Mubarak must go — but not yet

We don’t know where the protests of the last few days will lead. They may fizzle, or Egyptian security forces — not known for their squeamishness — may succeed in stomping them out. We also shouldn’t fool ourselves about our ability to influence events on the ground. To the extent we can, though, we should support Mubarak so long as he agrees to open Egypt’s political system; it is best that change come gradually through the democratic process rather than all at once in the streets.

By all appearances, the protesters in Egypt are secular democracy activists who, for their troubles, are getting beaten with bamboo sticks and having rocks thrown at them by the police. The Muslim Brotherhood has, so far, been sitting out the demonstrations as an entity. But if the protesters were to succeed in toppling Mubarak — sending him packing to Saudi Arabia, as some of their signs suggest — it could open the way for an even less appealing regime. In a revolutionary situation, often he who is best organized, and most willful and bloody-minded, prevails.