In the Middle East: Updates

First up - Egypt seems to be stuck in the same position right now. More violence and the future of their government is still unknown as the struggle continues and as Mubarak refuses to step down at this time:

Demonstrators at Cairo's Tahrir Square

Egyptian army tanks and soldiers moved to end violence between anti-government protesters and supporters of Mubarak in Cairo's central square on Thursday after standing by for nearly a day as the two sides battled with rocks, sticks, bottles and firebombs.

Hours after automatic gunfire hit the anti-government protest camp at Tahrir Square, killing at least three protesters, soldiers carrying rifles could be seen lining up between the two sides around 11 a.m. Several hundred other soldiers were moving toward the front line.

Four tanks cleared a highway overpass from where Mubarak supporters had hurled rocks and firebombs onto the protest.

The protesters accused Mubarak's regime of unleashing a force of paid thugs and plainclothes police to crush their unprecedented nine-day-old movement, a day after the 82-year-old president refused to step down.

A joint statement from five European leaders Tuesday said they are watching the unrest in Egypt with "utmost concern" and condemned "all those who use or encourage violence, which will only aggravate the political crisis in Egypt."

Now the EU weighs in:

'Go Now' EU countries tell Murbarak, as Egypt faces Tiananmen moment

Germany, France and the UK have told Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak to begin the transition to democracy "now," amid pitched battles between government forces and pro-democracy protesters in Cairo's main plaza.

What cave has the MSM been in over the past 2 weeks? Egypt will not be automatically moving into "democracy" as the MSM has been painting. We know that the Muslim Brotherhood will take over this movement and it will be a far cry from democracy. Don't believe this mantra from the uninformed MSM. There is more in this article, but frankly it isn't worth it.

Meanwhile, coming from the U.S. we see this:

Obama Stands by Muslim Brotherhood Endorsement

For the first time, a U.S. government supports granting a government role to an extremist Islamic organization: the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

Let that one sink in for a little while.

Gibbs said the Muslim Brotherhood must reject violence and recognize democratic goals for the U.S. to be comfortable with it assuming a role in the new government.

Maybe he needs a quick history lesson here?

Obama's new position, while not totally surprising, is worrisome to many. "The White House appears to be leaving Hosni Mubarak, an ally for three decades and lynchpin of Mideast stability, twisting slowly in the wind," writes David Horowitz of the Freedom Center. "And worse, it appears to be open to allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to play a key role in a 'reformed' Egyptian government...

It stands for the re-establishment of the Islamic Empire (Caliphate), the takeover, spiritually or otherwise, of the entire world, and jihad and martyrdom. It has front organizations in the UK, France, and the United States

Even Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, says that the prospect of the Muslim Brotherhood's rise to power "would be calamitous for U.S. security...

And this is who we are now supporting?

The [Brotherhood] supports Hamas and other terrorist groups, makes friendly noises to Iranian dictators and torturers, would be uncertain landlords of the critical Suez Canal, and opposes the Egyptian-Israeli agreement of 1979, widely regarded as the foundation of peace in the Mideast. Above all, the [Brotherhood] would endanger counter terrorism efforts in the region and worldwide… The real danger is that our experts, pundits and professors will talk the Arab and American worlds into believing we can all trust the [Brotherhood]..."

What else can be added to this?

Gallery: Riots heat up in Cairo's Tahrir Square

And lastly, we see this expected announcement:

ElBaradei's Ultimatum to Mubarak: 48 Hours to Leave the Country

Egyptian uprising idol Mohammed ElBaradei has ordered Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to leave the country by Friday – or he will be a “dead man walking” and not just a lame-duck president.

Mubarak dramatically announced he will not run in September’s presidential elections, but shortly afterwards, U.S. President Barack Obama dealt him a stinging slap, stating that a transition to a new government should begin “now.”

The radical Muslim Brotherhood has become more vocal in its calls for Mubarak’s resignation, drowning out several opposition groups that have accepted an offer by newly-appointed vice president Omar Suleiman to negotiate.

Working against Mubarak is President Obama’s decision to instruct U.S. ambassador to Egypt Margret Scobey to speak with ElBaradei. The move was "part of our public outreach to convey support for an orderly transition in Egypt," according to U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley

We can all connect these dots. Even though the moderate factions are willing to support this interim government as proposed, until the next elections, a plan which would seem to represent the called for "orderly transition" - we now see that such proposals have been rejected by the Muslim Brotherhood and ElBaradei. A full takeover by the Muslim Brotherhood will be anything but democratic and anything but orderly. Count on it.