After Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic and heroic 1967 “Beyond Vietnam” speech against the U.S. war in Southeast Asia, he received a barrage of criticism from editorial boards, donors, and even other civil rights leaders. Ralph Bunche (who in 1950 became the...
Foreign Policy Thin-Sliced (8/23/13)
Egypt: A Peaceful State Rule by a Junta “We have this thing about us, that the Egyptian Army is untouchable,” [a woman named] Israa said. “So many want Egypt ruled with an iron grip,” she said. [But] “This is not us. … It’s not Egypt at all. We are not happy with...
Washington and the Egyptian Tragedy
As in El Salvador, Nicaragua, East Timor, Angola, Lebanon, and Gaza in previous years, the massive killing of civilians in Egypt is being done with U.S.-provided weapons by a U.S.-backed government. As a result, the Obama administration and Congress are morally...
Tunisia: Washington’s Grip Tightens
Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda party. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.Cross-posted from Open Democracy. Part One Two years ago it was a Tunisian uprising that triggered the events in Egypt which brought down Hosni Mubarek. Now it is the Egyptian mass...
Egypt’s Treacherous Road
Egyptians continue to find themselves in the throes of a revolution that began in January of 2011. Rarely are these easy periods for any nation, but now the darkness of oppression has brought the worst upon the people of Egypt. The recently deposed President Mohamed...
The New Rules of the Game in Egypt
Since deposing the country’s democratically elected government and rounding up supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s military has launched several bloody assaults on Islamist protesters and supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi. Its notorious August 14...
Bulgaria’s Ataka Party: An Unlikely Blend of Left and Right
Cross-posted from JohnFeffer.com. John is currently traveling in Eastern Europe and observing its transformations since 1989. Three items in Volen Siderov’s office reflect his current image. The religious icons on the wall speak to his embrace of traditional Bulgarian...
No More Illusions in Egypt
With the bloody attack on protest camps in Cairo, the announcement of a one-month state of emergency across the country, and the authority given to the army to “assist” the police in maintaining law and order, there can no longer be any question that Egypt is once...
Croatia’s Unpopulist Party Wanted No Part of EU
Cross-posted from JohnFeffer.com. John is currently traveling in Eastern Europe and observing its transformations since 1989. The Party of Rights in Croatia traces its lineage back to Ante Starcevic, who is sometimes referred to as the father of Croatia. In 1861, when...
Egypt: The Deck Reshuffled (Pt. 3)
Cross-posted from the Colorado Progressive Jewish News. Read Parts 1 and 2. The situation unfolding in Egypt is confusing to many Americans trying to follow the events. A number of questions have emerged in the aftermath of the Mohamed Morsi’s removal from power and...