"Egypt bans travel for US official’s son, 6 others; Six Americans are barred from leaving country" by David D. Kirkpatrick and Steven Lee Myers | New York Times, January 27, 2012
WASHINGTON - Building tensions between the United States and Egypt flashed into the open yesterday when it was made public that Cairo has barred at least a half-dozen Americans from leaving the country and the White House has threatened to withhold its annual aid to the Egyptian military.
The travel ban came to light after the International Republican Institute, a US-backed democracy-building group, disclosed that the Egyptian authorities had stopped its Egypt director, Sam LaHood, at the Cairo airport Saturday before he could board a flight to Dubai.
Can you imagine the reaction if China, Russia, or Iran established groups in the U.S.? And yet Israel has the organization known as AIPAC and not a word.
LaHood is the son of Ray LaHood, the secretary of transportation and a former Republican congressman from Illinois.
Just a day before LaHood was detained, President Obama had warned Egypt’s leader, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, that this year’s US military aid hinged on satisfying new congressional legislation requiring that Egypt’s military government take tangible steps toward democracy, according to three people briefed on the conversation.
Obama referred specifically to the criminal inquiry into several foreign-funded democracy-building groups, including the Republican Institute, the people who were briefed said. He made clear that Egypt had not fulfilled the congressional requirements, but Tantawi did not seem to believe him.
Then, after the travel ban on the Americans became public yesterday, the administration made the warning public as well.
“It is the prerogative of Congress to say that our future military aid is going to be conditioned on a democratic transition,’’ Michael H. Posner, an assistant secretary of state responsible for human rights issues, said at a previously scheduled press conference in Cairo yesterday.
Raids last month on nongovernmental organizations, along with respect for basic rights, are “very much a part of that package,’’ he said, saying repeatedly that the military aid was now at stake and that the treatment of the US-backed groups had sparked a congressional outcry. “Obviously any action that creates tension with our government makes the whole package more difficult.’’
State Department officials said that it was the first time in three decades that US military aid to Egypt was at risk. That aid, $1.3 billion a year, has always been sacrosanct as the price the US pays to preserve Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel. Though members of Congress have talked this year of imposing conditions on aid to Egypt, the Obama administration had previously opposed the idea.
A tug of war between Washington and Cairo over US aid for Egyptian human rights and democracy-building groups goes back to the era of the former president, Hosni Mubarak. To maintain control over organizations that might pose any potential challenges to his government, Mubarak required all nonprofits to obtain licenses, which were almost never issued.
Instead, the generals have echoed the Mubarak government’s refrain that any unrest was the work of “foreign hands.’’ Often, the military-led government has pointed specifically at Washington, suggesting that the US was financing Egyptian groups behind the frequent turmoil in the streets.
It wouldn't be the first time.
Last spring, the military-led government initiated a formal criminal investigation into foreign financing of nonprofits. Then, in December, investigators accompanied by squads of heavily armed riot police raided as many as seven rights groups, including four backed by US government funds.
That ignited a firestorm of criticism from US officials, lawmakers, and advocacy groups....
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"Embassy in Cairo shelters three; US warns Egypt $1b in aid at risk" by Ben Hubbard | Associated Press, January 31, 2012
CAIRO - Three American citizens barred from leaving Egypt have sought refuge at the US embassy in Cairo amid growing tensions between the two allies over an Egyptian investigation into foreign-funded prodemocracy groups.
The White House said yesterday it was disappointed with Egypt’s handing of the issue, which US officials have warned could stand in the way of more than $1 billion in badly needed US aid.
The growing dispute between the two longtime allies reflects the uncertainty as they redefine their relationship nearly one year after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak following an 18-day popular uprising.
Now, Egypt’s council of ruling generals, who took power when Mubarak stood down last Feb. 11, often accuse “foreign hands’’ of promoting protests against their rule.
At the same time, members of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which dominates the new parliament, have suggested that they could seek to renegotiate parts of the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty, causing alarm in Israel and concern in Washington over the possibility that Egypt will no longer serve as its solid anchor in the Middle East.
Egypt’s investigation into foreign-funded organizations burst into view last month when heavily armed security forces raided 17 offices belonging to 10 prodemocracy and human rights groups, some US-based. United States and United Nations officials criticized the raids, which Egyptian officials defended as part of a legitimate investigation into the groups’ work and finances.
Last week Egypt barred at least six Americans and four Europeans who worked for US-based organizations from leaving the country.
They included Sam LaHood, the head of the Egypt office of the Washington-based International Republican Institute and the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the only Republican in President Obama’s Cabinet....
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"Egypt moves to try 19 Americans; Court action puts $1.5 billion in aid from US in peril" by David D. Kirkpatrick | New York Times, February 06, 2012
CAIRO - Egyptian authorities have referred 19 Americans and two dozen others to criminal trials, state media reported yesterday, as part of an investigation into what Egypt says is foreign financing of nonprofit groups that has shaken the 30-year alliance between the nation and the United States.
