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Egypt's Witch Hunt Threatens a Rupture with the U.S.

(Washington Post) Editorial - There is a grotesque incongruity in the tour around Washington this week of an Egyptian military delegation even as seven Americans who work for congressionally funded pro-democracy groups are prevented from leaving Cairo and threatened with criminal prosecution. The ruling military council refuses to recognize the seriousness of the crisis it has created in the U.S.-Egyptian alliance. The persecution of the Americans is an extraordinary provocation by the generals who succeeded Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptian military delegation is here on a business-as-usual mission to discuss the weapons purchases Egypt makes with the $1.3 billion in U.S. military aid it receives each year. The generals regard this funding as an entitlement, linked to the country's peace treaty with Israel. They appear to believe that Washington will not dare to cut them off. If the campaign against U.S., European and Egyptian NGOs is not ended, military aid must be suspended.
2012-02-01 00:00:00
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