Embattled Arab Leaders Decide It\u2019s Better to Fight Than Quit
\nReuters – By MICHAEL SLACKMAN and MONA EL-NAGGAR
\nPublished: April 27, 2011<\/p>\n
CAIRO \u2014 Arab leaders facing public revolt have increasingly concluded that it is better to shoot to kill, or at least to arrest and imprison, than to abdicate and flee.<\/p>\n
That calculation appears to be based on the short-term results of the Arab Spring. Those who have left, namely Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, face the humiliation of a criminal investigation, a trial and possible imprisonment. Those who have opted to stick with the use of force, like the president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, have retained power and appear to have leverage to negotiate immunity should they leave, regional analysts said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to see rulers run away, like Mubarak,\u201d said Mustafa Alani, an analyst with the Gulf Research Center in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. \u201cWe passed this stage. They will not run or abdicate. They will take their chances.\u201d<\/p>\n
The wave of Arab uprisings, which began with popular protests that quickly ousted entrenched autocrats, has evolved into deadly confrontations in Libya, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere, with leaders willing to use sustained lethal force against a public convinced that persistence is the key to victory. It is a face-off, a test of wills, which has left thousands dead and opened a dark chapter in what was initially called the Arab Spring. …more<\/a><\/p>\n