In a move that will further strain ties between the Obama Administration and the Egyptian military junta, the Egyptian government has announced that charges will be filed against 44 NGO workers, 19 of them Americans.
The charges stem from December raids against the NGOs, which were funded by the US government to help pro-US factions prepare for the nation’s first free elections. The junta argued that the groups were never licensed by former dictator Hosni Mubarak, and were therefore not legally allowed to receive foreign funds.
The targeted Americans chiefly worked for the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI), groups heavily funded by the US government and run by Republican and Democratic Party leaders, respectively. The case has received attention due to heavy political interest in the matter, and because the head of the IRI’s Egypt office is Sam LaHood, the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
LaHood is among the 19 Americans facing charges, all of them hiding in the US Embassy in Cairo where LaHood says everyone is “expecting the worst.” The IRI issued a statement insisting that Egypt’s court system is “not legitimate.” The State Department has condemned the inquiry repeatedly but has not officially said whether it intends to give the Americans permanent asylum in the embassy.
US officials, including IRI chairman Sen. John McCain (R – AZ), have warned that the Egyptian military junta could lose its billions of dollars in annual US aid over these actions. The junta has insisted that it would allow the judiciary to set the process.
Is there anyone who understands this business? I don't. Why the interest in messing with these people? Who exactly, is it that is sending this "message", ordering these arrests? To whom is the message being sent? What is the message, exactly?
Help me out here.
As the article states, IRI and NDI are "NGOs" in name only. They are funded by the US government, and their entire purpose is to interfere with the internal affairs of foreign states. The "message" is that Egypt will follow its laws, according to which these "NGOs" were acting illegally because they had never been licensed by an Egyptian government.
IRI and NDI are active throughout the world. They should be abiding by the laws of the host countries. How would the US government react to a lobby funded by the Iranian government operating here in the US without the knowledge or permission of the US government?
Frankly, I don't want any foreign government lobbying within the US with or without permission from the US government. Most foreign lobbies like AIPAC are simply seed money. We give Israel $5 Billion in aid per year. They turn around and funnel money to AIPAC to insure the aid keeps flowing. We end up paying to lobby ourselves. It's ridiculous. Same goes for the Turkish and Egyptian lobbies mentioned in the article. I don't want any of the 3 operating in the US. Oh, that's right, AIPAC is not a lobby, it's a "public affairs committee."
BTW, since I'm against foreign lobbies operating here, I think it's perfectly OK for a foreign government to deny permission for IRI and NDI to operate within their jurisdiction. In fact, I hope they do. These "lobbies," "NGOs," and "public affairs committees" are agents of foreign governments operating outside legitimate diplomatic channels. It's bad enough that people with enormous wealth lobby (pay off) our own politicians and therefore have and use immense power that the 99% don't have. I don't even want wealthy foreign nationals (or "dual citizens") and foreign corporations lobbying the US government, let alone foreign governments. I'd think the residents of any foreign country would feel the same way.
I agree . These same groups are also wreaking havoc in Russia. With Russia's UNSC veto over Syria and the Russian presidential elections coming up, the propaganda is going to be taken to an entirely new level. All sovereign governments would do well to expel these "NGO's," as they're nothing but rabble rousing instigators for American hegemony.
This is how you do it…uh, huh… [does little dance]