Professor: Egypt Is bin Laden’s Worst Nightmare

Many observers are worried that the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will lead to a new government dominated by radical Muslims, giving support to terrorist groups like al-Qaida. But Shibley Telhami, a professor for peace and development at the University of Maryland, takes a different approach. Although uncertainty reigns in Egypt, what has happened there represents a disaster for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, she writes on Politico.

“Understandably Americans are watching events with awe mixed with concern. We are divided between the exhilaration of watching peaceful public empowerment in pursuit of the values Americans hold dear and fear of the consequences for U.S. interests in the Middle East.”

Concern about the role of the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt’s relationship with the United States and Israel is natural, Telhami says. “But the biggest of all interests has been largely ignored: the power and pride that the peaceful masses exhibit in the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities are Bin Laden’s worst nightmare.”