Mubarak Teeters, Stays On; Washington Plays Catch Up

Egypt — the world, it seems — is moving so fast, it’s difficult to follow. I’ve been watching on Al Jazzera English, which has been the best news channel not on TV in the U.S. for quite some time now (especially when things get hot. Georgia/Russia, anyone? Gaza War?).

There’s constant action at #jan25 on Twitter, where I’ve been working away @LobeLog. And there’re many more amazing places to be getting reportinginformationand analysis.

Below this post is Emad Mekay’s dictated dispatch from Cairo by phone, which I worked into an IPS piece that included the big speeches from teetering (with one hand behind his back?) Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and, after a 30 minute delay, during which the two had their own phone chat, U.S. President Barack Obama.

For a focus on how U.S. officialdom is reaction — playing catch up, basically — check out the other IPS piece I co-authored, this one with Jim Lobe. Me? I’m going to get some sleep. But expect more soon.

Ali Gharib

Ali Gharib is a New York-based journalist on U.S. foreign policy with a focus on the Middle East and Central Asia. His work has appeared at Inter Press Service, where he was the Deputy Washington Bureau Chief; the Buffalo Beast; Huffington Post; Mondoweiss; Right Web; and Alternet. He holds a Master's degree in Philosophy and Public Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. A proud Iranian-American and fluent Farsi speaker, Ali was born in California and raised in D.C.

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