Egypt: The People Win, Now Comes the Hard Part

Mubarak didn't have the courage to say the words, so he got his right hand man to step in and announce that he has given up power. Thankfully only 300 lives were lost and several thousand injured to achieve this great victory for the Egyptian people:



The power now rests with the military. Hopefully they will use it wisely to quickly put in place a civilian transitional government, set about electing a constitutional assembly, and start the rebuilding of Egyptian society. The signs I will be looking for will be announcements where commissions are set up including leading opposition figures and representatives of the demonstrators, the clear definition of timelines, and a process of education throughout the land to prepare the people for elections.

Achieving a successful democracy is hard work. It requires thoughtful leadership, an engaged public willing to bear the burdens of building a new society, and patience for putting in place the changes needed. Sadly there will be fanatics and criminals who will try to steal this victory from the people, so the nation must stay vigilant. It will take many months to build the necessary institutions and prepare the people to make wise choices. It will require the people to be patient but watchful. This is the hard work of laying the foundations for a new society.

This is hopefully the start of a wonderful new era for Egypt, an era of peace and progess, of economic growth, of properity, and the chance for Egypt to take a seat among the leading nations on earth.

Here are some hopeful voices from posts on Al Jazeera:

7:34pm Qatar: We look forward a continuous special relations with Egypt that will benefit both countries.

7:12pm Bahrain's foreign minister Khalid al Khalifa: Egypt takes the Arab world into a new era .. Let's make it a better one

6:54pm ElBaradei speaks to Al Jazeera:

We need to rebuild the Egyptian culture and intellect