As of this morning, President Obama's top military man Admiral Mike Mullin is confident that allied forces have destroyed enough of Quaddafi's air defenses to enforce a 24/7 no-fly zone. Here he is on CNN giving viewers an update:
The enforcement of UN Resolution 1970 has helped protect rebels in their stronghold of Benghazi since it was passed by destroying Qaddafi's ability to bomb civilians with his airforce as well as advance his superior army toward their positions. Rebel leaders see this as a victory on their side. With less of an advantage, the fighters have a better chance at succeeding.
A very detailed NYTimes article explains how the decision was made by the United States to help France and England push for the UN Resolution. Click here.
Egypt Votes:
Although I don't want to serve as a breaking news source, as off 1:45 pm (Eastern time), Egyptian officials have verified that the votes have been counted, with little inconsistencies or worries of corruption. The result? The nine constitutional amendments passed with around 77% voting "Yes" (they mostly dealt with presidential elections).
A CNN report describes some of the amendments:
The proposed amendments include limiting the president to two four-year terms, capping emergency laws to six months unless they are extended by public referendum, and placing elections under judicial oversight.
Interestingly, most of the opposition forces that helped drive the revolution, including a newly formed Revolution Youth Council have pushed voters to vote "No" on the 9 amendments. They argue that a completely new constitution is needed, not new amendments that were quickly drafted attached to an already flawed document.
The main supporter of the Amendments was the Muslim Brotherhood. Either way, in the end, I don't think it matters as much if the constitution is completely replaced or not. We still see Egyptians voting in their most transparent elections for the first time in decades. Furthermore, the amendments themselves address many issues wrong with the past Egyptian government and with them passed, a push can begin for more constitutional changes. I have personally come to believe that the other groups only supported a "No" vote because passing the amendments would mean a quick election by the Summer time. If they were truly interested in drafting a new constitution (with no political intentions), they would have urged a "yes" vote since one of the articles that was passed establishes that a constitutional assembly be formed after elections, to come up with a new draft of the constitution, which would be approved or not by another referendum. The beauty of democracy is that, although you may not get what you want now, the constant change in leadership gives everyone the opportunity to push their ideas forward.
Yemen and Bahrain:
I should lump these two nations together because they both have strong narratives and are far more strategically important for the world than Libya is. I do so, because their situations are becoming more similar.
Much has happened in Yemen, and as I write this I just received an update that the Yemeni government was fired by the President in response to protesters demands (it literally just came up, so I have no link!). Meanwhile, over the past few days, the Yemeni government has declared a state of emergency (this is usually followed by a crackdown) and has been forcing foreign reporters out of the country; as expected it has also attacked civilian protesters. Yemen's UN Envoy has resigned over the killings and the opposition remains persistent as each day breeds new protests.
Given the recent news, I'm not sure what entails a firing of the entire government. Mubarak forced the resignation of his government but he stayed in power. It is likely that President Saleh may try to do the same, despite demands of the protesters. If things continue to go this way, it seems these protesters are making similar gains as the Egyptians did! Let's cross our fingers.
In a similar move with Yemen, the Bahrain government had also declared a state of emergency. In Bahrain, the government began its strong crackdown on protesters. It has also enforced a curfew and destroyed a protest symbol in one of its main squares where protesters gathered. This happens after Bahrain has asked several regional countries to come and "protect key assets" in the nation.
Syria: The Newest Uprising
I was looking deeply at Syria as a country with the exact criteria needed for an uprising. I detailed the similarities of protests in an earlier post. Protests have finally begun in Syria in very small numbers (around 40-50 initially). They are calling for nothing less than bringing "down the regime." Meanwhile, 13 political prisoners have gone on hunger strikes in solidarity with the growing movement. The protests have gone on for 3 days already and have grown in size. As a result, the Syrian government has declared it will release 15 children from its prisons who were arrested for graffiti inspired by the Egyptian and Tunisian Revolutions.
It should be interesting to watch what happens as time goes on. I'll be keeping up on it!
With all that is going on, for some victory is sweet, for others sour. Regardless of what actually happens in many of these countries, I think that 2011 has certainly began on a truly history tone. Living through history is always exciting!
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