Twilight Of The American Empire And The Pax Americana: DAY 31 EGYPTIAN HOSTAGE CRISIS: AMERICANS GO ON TRIAL

Sunday, February 26, 2012

DAY 31 EGYPTIAN HOSTAGE CRISIS: AMERICANS GO ON TRIAL

from Atlas Shrugs:

Sunday, February 26, 2012

DAY 31 EGYPTIAN HOSTAGE CRISIS: AMERICANS GO ON TRIAL

The only difference between the 1979 hostage crisis in Iran (which helped to bring down Jimmy Carter and usher in the Reagan Revolution) and the present Egyptian hostage crisis is that now the enemedia is ignoring and covering up this grave crisis in Egypt.

The Egyptian government has banned several Americans and Europeans from leaving the country. So much for the Obama lie that the enemedia advanced of "democracy and freedom" (but I told you that here and here in January 2011). The Americans being held hostage, including the son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, work for pro-democracy NGOs, headquartered in the U.S.

How much respect does Obama garner in the Muslim world? LaHood's arrest came a day after President Obama phoned the devout Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, head of Egypt's interim government, to reiterate the importance of allowing NGOs to operate freely in the country.

Next day, hostage crisis.

When I was a kid, the three major networks reported the Iranian hostage crisis with the gravity and priority

it deserved. Who can forget the daily count ("Day 263 of the Iranian Hostage Crisis") that would lead the nightly 6'oclock news on all three major networks. Today, the media is no longer in the business of news gathering and dissemination. Instead, it is a radical propaganda arm on the uber left, and they are at war.

We had the wrong president then (Carter should have marched into Tehran that day) and we have suffered the disastrous mistakes of the Carter administration ever since. Obama is exponentially worse, and so will be the consequences.

Trial of US aid workers adjourns in Egypt with tension mounting as Obama threatens foreign aid for resolve
An Egyptian court has adjourned the trial of 16 Americans and 27 other employees of nonprofit groups until April 26.
Judge Mahmoud Mohammed Shoukry presided over a chaotic opening session of the trial Sunday before adjourning the case until the end of April.
The NGO workers have been charged with operating without a license and using illegal foreign funds to foment unrest.
Protests and pressure: Egyptians call for their military rulers to step down during a protest at Tahrir Square, the focal point of the Egyptian uprising, Friday while the US pressures the release of 16 American NGO workers on trial this week
Thirteen Egyptian defendants were in court for the opening hearing. They were held in a metal cage, as is customary in Egyptian trials.
Of the 16 Americans charged in the case, seven have been banned from leaving Egypt. They were not in court Sunday.
The case has severely strained U.S.-Egyptian relations. American officials have threatened to cut off $1.5 billion in aid if the dispute is not resolved.
Hundreds of lawyers and reporters crammed into the Cairo courtroom for the case that has severely strained Cairo's relations with Washington.
Involvement: US Senator John McCain (center) is one of many politicians who has spoken out and also visited Cairo this week to seek a solution to the American's release before flying to Libya here for a press conference as seen here
A senior U.S. official said Saturday the Obama administration is in 'intense discussions' with Egypt to resolve the legal case 'in the coming days.'
Egyptian authorities, responding to the threat of losing their $1.5 billion aid, blasted what they call the U.S. meddling in Egypt's legal affairs.
President Barack Obama has urged Egypt's military rulers to drop the investigation, and high-level officials, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey and Republican Sen. John McCain, have flown in to Cairo to seek a solution.
The U.S. official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the matter, said that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had raised the matter twice in person with Egypt's foreign minister — once inLondon and once in Tunisia — in the past three days and that other senior U.S. officials are actively involved.
Politician's pressure: President Barack Obama has urged Egypt's military rulers to drop the investigation, while high-level officials, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey and McCain have personally visited Cairo
However, the U.S. cannot be seen as pushing too hard against Egypt's ruling military council, which is viewed as the best hope for a stable transition for a nation that is not just a regional heavyweight, but also the most populous in the Arab world and a lynchpin in Washington's Middle East policy, largely because of its landmark peace treaty with Israel.
There are 43 defendants in the case — 16 Americans, 16 Egyptians, as well as Germans, Palestinians, Serbs and Jordanians.
They have been charged with the illegal use of foreign funds to foment unrest and operating without a license. But the investigation fits into a broader campaign by Egypt's rulers against alleged foreign influence since the ouster of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak last year.
Head-to-head: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, seen at the London Conference on Somalia Thursday with Egypt's Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr, has raised the matter twice in person with the foreign minister in the past three days
Rights groups have sharply criticized the investigation into the pro-democracy groups and the charges, saying they are part of an orchestrated effort by Egyptian authorities to silence critics and cripple civil society groups critical of the military's handling of the country's transition to democracy. Egyptian officials counter by saying the trial has nothing to do with the government and is in the judiciary's hands.
The U.S. State Department says that seven of the 16 Americans facing trial have been barred from leaving Egypt by the country'sattorney general. Several Americans, including Sam LaHood, son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, have sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy.
It is not clear whether the Americans and the rest of the defendants will appear in court Sunday. They could not be immediately reached by telephone.
Security forces: While the trial for former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak takes place, a Mubarak protester holds chains beside Egyptian security forces who in December raided the offices of the pro-democracy groups, later arresting the NGO workers
The Americans work for four U.S.-based groups: the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, Freedom House and a group that trains journalists.
Read the rest.