The chaos in Egypt does indeed signal opportunity, but the big question is whether the Egyptian people (or their fellow protestors in neighboring countries) will end up with genuine reform or merely a different gang of corrupt officials willing to cut more (or different) people in on ‘the take.’
Though the opposition in Egypt is frequently presented as a bottom-up movement, there is, in fact, a top-down element to it. As the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, the opposition is being led by a ten-person steering committee. This committee arose from a 100-person shadow parliament established in Egypt well before the protests broke out. […]
The New York Times just put out a news alert stating: “The Obama administration is discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for President Hosni Mubarak to resign immediately, turning over power to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman with the support of the Egyptian military, administration officials and Arab diplomats said Thursday.” […]
Normally I don’t bother to take the time to discuss distortions of facts that occur on cable news programs. Such occurrences are, to me, as surprising as eating cauliflower. But I think this one, even though it happened a couple weeks ago, is worth commenting on: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and […]
The thing to watch in Egypt is the military. It all goes back to Crane Brinton’s observation, made in The Anatomy of Revolution, that: …it is almost safe to say that no government is likely to be overthrown until it loses the ability to make adequate use of its military and police powers. That loss […]
Last week I blogged about Human Rights, China, and National Security Policy; in light of ongoing events in Egypt I thought I would expand on those thoughts as applied to the Egyptian uprising. As I write this, President Mubarak has asked his cabinet to resign and has appointed for the first time since coming into […]
Over the past several weeks the debate over lifting Europe’s ban on arms sales to the PRC Government has gained momentum. Enacted following the Tienanmen Square massacre of 1989, the ban was initially effected with the concern that such arms might be turned against China’s domestic population. Most recently, however, the European Union’s nominal High […]
Back in December I chose Mary Ellen O’Connell as my Person of the Year for 2010. She’s the Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law at Notre Dame, an opponent of the CIA’s drone program, and a strong proponent of international law. For those curious about her work and views, I recommend reading her book, […]
Cairo protests (credit: twitpic/shefaa) A second day of protests swept across Egypt today. Inspired partly by a popular revolution in Tunisia, thousands of people took to the streets in Cairo, Suez, and other cities, in defiance of government threats. As many as twenty thousand gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. According to reports, four people have […]
So talks with Iran failed last weekend. And as the New York Times piece on the subject suggests, they fell apart for the very reason I noted in my 2010 Year in Review post: the collision of the UN Charter and the NPT. According to the Times: Mr. Jalili consistently demanded that first the six […]
In an atmosphere of reconciliation and peaceful transition, but with a backdrop of tires burning in the streets of Beirut, a new prime minister has been nominated in Lebanon. Najib Mikati was prime minister for a few months in 2005, and he is Lebanon’s richest man. Mikati’s first speech struck a conciliatory tone: “My hand […]
As the Duma, Russia’s Parliament, debates New START ratification, one thing is clear: the treaty doesn’t legally restrict U.S. missile defense options. Another thing is clear: Russia will probably withdraw from the treaty if the U.S. deploys a missile defense system that significantly reduces the effectiveness of Russia’s strategic deterrent. As Kostantin Kosachyev, head of […]
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