The New York Times has an article about the Egyptian’s military role in the economy and how it is “discouraging open markets” now that it has taken power. I take strong issue with how the article describes the extreme cronyism practiced by Hosni Mubarak as either “liberalizing the economy” or privatization: As the military began [...]

Sometimes the irony of two news events that happen on the same day is almost surreal. Today, we have news that the Obama administration is pushing the Mubarak government to immediately end the Egypt’s “Emergency Law,” which gives the President sweeping powers to violate the rights of the country’s citizens. From Jack Tapper’s “White House [...]

In the end, if Obama truly wants to install Suleiman, he probably can. He’ll engineer one of those “make me do it” moments, where he just has to accept that the thing his administration has been working tirelessly to achieve is the best thing for Egypt. But the minute that happens, and the stories start leaking out about young demonstrators being “disappeared” by Suleiman’s thugs, he’ll have to explain to the social media generation how it was all worth it for “stability in the region.”

And this time, he won’t be able to blame it on the need for “60 votes.”

With protest continuing in Egypt against President Hosni Mubarak despite a curfew, the government has ordered the army to help put down the protest. According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Eqypt’s total military expenditures in 2009 was $3.6 billion. Mubarak’s administration has been one of largest recipients of American military support ever, receiving $1.3 [...]