The referral flies in the face of increasingly urgent warnings to Egypt’s military rulers from the Obama administration and senior congressional leaders that the investigation could jeopardize $1.5 billion in expected US aid this year, including $1.3 billion for the military.
On Saturday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she personally warned the Egyptian foreign minister, Mohammed Amr, during a security conference in Munich, about the investigation....
In the last two weeks, at least 40 lawmakers have signed letters to Clinton and Tantawi, making the same warning. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, a senior Democratic lawmaker on a crucial foreign operations subcommittee, made the same warning in a speech on the chamber floor on Friday.
The most prominent targets of the Egyptian investigation are two US-financed groups with close ties to the congressional leadership, the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute, which are chartered to promote democracy abroad with nonpartisan training and election monitoring.
Why don't you bring the free and fair election stuff home to our fraud-ridden riggings, eh?
Oh, right, then you are no longer sitting in the seat.
News reports yesterday said that among those referred to a criminal trial was Sam LaHood, director of the Republican Institute’s operations in Egypt and the son of Ray LaHood, the secretary of transportation and a former Republican representative from Illinois.
The investigation has been accompanied by a drumbeat of anti-American rhetoric from Egypt’s military-led government suggesting that Washington has been paying to stir unrest in the Egyptian streets. Citing unnamed sources, some state media have even suggested that foreign-financed groups were handing cash to illiterate laborers to persuade them to join protests.
Imagine how Iranians must feel right now.
Egyptian state news media reported yesterday that the military government “will not be pulling the plug’’ on the case, citing Faiza Abu el-Naga, the official who oversees foreign financing matters and the only Cabinet holdover from the government of Hosni Mubarak, the ousted president.
Western diplomats have often warned that when previous Egyptian governments faced public doubts at home they have rallied support by playing on fears of interference by Washington, widely demonized here because of its support for Israel and its invasion of Iraq. The foreign-financing investigation comes when the military council that seized power after the ouster of Mubarak is under strong domestic pressure to step down.
The playbook is the same for all governments.
But many human rights advocates monitoring the cases here say they believe the ruling generals may genuinely suspect what they have described as “foreign hands’’ stirring up trouble on the street. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a former general close to the ruling military council insisted that Washington was indeed seeking to destabilize Egypt by financing these groups....
Just so they have difficulty on the eastern front.
Along with the Democratic and Republican Institutes, two other US groups backed in part by US government money, Freedom House and a journalism institute, are also part of the investigation....
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"Egyptian judges turn up heat on prodemocracy workers" February 09, 2012|By Ernesto Londoño and Ingy Hassieb
CAIRO - Investigative judges in Egypt said yesterday that the Americans and Egyptians who have been charged in the government’s crackdown on US-funded prodemocracy groups could face up to five years in prison....
The case has angered US officials and prompted US lawmakers to threaten to cut off financial aid to Egypt. The press conference appeared to suggest that despite an outcry in Washington and among civil society activists in Egypt, the military-led government in Cairo does not intend to water down or dismiss the case soon.
Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri of Egypt confirmed at a separate press conference that the criminal case would proceed despite the growing pressure from Washington....
The defendants include the Egypt directors of the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute. The latter, Sam LaHood, is the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Nancy Okail, an Egyptian citizen and the Egypt director of the Freedom House in Washington, D.C., is in Cairo and said recently that she has not received formal charging documents and does not know whether Egyptian authorities intend to detain her and the others who are in the country as part of the legal process.
“It is very tense and very volatile,’’ she said by phone, adding she is eager to fight the charges.
“I would be happy to go in this case until the end because I respect the rule of law, and I think justice will prevail,’’ Okail said. “But I wish we knew that this is a legal case and not a political one. The indication so far is that it is political.’’
Sherif Mansour, a Freedom House employee in Washington who was also charged in the case, said he found the evidence laid out yesterday laughable.
“My first impression is I’m very happy,’’ said Mansour, an Egyptian citizen. “I’m sure my lawyer is, too, seeing the ridiculousness of the evidence.’’
Doesn't seem to matter when it comes to patsy-plot frame-ups by the FBI.
Mansour, a senior program director, said he would gladly travel to Egypt to stand trial.
“This is about disenfranchising civil society and manipulating the relationship with the US,’’ he said. “Egyptian civil society is our strongest hope to protect rights and freedoms in the years ahead.’’
Spokespersons for the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute did not respond to requests for comment on the press conference.
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"Egypt set to begin trials of Americans" by Liam Stack | New York Times, February 19, 2012
CAIRO - Egypt will begin criminal proceedings Friday against 19 Americans and two dozen others in a politically charged investigation into the foreign financing of nonprofit groups that has plunged relations between the United States and Egypt to their lowest point in three decades, state news media reported yesterday.
