Update February 15th: Egypt accuses US NGOs of bringing anarchy to Egypt, here.
NGO stands for Non-governmental organization, with the emphasis on NON!
From time to time I’ve pointed out that the Arab Spring thing everyone was so excited about only twelve months ago had actually brought Islamists to power in Egypt and set off one more refugee stampede across north Africa and more problematically across the Mediterranean to Europe.
Tell me what good is it to America if a pro-democracy movement brings the Muslim Brotherhood to power? Oopsie!
More confirming news that Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton and the media were applauding prematurely over the “revolution” came in the last few days as (gasp) the Egyptian government is now saying it will put on trial detained NGO workers in Egypt. Here is the story from the Washington Times:
CAIRO (AP) — Ignoring a stern U.S. threat, Egypt on Sunday referred 43 NGO workers, including 19 Americans, to trial before a criminal court for allegedly using illegal foreign funds to foment unrest.
The decision marked a sharp escalation of the dispute between Cairo and Washington over Egypt‘s crackdown on U.S.-funded groups promoting democracy and human rights. The two countries have been close allies for more than three decades, but the campaign against the organizations has angered Washington and jeopardized the $1.5 billion in aid Egypt is set to receive from the U.S. this year. [good!—ed]
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Egypt‘s foreign minister that failure to resolve the dispute may lead to the loss of American aid. The Egyptian minister, Mohammed Amr, responded Sunday by saying the government cannot interfere in the work of the judiciary.
[….]
Among the Americans sent to trial is Sam LaHood, the head of the Egypt office of the Washington-based International Republican Institute and the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
[….]
Already, Egyptian authorities are preventing at least six Americans — including Mr. LaHood — and four Europeans from leaving the country, citing a probe opened last month when heavily armed security forces raided the offices of 17 pro-democracy and rights groups. Egyptian officials have defended the raid as part of a legitimate investigation into the groups’ work and funding.
The NGO in question here—International Republican Institute—isn’t really a NON-governmental organization. How could it be? Check out its most recent Form 990 here. Out of a budget of $85,479,348, they received $85,142,213 from the American taxpayer.
Did you happen to notice who is Chairman of the Board of IRI—Senator John McCain. Senator Lindsey Graham is on the board too. So we gave these guys $85 million to help bring us a radical Islamic government in Egypt—but a democracy none-the-less.
Oh, and it’s not just the rightwing “democracy” activists, but the leftwingers are agitating in Egypt too. Kind of makes me think maybe Ron Paul is on to something after all.
What does the middle class American taxpayer get out of all this—less money in their pockets and more refugees on the way!