Mubarak ho, Egypt!

February 11 should forever be known as Egypt Day. The brave, ingenuous and resilient people of Egypt have overthrown a 30 year old dictatorship after nearly three weeks of sustained and creative protest. Some have contrasted this day with another February 11 (1979), when the Islamic Revolution in Iran was completed. Others have drawn parallels with February 11, 1992, when Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island after 27 years. While future events will dictate how history judges Egypt's transformation, today is for celebration.

On that note, check out my Chicago Policy Review interview of Farah Barqawi, a friend and classmate, who studied in Cairo as an undergraduate, and covered the region as a journalist at Arabian Business. Since the interview was conducted a week ago, much has been obviously been overtaken by events. Yet, it is a record of a crucial moment in the last two weeks - when Mubarak indicated he would step down in September and his son would not succeed him. It is a testament to Egyptians' resilience that they did not let this cosmetic concession split the movement and came back harder, to ultimately dislodge him.