run for reelection after being in office for over 30 years.  Some change has been accomplished.

My hope is that the leaders of the United States will take the correct stance on this issue, and perhaps refuse to support Egypt any longer until the regime is disbanded.  It will be interesting to see how this all turns out.