The Egyptian Military: For the People?

The Egyptian Revolution was considered the cornerstone of the push in the Middle East and northern Africa for democracy and the rights of the people, known by many as the Arab Spring.  It set the stage for continued upheavals in Syria, Libya, Iran, and even rumblings in Saudi Arabia.  Has the revolution had its desired effect, or is it being thwarted from its desired goals by an overreach of military power?  Acclaimed Egyptian-American journalist Mona Eltahawy joins the show today to talk about her harrowing experience in Egypt at the hands of the military junta.

Ms. Eltahawy, as recently as November 24, was in Egypt to pay homage to the courage of the young people of Egypt that continue to protest in Tahrir Square and throughout Egypt in the hope of bringing freedom and democracy to all persons of the nation.  There, at the height of clashes between the people and military/police forces, Ms. Eltahawy was detained against her will.

“I was beaten brutally, I was sexually assaulted and detained for 12 hours by the Ministry of Interior and by military intelligence,” Ms. Eltahawy details.  “I was finally let go.  I was denied medical treatment during that time, of courese; tomorrow I am having surgery to fix a displaced bone on my left arm.”

The Egyptian military was heralded in the spring for its refusal to fire on its own citizens and to allow the protests to ultimately topple the regime of Hosni Mubarak, but have they started to tarnish that memory with their continued aggression against the people?  Worse yet, are we as a nation complicit in the funding of these horrors?

“That military junta that is now oppressing us and beating us and sexually violating us, in ways worse than Mubarak, is being funded by the United States and this must stop,” Ms. Eltahawy went on to say.  “We have to look this directly in the eye, we have to tell President Obama, we have to tell Congress; every American must know what out tax dollars are going to.”

We as Americans are proud to see our government fight on the side of democracy and in the name of freedom.  We trust that our tax dollars are used in ways that strengthen our security, grow our nation, and promote the spreading of our ideals and values that are yearned for by the people of other nations.  Mona Eltahawy has opened our eyes in a way that cannot be overlooked, and we must expect greater accountability from our elected officials that are responsible for those tax dollars.

See the full interview here: