Egypt echoes across region: Iran, Bahrain, Yemen
Play Video FOX News – Iran Protests And Its Effect On US
Play Video 
AP – This photo, taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside …
By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press Brian Murphy, Associated Press – 2 hrs 9 mins ago
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The possible heirs of Egypt’s uprising took to the streets Monday in different corners of the Middle East: Iran’s beleaguered opposition stormed back to central Tehran and came under a tear gas attack by police. Demonstrators faced rubber bullets and birdshot to demand more freedoms in the relative wealth of Bahrain. And protesters pressed for the ouster of the ruler in poverty-drained Yemen.
The protests — all with critical interests for Washington — offer an important lesson about how groups across Middle East are absorbing the message from Cairo and tailoring it to their own aspirations.
The heady themes of democracy, justice and empowerment remain intact as the protest wave works it way through the Arab world and beyond. What changes, however, are the objectives. The Egypt effect, it seems, is elastic.
“This isn’t a one-size-fits-all thing,” said Mustafa Alani, a regional analyst at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai. “Each place will interpret the fallout from Egypt in their own way and in their own context.”
For the Iranian opposition — not seen on the streets in more than a year — it’s become a moment to reassert its presence after facing relentless pressures.
Tens of thousands of protesters clashed with security forces along some of Tehran’s main boulevards, which were shrouded in clouds of tear gas in scenes that recalled the chaos after the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009. A pro-government news agency reported one bystander killed by gunfire.
Read the rest: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110214/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_s_spillover
a12iggymom's Blog 