Free Republic

Two Republican U.S. senators slammed Wednesday a law recently passed by Egypt’s president as “draconian” for imposing heavy restrictions and effectively banning the work of non-governmental organizations — the latest among measures cracking down on dissent in the country. Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham urged President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to bring the law on NGOs in line with international standards and the Egyptian constitution. “Congress should strengthen democratic benchmarks and human rights conditions on U.S. assistance for Egypt,” they said in a statement. […] The law has triggered wide international backlash and raised concerns over human rights conditions in...

"Egypt goes to war on ISIS, masses troops against Islamist Libyan stronghold at Darnah" Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi has deployed his troops for all-out war on ISIS strongholds in Libya, the first Arab ruler to challenge the Islamists in a fellow Arab country .... Our Washington sources report that the Obama administration’s planned spring campaign to free Iraqi Mosul from the Islamic State’s occupation is stuck in the sand. Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike accuse the president of having no clear war strategy and of holding back from the US-led coalition the fighting manpower necessary for a successful operation. .......

El-Sissi: Egypt ready to join terror fight President speaks on Islamic State threat Hamza Hendawi Ian Phillips And Lee Keath   CAIRO – Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is feeling vindicated by the world’s alarm over Islamic extremism that is fueling wars and bloodshed across the Middle East. The former army general has faced widespread international criticism for his ouster last year of Egypt’s first freely elected president and his ferocious crackdown on Islamists that has killed more than 1,000 and imprisoned more than 20,000. A year later, after el-Sissi’s election as president, his critics fear he is leading his country into autocracy,...

The government and media harangued voters to go to the polls Tuesday in the second and final day of Egypt’s presidential election, worried that turnout was weaker than expected in a vote in which the front-runner, former army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, is trying to garner an overwhelming show of support. There were no official figures on turnout in the previous day’s voting. But monitoring groups said Monday saw moderate in some places and often thin or non-existent in other areas, particularly where Islamists—el-Sissi’s top opponents—dominate. El-Sissi, who removed Egypt’s first freely elected president last year, is poised for an almost...

The U.S. should recognize that Gen. el-Sissi will bring stability and unite the country. Less than a week after al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri called on jihadists to attack Egyptian security forces and in the wake of a series of bloody assaults in and around Cairo, the Obama administration has finally backed down and permitted Egypt the 10 Apache helicopters it needs to defend itself against a full-blown insurrection in the Sinai. It is a welcome development, but just the first step if Egypt is to be returned to stability.

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's chief prosecutor charged 200 suspected militants Saturday with carrying out over 50 terrorist attacks, killing 40 policemen and 15 civilians and conspiring with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the first mass trial of a Jihadi group since the country's recent turmoil. The defendants, 98 of whom remain on the run, are all suspected members of the al-Qaida-inspired Ansar Beit al-Maqdis group, or Champions of Jerusalem, which has claimed responsibility for the bloodiest attacks since a wave of violence picked up following the military overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi last summer.