Mubarak Archives - Foreign Policy In Focus

Arab Islamists Are Here to Stay

by Adil E. Shamoo | Dec 16, 2011

The hysteria of the West about the Arab awakening turning into an Arab Islamist nightmare is reaching full-blown proportions. The United States and Israel, self-appointed referees of democracy in the region despite their long-running support for the Middle East’s most corrupt and authoritarian regimes, are crying foul.

The incitement? A series of victories by Islamist parties in Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt. Yet, given the history of Western support for governments that simultaneously quashed secular opposition movements and persecuted Islamists, the popularity of moderate Islamist parties should come as little surprise—nor should it be cause for concern.

Democracy Doesn’t Equal Instability

by Fouad Pervez | Feb 24, 2011

The political revolts in the Middle East, which have produced the overthrow of Ben Ali in Tunisia and the resignation of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, have also generated a flawed debate about the region. In this discourse repeated ad nauseum in the mainstream press and the policy world, the United States has to balance its views on democracy promotion and stability in the Middle East.

Mubarak’s Defiance

by Phyllis Bennis | Feb 11, 2011

After deliberately raising the hopes of millions of Egyptians and millions more around the world, U.S.-backed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak defied the rising demand of the millions of protesters who have taken to Egypt’s streets, to announce he will remain in office. Claiming he wouldn’t bow to “foreign pressure,” Mubarak, he said he had “laid down a vision…to exit the current crisis, and to realize the demands voiced by the youth and citizens…without violating the Constitution.”

The Egyptian Army: Make Money, Not War

by Russ Wellen | Feb 11, 2011

The Egyptian army is outraged by how Mubarak and his son have sold out the country’s economy.

You Can’t Tell Egypt’s Players Without a Scorecard

by Russ Wellen | Feb 4, 2011

Egypt is as rife with rival factions as Iran.

Fear of the Muslim Brotherhood Trumps Western Wishes for Democracy in Egypt

by Ian Williams | Feb 3, 2011

Neither should we underestimate Israel’s support for Mubarak as a motive for protesting Egyptians.

Egypt: Back Against the Wall, a Tyrant Embraces Anarchy

by Lieven De Cauter | Feb 2, 2011

When tyranny is threatened by internal turmoil and uproar, it sometimes stoke the forces of anarchy.

Egypt Protests Shine Light on How U.S. Profits From Foreign Aid

by Mark Engler | Jan 29, 2011

Even though it is notoriously undemocratic, the Mubarak regime has for decades received a massive amount of U.S. aid, both military and non-military.

Fraudulent Egyptian Election

by Stephen Zunes | Dec 7, 2010

The November 28 Egyptian parliamentary elections were a farce. The vast majority of Egyptians boycotted the charade. But even those who did try to vote witnessed massive ballot-stuffing, vote-buying, intimidation, multiple voting in pro-government precincts, interminable delays in pro-opposition precincts, and mass arrests of opposition supporters.

Nervously and Rapidly, Iran Courts Egypt

by Erik Leaver, Rostam Pourzal | Feb 14, 2008

While much of the world is focused on Bush’s attempts to demonize and isolate Iran, the Islamic Republic is forging new ties with an unlikely partner, Egypt. Egypt is among the largest recipients of U.S. aid and the only Arab country that equals Iran’s international stature. It is also the only one without an embassy in Tehran. Although the north African nation is not among Iran’s neighbors, its historic influence in the Persian Gulf makes it enormously important in Tehran’s strategic planning in response to American and Israeli pressure.