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MMC
02-12-2012, 12:55 AM
CAIRO (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer met Egypt's ruling generals in Cairo Saturday and discussed the case of U.S. pro-democracy activists charged in an investigation that has strained ties between Cairo and Washington.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was the first senior U.S. official to visit Cairo since the charges were brought against 43 foreign and Egyptian activists following a probe into civil society groups.
Around 20 of those charged are Americans. They have been banned from leaving the country and include Sam LaHood, the country director of the International Republican Institute (IRI) who is the son of the U.S. transportation secretary. An undisclosed number have taken shelter at the U.S. embassy.

The investigators have brought charges including that the activists were working for organizations not legally registered in Egypt. The Egyptian government says the issue is a case of law, not politics.

In signs the dispute could worsen, however, Egyptian authorities detained an Australian journalist and an American student Saturday on suspicion they had distributed cash to workers and incited them to take part in a strike called by activists demanding an end to army rule.

The Egyptian official said a delegation from Congress will be visiting Cairo to continue discussions over aid. For U.S. aid to continue, the Obama administration must certify to Congress that Egypt is making progress toward democracy.

In Congress, some lawmakers and their aides have said U.S. aid to Egypt had effectively stopped pending resolution of the crisis.

Following the meeting of the generals, Egypt's government issued a statement saying it was reviewing the 2002 law regulating the work of non-governmental organizations in Egypt.
Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation Faiza Abul Naga said Saturday the review would aim to "resolve any legal gaps in the law.".....snip~

http://news.yahoo.com/top-u-general-discusses-ngo-case-cairo-164714253.html
Reuters – 6 hrs ago.....<<<<<More Here!

Peter1469
02-12-2012, 06:48 AM
The US uses these NGOs as a platform for exerting "soft power." Many of them are financed by the CIA. If you heard of the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine- it was ignited by these sorts of NGOs. Many nations are pissed at them, Egypt is the first to do something overt about it.

Conley
02-12-2012, 09:26 AM
Fine by me, time to close up shop. Were these NGOs also responsible for helping to put the Egyptian Military and MB in control by destabilizing Mubarak? Probably. It doesn't seem like smart strategy.

Mister D
02-12-2012, 10:49 AM
Destabilizing an allied regime isn't smart strategy so if the CIA was funding the undermining of US allies....well I just don't know what to say. I'd like to see more of that in places like Iran and Chin, however.

Conley
02-12-2012, 10:56 AM
I think in Egypt the thinking was we could do better than Mubarak. No doubt after decades of interaction and thousands of concessions it gets to be somewhat tiresome. With changes in the U.S. presidential administrations personal feelings can change too. It wouldn't surprise me if Obama was pulling for hope and change in Egypt. He got one out of two. :undecided:

Mister D
02-12-2012, 11:09 AM
I think in Egypt the thinking was we could do better than Mubarak. No doubt after decades of interaction and thousands of concessions it gets to be somewhat tiresome. With changes in the U.S. presidential administrations personal feelings can change too. It wouldn't surprise me if Obama was pulling for hope and change in Egypt. He got one out of two. :undecided:

That is precisely the same kind of thinking that predominated during the Bush Administration. That is, there was an assumption that "democratic" regimes (whatever the fuck that means) will be more not less friendly toward the US. More of the same. Not hope and certainly not change.

MMC
02-12-2012, 12:54 PM
They also use NFP's.(CIA) Yet the Egyptians didn't want to go after them. D is correct. They all ASSUMED that once democracy was brought to all they would be more friendlier and allied to us. They were wrong!

Obama is 2 for 5.....Tunisia is what helped him there. But then Yemen, Bahrain, and Oman. Not looking so good. Lets not forget Libya is still in Turmoil. Over the Weekend Saadi Qadhafi was already speaking out against the New Government that was imposed upon in Libya.

Mister D
02-12-2012, 08:48 PM
They also use NFP's.(CIA) Yet the Egyptians didn't want to go after them. D is correct. They all ASSUMED that once democracy was brought to all they would be more friendlier and allied to us. They were wrong!

Obama is 2 for 5.....Tunisia is what helped him there. But then Yemen, Bahrain, and Oman. Not looking so good. Lets not forget Libya is still in Turmoil. Over the Weekend Saadi Qadhafi was already speaking out against the New Government that was imposed upon in Libya.

Their assumptions are frighteningly naive. Part of the problem is that their notion of democracy is superficial. A democratic election or the will of a people (i.e. self-determination) is not "democracy". Democracy and representative government is not something that happens overnight. It's a way of life that usually must develop organically over the centuries. Only in cases like Germany and Japan (two societies virtually razed to the ground in WW2) has a sudden imposition of the western democratic tradition been remotely successful.