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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1798915,00.html
The Battle for Cairo Is Just as Vital as the One for Baghdad
(Guardian-UK) Jonathan Steele - Egypt is only superficially at peace. The Bush administration's program to promote democratization throughout the Arab world was quietly aborted after the Muslim Brotherhood's stunning successes in Egypt's elections late last year and the Hamas victory in the Palestinian vote in January. Political Islam has left Washington spooked. Although the Brotherhood is an illegal organization, the candidates it put up as independents won a fifth of the seats in parliament. Barred from state channels, Brotherhood MPs appear constantly in debates on satellite TV talkshows. Mubarak has postponed local elections and decreed a two-year extension of the draconian emergency laws. The secular opposition that could compete with the Brotherhood is repressed as fiercely as the Brotherhood itself. Ayman Nour, who dared to stand against Mubarak in last year's presidential election, was sent to jail for five years. What people want from the U.S. is greater pressure on the Mubarak regime, which is heavily dependent on Washington's financial support.