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From noiser and airship I'm lindsey graham and this is history. Daily. History is made every day on this podcast. Every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is February 11, 2011 the Egyptian Revolution. It's October 6, 1981, almost 30 years before Mohamed Bouazizi takes his life in protest in Cairo. Hosni Mubarak, the 53 year old Vice president of Egypt, watches a military parade. Beside him on the large, raised viewing platform is Egypt's President Anwar Sadat, who sits with various other government officials, military chiefs and foreign diplomats. A band plays as soldiers file past in uniform, saluting the president and his guests. Trucks and jeeps follow behind, towing artillery in display of Egyptian military might. This annual parade is meant to commemorate Egypt's victory over Israel in the Yom Kippur War, or Ramadan War of 1973. Egypt and Israel have long been enemies, having fought four wars over the past decades. But since the end of the 1973 conflict, relations between the two longtime foes have largely improved, thanks in part to President Sadat's overtures for peace. Two years ago, he signed a treaty with Israel that formally ended the conflict between the two nations and saw Egypt become the first Arab nation to formally recognize the Israeli state. The peace efforts won Sadat a Nobel Prize, but they outraged many hardline Islamists who consider Israel their sworn enemy. These hardliners view the treaty with Israel as a betrayal of all Muslims, and many extremists across the Middle east have been plotting against President Sadat ever since. But today, Sadat is not worried about extremists, and neither is his vice president, Hosni Mubarak. They're celebrating Egypt's past with a parade and trying to enjoy the spectacle. But then A squadron of Egyptian Air Force jets roars over the parade ground. The dignitaries on the platform crane their necks to see trails of colored smoke streaming behind the plains. They hardly notice when one of the trucks in the parade comes to a stop. Vice President Mubarak looks down to see a group of Egyptian soldiers climb out of the truck holding AK47 rifles. But still, Mubarak isn't worried. He assumes it's all part of the show. He watches with delight as one of the soldiers, a lieutenant, approaches the platform. President Sadat isn't concerned either. He stands to receive the lieutenant's salute. But Sadat's eyes flash with shock when the lieutenant pulls out three grenades and tosses them at the platform. As the explosions rip through the air, the rest of the soldiers from the truck open fire and spray the presidential platform with bullets. Officials and dignitaries scramble to escape, and Vice President Mubarak is able to throw himself onto the ground. After he finds cover, he. He peers out to see the president lying on the ground, covered in blood. The attack lasts just two minutes, but by the time the assassins run out of ammunition, 39 guests at the parade have been shot, 11 of them fatally, including President Sadat. But Vice President Hosni Mubarak survives. And eight days after the attack, he is sworn in as Egypt's new president. It's December 1992. More than 11 years have passed since the assassination. In Cairo, a young soldier and his squad move through a sprawling shanty town. This slum has been claimed by Muslim extremists. They say it's no longer part of Egypt. It's now an independent Islamic republic. As a result, this soldier and 14,000 others just like him have been sent into this bleak port poor neighborhood to take it back by force. This mission is one of the biggest security operations in modern Egyptian history and President Mubarak's latest effort to keep a firm grip on power. Since Anwar Sadat's assassination more than a decade ago, President Mubarak has maintained an official state of emergency in the country. Normal laws in Egypt are suspended. The media is censored, protest is banned, and the police and security forces and have the right to detain people indefinitely without trial. These sweeping powers have helped Mubarak stay in power, and they've helped him wage a war against Muslim extremists. But they've done little to help the Egyptian people out of the economic malaise gripping the nation. The majority of the Egyptian population lives in poverty. There's chronic unemployment and inflation. Meanwhile, President Mubarak and his cronies siphon billions of dollars away to personal accounts. Overseas, the corruption in government has led to widespread discontent, especially in Egypt's slums. These impoverished communities are fertile recruiting grounds for extremist groups which are springing up all across the country. Mubarak reacts to this growing insurgency by clamping down. As part of his effort to defeat extremism, Mubarak has sent his soldiers to reclaim this slum and drive the extremists out. And for five days, the young soldier and thousands of other Egyptian security forces swept sweep through the Cairo neighborhood. Going street by street and house by house. They detain more than 600 suspects believed to be involved with extremist