Cairo:
He's prided himself on being Egypt's great survivor and in spite of what's unfolded on Cairo's streets since the 25th of January, 82 year old Hosni Mubarak- the man who's ruled the country for 30 long years, isn't leaving without a fight.
He's gone on national television to tell his countrymen- and the world- of his life of service to the country. In fact many, still credit him with winning the war that changed the course of Arab Israeli relations in October 1973, when he was Air Chief, under Anwar Sadat's presidency. The victory over Israel brought him personal glory too.
Sadat, who abandoned decades of hostility with the west and Israel, made Mubarak vice president in 1975. And 6 years later when Sadat was assassinated by right wing Arab groups during a military parade before the world's eyes, Mubarak was a natural successor.
For all his unpopularity today, when he took over Mubarak was seen by many Egyptians, as the great Middle East Historian Peter Mansfield says- an honest, straightforward, even uninspiring man who's been credited with changing Egypt's fortunes by forging ahead with peace with Israel. In exchange for the detente with Tel Aviv, America has provided Egypt with massive amounts of military and economic aid over the last 3 decades.
But as the years went by, Mubarak became more authoritarian, and more aloof, carefully choreographing his public appearances, pushing forward Sadat's open door policies that paved the way for crony capitalism, implementing repressive laws limiting political activity and curbing freedom of expression with an iron hand.
All this made worse when before the first presidential elections in 2005, widely believed to have been rigged by Mubarak to ensure he stay in office, he appointed his son Gamal as the general secretary of the ruling National Democratic Party or NDP. That move convinced many of Mubarak's unwillingness to let go of power
With a constitutional amendment that allowed others to stand against him, for the first time The Muslim brotherhood- which has a wide cadre base in Egypt- and fields candidates as independents because its own political activity is banned in Egypt- managed to garner several seats in parliament.
Anti-government demonstrations gained strength in 2004 and 2005, led by the "Kifaya" pro-reform movement, and the Muslim Brotherhood. With growing concerns over the spread of radical, militant Islam in the Middle East, Mubarak used their growing political clout as a means of telling his allies in the west just what can happen if he's forced to leave. A Western media only too quick to draw comparisons with the overthrow of the Shah of Iran and the Islamic revolution that followed in Iran are perpetuating these fears, even though protesters insist there's nothing similar between Iran and Egypt and the world has changed between 1979 and 2011.
As America worries over a possible radical government that succeeds Mubarak, Washington is caught between its support of democratic ideals that ordinary Egyptians are now fighting for, and fears of what could happen in the event religious groups like the Muslim Brotherhood win an election. In an interview to ABC news, Mubarak has said if he leaves right now, the country will sink into chaos.
For an 82 year old, once benevolent, but now just a despot this is his moment of reckoning. As he digs his heels in against what's become a people's revolution, he might also be making the mistake of changing the way history will judge him in the future.