Anderson Cooper Egypt
Anderson Cooper may be an icon over here, but today in Cairo he was just another target.

Women love him.  Angry Egyptians… not so much.

CNN’s wildly popular news anchor Anderson Cooper was on the scene in Cairo today to cover the ninth day of the popular uprising against the regime of longtime President Hosni Moubarak.

The first eight days saw up to millions of demonstrators take to the streets throughout the country in opposition to the current government but events took a strange twist on day nine.  Moubarak and his allies mobilized thousands of supporters to confront the protesters and they did so with violence and intimidation.  As of nightfall, there were hundreds of dead and wounded.

Cooper was on hand to catch the action up close and and personal.  Surprise, surprise – he became part of it.  No word on the motive, but what we know is that he and his crew came under attack from Moubarak supporters.

Streets smarts tell you not to get too close to situations brimming with tension such as these.  The earliest moments of the 1992 L.A. Riots were covered by helicopter.  I wonder if Cooper would have placed himself in the middle of a standoff between crips and bloods?  Doubt it.

See the Cooper attack video below.