The Conditions
For more than a quarter century, Egyptians have lived under martial law.
In September of 1981, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat rounded up 1,500 members of political opposition groups, professors and journalists, and threw them in jail. A month later, he was assassinated. His successor, Hosni Mubarak, declared a state of emergency.
Twenty-seven years later, the "emergency" prevails. Mubarak's government has re-authorized the martial law every three years, recently echoing US President Geoge Bush's language about "fighting terrorism" as a justification. In the spring of 2008, Mubarak accelerated his campaign to jail opposition leaders. Thousands are now behind bars following riots over increasing food prices and demands for higher wages, and the emergency law provisions allow the 450,000 strong paramilitary force to detain anyone, anytime, without reason. Mubarak's rush to put threatening journalists, bloggers and opposition leaders behind bars closely resembles that of his deceased predecessor.
Egypt's Role
Egypt is the economic and cultural hub of the Middle East, and America's largest and strongest Arab ally. It is the seat of the Arab League and has a large military force heavily funded by the United States. Since 1978, when Egyptian president Anwar Sadat cooperated with American president Jimmy Carter and signed the Camp David Accords with Israel, the US has given Egypt an average of approximately $2 billion a year, making it the second-largest recipient of US foregin aid.
Egypt is also a developing country, half of whose population lives below the poverty line. Limited agricultural resources and a rapidly-growing populace tax the economy. Economic growth seen in recent years rarely trickles down to the poorest citizens. Egypt's human rights record is strongly criticized by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, while its press is listed as 143rd most free out of 163 countries monitored by Reporters Without Borders (the United States is ranked a relatively low 48th, easily bested by most Western European nations). Egypt's ostensibly democratic government has seen only three presidents in the 50-plus years since its independence.
From Human Rights Watch: "Egypt stepped up attacks on political dissent in 2007. In March the government enshrined aspects of emergency rule via amendments to the constitution, providing a continued basis for arbitrary detention and trials of civilians before military and state security courts."