Free Republic

Throughout the Middle East, reformers have been driven away by autocratic rulers. We Westerners are desperate to see the political systems in the Middle East evolve from authoritarian theocratic or oligarchical models to some variation of representative government. That desire suffered another setback on Saturday when former Egyptian presidential candidate Ayman Nour, 41, was sentenced to five years in prison for (what outside observers insist are trumped-up charges of) forgery. Up and down the region - Syria, Iran, Iraq, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority - the Western pluralist model of representative democracy has failed because broadminded, Western-oriented reformers have been...

A force to be reckoned with Posted on 9 August 2010 in Defence The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) or Al Quwwat Al Jawwiya Il Misriya, is one of the largest air arms in the region and is also one of the longest established. Formed in 1930 as the Egyptian Army Air Force, it became fully independent in 1937. Initially it had close links with the British Royal Air Force and was primarily equipped with British-supplied aircraft. Spitfires gave way to Meteors and Vampires before the 1952 revolution, after which the new president, General Gamal Abdel Nasser, turned to the Soviet...

Before delving into the question of what follows the death of the two-state solution we must get a certificate of death. This may prove to be more difficult than getting a certificate of live birth for President Obama. Everyone prefers to kick a dead horse, so to speak, than to acknowledge it is dead. The Arabs were against the creation of Israel in the first place. They opposed the Palestine Mandate, The Partition Plan, The Declaration of Independence by Israel and Resolution 242. In 1968 they decided at the Khartoum Conference on the three “no’s”; no recognition, no negotiation and...

PESHAWAR, Aug 18: A son-in-law of Al Qaeda No 2 Dr Ayman Al-Zawahiri is believed to be the mastermind of the plot to blow up transatlantic flights and he met one or some of the plotters at a place close to the Pakistan-Afghan border, credible sources told Dawn. “The mastermind in the planes bombing plot is Zawahiri’s son-in-law,” said the sources who did not want to be named. “He is the guy being looked for,” they added. Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenant is known to have several sons-in-law. One of them was reported to have been killed in a...

CAIRO, Egypt -- An Islamic militant convicted in connection with the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was ordered released from prison Tuesday after a court ruled he had completed his sentence. Tarek el-Zomor, 45, should have been released in October 2003 after serving 22 years for his part in plotting Sadat's killing during a military parade in Cairo, the court said in a verdict issued Tuesday.

Ahhh, I was watching the Cubs game and missed Idol. Anyone know who got booted off? Thanks in advance. :D

CAIRO, Egypt -- A claim of responsibility for the downing of two Russian planes appeared on a Web site known for militant Muslim comment Friday. The statement, which accused Russians of killing Muslims in Chechnya, was signed "the Islambouli Brigades." A group with a similar name has claimed at least one previous attack, but the legitimacy of the group and the authenticity of such statements could not be verified. Russian officials have said terrorism was the most likely cause of Tuesday's plane crashes, which killed 89 people. "We in the Islambouli Brigades announce that our holy warriors managed to hijack...

Cheerleaders for TerrorismBy Erick StakelbeckFrontPageMagazine.com | June 17, 2003 Two groups whom Islamic terrorists can count on for sympathy and support are radical lawyers and their counterparts in American law schools. Lynne Stewart is a hero of the National Lawyers Guild and a sought-after campus lecturer. While out on bail under indictment for colluding with a terrorist leader, she has been a sought-after speaker for law school audiences who relish her attacks on Attorney General John Ashcroft as a modern-day fascist and on her country for its imperialist and racist policies. Stewart made national headlines in April 2002 when she...

Security Sources: Egypt Frees 900 Muslim Militants CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt released 900 members of an Islamic militant group that killed 58 tourists in 1997 and helped plot the murder of president Anwar Sadat, security sources said on Tuesday. Analysts said that freeing so many members of the outlawed al-Gama'a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group), whose jailed leaders renounced violence six years ago, would help the movement gain a political voice and could strengthen the hand of more moderate Islamists in the Arab world's most populous country. News of the mass release came two days after Egypt announced it had freed Karam...

CAIRO, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Egypt freed the rebel leader who ordered the assassination of former President Anwar Sadat in 1981, the BBC reported Monday. Karam Zohdy, 51, was sentenced to life in prison for approving the assassination as one of the leaders of the Islamic group al-Gamaa al-Islamiya. According to Egyptian law, a life sentence normally means 25 years. However, Egypts counts a prison year as nine months, meaning Zohdy was overdue for release. Another factor in Zohdy's release was a heart condition and diabetes, the official Mena news agency said. While in prison, he is reported to have...

Feb. 27, 2003 Court sentences Islamic militant to five years in prison By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CAIRO, Egypt - The Supreme State Security Court on Thursday sentenced an Islamic militant, who had been deported from the United States, to five years' imprisonment for membership of a banned Islamic group. Nabil Soliman, 41, was convicted of belonging to Islamic Jihad, the group that assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981. In court, he denied any involvement in violence or militant groups, saying he had been mistaken for another man with the same name. The United States extradited Soliman to Egypt in June...

With the prospect of war looming in Iraq, an Emory student asked former President Jimmy Carter the other day whether he might mediate any current conflicts in the Middle East. After all, Carter is to receive the Nobel Peace Prize next week for brokering peace between Egypt and Israel in 1978 and for tackling vexing disputes in places such as Haiti, North Korea and Sudan. Carter dodged the question by assuring the class he was happy in Plains, and his aides doubt he will play a role in Iraq. It is not a situation, they said, that meets his criteria...