The trial escalates a confrontation that has shaken the 30-year alliance between Cairo and Washington, a cornerstone of the US-backed regional order since the Camp David accords were signed in 1978. US officials have said the prosecution jeopardizes the disbursement of more than $1.5 billion in foreign aid to Egypt, the bulk of which is assistance to the military, which has governed the country since the ouster of the longtime leader Hosni Mubarak a year ago.
I'd be happy if the Egyptians declined to take my tax dollar.
The 43 defendants have been charged with operating local offices of global organizations without the requisite licenses and illegally receiving foreign funds, state news media reported.
The Americans work for four United States-based groups, two of which, the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute, are chartered as democracy-building groups with close ties to leaders in the US Congress. The other two organizations are Freedom House and the International Center for Journalists.
The state news report said that the groups’ operations “infringe on Egyptian sovereignty.’’
Seven of the 19 Americans are in Egypt and have been barred from leaving. Some have sought refuge at the US Embassy in Cairo, including Sam LaHood of the Republican Institute. LaHood is the son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
The prosecutions come against a backdrop of rising xenophobia and a drumbeat of anti-US statements from top officials, suggesting that the country’s problems are the work of US agents handing out cash to sow chaos in the streets....
Egypt is sliding into the enemy column.
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One more warning:
"McCain says Egypt working on US case; Crackdown on nonprofits strains nations’ relations" by Sarah el Deeb | Associated Press, February 21, 2012
CAIRO - Senator John McCain said yesterday Egypt’s military rulers have reassured him that authorities are working “diligently’’ to resolve a criminal case against US prodemocracy groups that has brought relations between the two allies to their lowest point in decades.
It was the first public statement to indicate the two sides are trying to find a way to move from the brink of a spat that has threatened United States aid to Egypt and shaken confidence in the country’s transition to democracy.
As part of a crackdown on nonprofit organizations, Egyptian authorities have referred 16 Americans and 27 others to trial on charges that include the illegal use of foreign funds. The trial is expected to begin on Feb. 26. McCain, a Republican from Arizona, chairs one of the four American groups targeted.
“He gave us his assurance that they are working very diligently to try to resolve’’ the nongovernmental organization issue, McCain told reporters after a day of conferences with Egyptian officials, newly elected lawmakers, and members of the country’s powerful Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood.
It is not clear how the issue can be resolved. McCain said it is up to the administration and the Egypt government to work out this “very important and delicate’’ matter.
Meaning McCain didn't get very far.
“We are confident that people of good faith in this country and our country and many others can and will find an acceptable resolution to the present situation,’’ McCain said.
McCain, who is leading a congressional delegation visiting various countries in the Middle East as well as Afghanistan, has tried to send a reassuring message about the importance of relations between Egypt and Washington. McCain said threats to cut US aid to Egypt, may be counterproductive.
Translation: Here is the check.
US officials and legislators have threatened to cut Egypt’s $1.5 billion package over the crackdown on the democracy groups. The case began in December with raids on the groups’ Egypt offices, and Egyptian judges and officials subsequently accused them of using foreign funds to foment unrest in the country through supporting political activities and protests.
Egyptian officials were mute on the subject yesterday. The state official news agency only said Tantawi discussed changes in US-Egypt relations with McCain’s delegation, as well as the nature of activities of civil society groups in Egypt in light of the democratic transition.
Egypt under Mubarak was Washington’s closest Arab ally in the Middle East and a loyal partner in the fight against Islamic extremism and terror. Mubarak also kept the 1979 peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of US foreign policy in the Mideast.
But with the military on the defensive over criticism that it has bungled the transition to democracy and with the rise of an Islamist-dominated parliament, Egypt’s transitional rulers appeared to be more ready to publicly challenge the United States and Israel, even at the risk of losing critical foreign aid. That stance taps into widespread anti-Israel and anti-US sentiment in Egypt.
They aren't going to be coming down on our side in WWIII, Americans. The Egyptian people won't let them.
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Related:
"[The real issue in Egypt and in all Arab Spring countries is the nature of US and Western "aid" coming in--It is being used to agitate an otherwise unmotivated national mass to take anti-government actions? Egyptian press reports even question whether Western NGOs are hiring protesters to lead national rallies. As to whether the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute are exceeding their mandate and actually fomenting revolution in Egypt or not--Well, they are promoting revolutionary democracy. Read the following two excerpts from the organizations' websites:
"NDI and its local partners work to promote openness and accountability in government by building political and civic organizations, safeguarding elections, and promoting citizen participation."
"IRI can help catalyze the efforts of democratic activists in a country -- so long as they want change more than we want it for them."
Update: US woman in NGO dispute stopped from leaving Egypt