activities. But the operation will not quell the discord simmering in Egypt. The harder the President tightens his grip, the louder the cries of the people become. And soon the anger will give way to open protests that will upend the political balance in Egypt and drive Mubarak from power. It's September 7, 2005, a little over five years before the Egyptian revolution. On a city street in Cairo, an old man gets in line outside a voting station. This old man knows it's a historic election, the first multi candidate presidential contest in Egyptian history. President Mubarak's previous four electoral victories were simple referendums. People could vote on whether to extend his term in office, yes or no. But domestic campaigners and foreign allies like the United States put pressure on Mubarak to open up the election process. Now, finally, the authoritarian Egyptian president has given his people a real choice, or at least the illusion of one. In reality, the rules over who can stand for president are so restrictive that they exclude any credible opposition. Soon the old man reaches the front of the line. After he's handed a ballot, he dips his finger in a pot of red indelible ink, a security measure designed to stop people from voting more than once. With his ballot in hand, the old man steps into one of the voting booths. There are 10 names to choose from. He's heard of most of these candidates. But as the old man's pencil hovers over the ballot, he remembers a joke he's heard many times. One about a young man who dares to vote against the government. On his way home from the polling station, the young man starts to have regrets. If the authorities find out how he's voted, he and his family are sure to be punished. So the young man hurries back and speaks to the policeman in charge of the polling station. He says, I'm sorry, but I think I made a mistake. On my paper ballot. The policeman replies, yes, you did. But don't worry, we spotted your mistake and have already corrected it. As he recalls the joke, the old man grins. He scans down the list of candidates and casts his vote for Mubarak. Then the old man shuffles out of the voting booth, thinking, better the devil you know than the devil you don't. Then he deposits his ballot in the box, nods to the watching police officer and heads out into the hustle and bustle of the Cairo streets. In Egypt, very few doubt that Mubarak will win. And when the ballots are counted, the long serving president has won more than 88% of the vote. His grip on power appears absolute. But his regime will not go on forever. A revolution is coming, and in the end, Mubarak will be toppled by an Arab spring. Foreign It's February 10, 2011. More than five years have passed since Mubarak won a fifth term in office, but his once unassailable regime is teetering on the brink of collapse. A vast crowd fills Tahrir Square in central Cairo. Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered to protest Mubarak's never ending rule. Among them is a young Egyptian photographer. She moves through the crowd, snapping pictures of the protesters. It's an eclectic group. She sees sullen young men out of work, middle aged parents who can't afford to feed their families, and older men and women who've decided that enough is enough. There's an atmosphere of jubilation in the square. People dance and sing under fluttering banners and Egyptian flags. The crowd is excited because Mubarak is about to make a statement, and rumors abound that he will be resigning. Eight weeks ago, a Tunisian street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest of the state of affairs in his country. In response, the Arab world convulsed. Bouazizi's death inspired protests against government corruption and oppression that began in his hometown and spread all across Tunisia. Unable to resist these public demands for change, the the Tunisian government collapsed, and the fall of the regime in Tunisia gave hope to other activists across the region. On January 25, anti government protests erupted in Egypt. Organized through social media. Tens of thousands of people descended on Tahrir Square in central Cairo. Mubarak's regime tried to disperse the crowds. They shut down the Internet and imposed a curfew. And when that didn't work, they unleashed pro regime thugs and launched random attacks on protesters. They deployed snipers on the roofs of buildings to fire on the crowd. Dozens died and hundreds more were Injured. But the people kept coming, and now it seems their victory numbers at hand. Just then, the young photographer sees a crowd of protesters rushing to a nearby tent where small television is tuned to the state's network. As she fights her way through the crowd to get a better view of the screen, one of the protesters yells to be quiet as he turns up the volume as high as it will go. Then the familiar voice of Hosni Mubarak echoes out as the photographer listens to Mubarak make his statement. She struggles to hear over the noisy crowd, but she gathers just enough to get the gist. The old president is not resigning. Instead, he promises reform and says something about a transition period.
