A Secular Egypt  Rich Galen  2/9/2011 12:01:00 AM - Rich Galen
In Egypt, the White House appears to have determined that a
political vacuum san Mubarak is more dangerous than an in-place
Mubarak and, in any event, there is no reasonable likelihood of
an election being organized before September (when it was
already scheduled) anyway.  Thus, in one of those curious turns
of events which bedevil even the most ardent ideologues, Barak
Obama finds himself depending upon the solidarity of the
Egyptian military to hold things together until an election is
held, and to guarantee that whatever the new government looks
like next Fall, it does not include the clubbing men for not
having beards nor the stoning women who want to go shopping
without being chaperoned.  Barack Obama has dithered between
saying it's up to the Egyptians to determine their future and,
as Reuters reported last night the government must:  "stop
harassing protesters and immediately repeal an emergency law
allowing detention without