In the news; NSA breaks privacy rules ; Islamists call for day of ‘rage’ in Egypt; Defense Department approves new measures …
egypt
A Tale of Two Speeches: How Egypt’s President Was Received in New York and Tehran
In both places, the Islamist leader of the largest Arab nation asserted his country’s independence of foreign agendas. But he seemed gentler and more accommodating in the U.S.
As Egypt Sidelines CPAC, Potential 2012 GOP Candidates Don’t Respond
The press areas of CPAC are filled with idle cable news producers and correspondents. In normal times, they would be busy filing updates on the coming 2012 campaign. But the nation, and the cable news bookers, are distracted these days by Egypt, where people are cheering in the streets, fireworks are exploding, and the 30-year rule of an …
Mubarak Is Not Leaving, At Least Not Now
In a speech that aired worldwide, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak just reiterated that he will remain in office until September. Protesters had demanded – and some news outlets, including NBC News, had reported today – that Mubarak would step down in the face of massive resistance to his tenure. Mubarak’s defiance has enraged a huge …
White House Increases The Pressure On Omar Suleiman
The New York Times led today’s paper with a claim that Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman was “leading an American endorsed ‘orderly transition” in Egypt.
In recent days, it has at times appeared that this is the case. On Monday, PJ Crowley, the spokesman for the State Department, noted that it “would be a challenging undertaking” …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Supreme Irony
The most common feature of autocracy, from Egypt to North Korea, is an overweening myopia and self-regard on the part of the autocrat. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatullah Khamenei, has demonstrated yet again how brutally silly such people can be in his remarks during Friday prayers at Tehran University:
The 71-year-old, who condemned
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In Choosing Between Realism and Idealism, On Egypt President Obama Appears More A Realist
In late 2009, in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, President Obama argued that the the choice between foreign policy realism and foreign policy idealism was a false one, calling it “a tension that suggests a stark choice between the narrow pursuit of interests or an endless campaign to impose our values around the world.” In his …
White House Cheers Progress In Egypt
President Obama spent the morning at his daughter Sasha’s basketball game. As he cheered on his child’s team, his aides were cheering on apparent progress in Egypt. In Munich, Hillary Clinton seemed to throw her weight behind a transition process led by current Vice President Omar Suleiman, who only days ago took to the Egyptian airwaves …
What Barack Obama Has Not Said About Egypt
After a week of limited access to the press, President Obama took one question on the situation in Egypt today. His answer echoed his past statements. He said Egyptians would determine their own destiny: “It is not us who will determine that future.” He said violence and the denial of the protesters’ basic rights to expression must be …
Morning Must Reads: Departure
Anti-government protesters take part in Friday prayers at Tahrir Square in Cairo February 4, 2011. (REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)
–Tens of thousands turn out for “Day of Departure” protests in Cairo.
–The Obama administration is angling to get Mubarak out and Vice President/intel chief Suleiman into power with the army’s …
The Official Egyptian Crackdown On Journalists, And The Challenge For Obama
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw5q3vcGIFQ&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]
Here is the newly installed Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman, a longtime partner of U.S. intelligence agencies, on Egyptian television this morning describing foreign journalists as enemies of the state. “I blame some friendly states who are hosting …
Pro-Mubarak Goons Tied To Police, TIME Reports
TIME’s Andrew Lee Butters files this report from Cairo:
The Egyptian government denies that it had anything to do with orchestrating attacks against democracy protesters by crowds supporting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. But during my attempt to reach the protests, it became clear not only that the police are doing nothing to stop
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In Egypt, The Autocracy Co-Opts Technology Too
The New York Times is reporting that Egyptian authorities have forced one of the country’s cellular providers to send out mass text messages in support of the Mubarak regime.
The cellphone service provider Vodafone acknowledged that the government had invoked emergency powers to force it to send out text messages. Some of the messages
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