Tantawi regime

"The gap between the symbolic and substantial in the generals' regime was clear in their recent decisions on Gaza. In response to a popular pressure to end support for the Israeli-U.S. blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory that most Egyptians see as a matter of national shame, the military announced it would open the Rafah border crossing with the territory. But if that sounded like a break with Mubarak's enthusiastic collaboration in the collective punishment of Gazans, the reality, as analyst Helena Cobban points out, was different: Egypt still bans all trade through Rafah, and restricts the movement of people out of Gaza to less than 300 a day, conforming with lists provided by the Israelis and excluding men of military age. A lifting of the siege? Or a relatively empty Bonapartist gesture to appease popular anger?"