The Freedom Watch

Egypt’s Tragedy: Military Dictatorship Takes Shape on Nile

"It is as though the February 2011 overthrow never happened. Egypt is caught once again in a conflict that has raged for more than 60 years and has dominated the country since those eight bullets were fired on Nasser on Oct. 26, 1954, in a failed, and perhaps staged, coup attempt. At the time, Nasser banned the Brotherhood and imprisoned its leaders. In the ensuing decades, fear of the Islamists was used to justify the military's authoritarian control and the brutal tactics of the security services. In the end, however, the military created precisely what it had claimed it was preventing: even more radical Islamists." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgypt’s Tragedy: Military Dictatorship Takes Shape on Nile

Washington frets over Saudi ties

"Saudi Arabia did not just pledge a combined US$12 billion in financial assistance, but it has also promised to make up for any Western aid that may be withheld as a result of the coup and the ongoing crackdown in which about 1,000 protesters are believed to have been killed to date. Perhaps even more worrisome to some experts in Washington has been the exceptionally tough language directed against Washington's own condemnation of the coup by top Saudi officials, including King Abdullah, who declared last week that '[t]he kingdom stands ... against all those who try to interfere with its domestic affairs' and charged that criticism of the army crackdown amounted to helping the 'terrorists'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWashington frets over Saudi ties

Bipartisan calls to cut off Egyptian aid emerge after military crackdown

"Untangling the aid relationship with Cairo would not be simple and could be costly for the United States as well as Egypt. A special financing arrangement Cairo uses could leave U.S. taxpayers holding the bill for billions of dollars in equipment Egypt already has ordered on credit, and companies like Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics that build military hardware for Egypt would be affected by aid restrictions. Also on Sunday, several lawmakers made the point that the security of neighboring Israel and the Suez canal were compelling reasons in favor of continued aid. Since 1979, when Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel, it has been the second largest recipient, after Israel, of U.S. bilateral foreign aid." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBipartisan calls to cut off Egyptian aid emerge after military crackdown

The Fascinating Interventionist Mindset

"It never considers the possibility of simply ending foreign aid entirely to Egypt and, for that matter, every other country. It’s as if the interventionist mindset is compelled to think only in terms of intervention on one side or the other. The thought of not intervening in any way doesn’t even enter the mental processes of the interventionists. Why not just leave Chile alone? Why not just leave Egypt alone? Why not just cancel foreign aid entirely, not only to brutal dictatorships but also to every other regime, especially during a time that federal expenditures continue to far exceed federal income? That’s a fascinating question. Unfortunately, it’s one that never enters the interventionist mindset." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Fascinating Interventionist Mindset

Six dead as thousands of Mursi supporters march in Egypt

"Thousands of supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi marched through Cairo and cities across Egypt on Friday to demand his reinstatement, in the movement's biggest show of defiance since hundreds of protesters were killed two weeks ago. The army-backed government, which has shot dead hundreds of supporters of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood since he was toppled by the military on July 3, had warned that forces posted at key intersections since morning would open fire if protests turned violent. The crackdown on Islamists has soured relations between Egypt and Qatar, a wealthy Gulf Arab state and U.S. ally that backed the Brotherhood and gave Egypt $7 billion during Mursi's administration." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSix dead as thousands of Mursi supporters march in Egypt

Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood Leaders Charged With Inciting Murder

"The authorities, who allege that Mr. Morsi stoked deadly clashes outside his palace in December, did not detail the evidence against him on Sunday. There is no public record of statements he may have made to incite violence. Since Mr. Morsi was deposed on July 3, setting off protest rallies and sit-ins across the country, the authorities have killed more than 1,000 of his supporters and jailed much of the Brotherhood’s senior leadership. The former president himself had been detained without formal charges since his overthrow. The developments on Sunday seemed to close off any chance for an imminent settlement to the standoff between the Islamists of the Brotherhood and the military." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMorsi and Muslim Brotherhood Leaders Charged With Inciting Murder

Egypt expels three Al-Jazeera journalists for biased reporting

"Egypt on Sunday expelled three foreign journalists working as freelancers for Al-Jazeera television’s English channel, the state news agency MENA reported. Correspondent Wayne Haye, a New Zealander, South African cameraman Adil Bradlow and Irish producer Russ Finn were arrested last Tuesday while covering the political crisis in Egypt. Police said they did not have press accreditation. The Qatar-based channel said last week: 'There has also been a campaign against Al-Jazeera, in particular, as the channel’s offices were raided last month and security forces seized equipment which has yet to be returned.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgypt expels three Al-Jazeera journalists for biased reporting

Egyptian court orders Al Jazeera and other news outlets to close down

"A Cairo court Tuesday ordered the closure of four television channels, including Al-Jazeera Egypt and Ahrar 25, a network belonging to the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. The closure comes a day after Islamist broadcaster Al-Hafez was ordered shut following accusations that it was 'inciting hatred' against Coptic Christians and 'undermining national unity'. Tuesday’s order against Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr comes two days after Egyptian authorities expelled three foreign journalists working as freelancers for the Doha-based network’s English-language channel. Egypt’s authorities have accused Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr of bias in its reporting of the coup that ousted Morsi." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgyptian court orders Al Jazeera and other news outlets to close down

Journalist shield laws do not apply to blogger, judge says

"A reporter for a local news website has been ordered to give up his notes and name the sources of police investigation reports he used for a series of stories about two grisly Joliet slayings. Journalist shield laws do not allow patch.com reporter Joe Hosey to protect the source who gave him police reports about the January deaths of Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins in a home on Joliet's north side, Judge Gerald Kinney said in a ruling issued Friday. Hosey will have 21 days to turn over all the documents he received and to reveal their source." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJournalist shield laws do not apply to blogger, judge says

Obama Drone Attack Deaths versus Syria Chemical Weapon Deaths

"The actual number of drone deaths is at least 200 times the '22 top Al-Qaeda leaders plus Bin Laden' noted by President Obama. Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) recently floated the number 4,700. Independent studies by both U.S. and British investigators have confirmed numbers in that ballpark, with many of those being 'collateral damage.' [..] More than 1,400 killed in Syrian chemical weapons attack, U.S. says." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Drone Attack Deaths versus Syria Chemical Weapon Deaths