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26 Jan 2012 14:06

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World: Americans, son of Ray LaHood among them, barred from leaving Egypt

  • It’s absolutely an escalation. To have a strategic U.S. ally issue bans against American citizens is deeply troubling.
  • Scott Mastic, Mid-East regional director of the International Republican Institute • Speaking on the state of affairs in Egypt, where American members of the IRI, a pro-democracy group, have been barred from traveling pending apparent investigation by the military government. This is, perhaps, the unpleasant flip-side of the coin in Egypt, after yesterday’s anniversary of the protests (along with many reports yesterday that women were in great personal danger as darkness fell on Tahrir Square). This story takes on a personal nature for one prominent member of the U.S. government — Sam LaHood, son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, is the IRI’s director in Egypt, and has explicitly been forbidden to return home. “It’s gotten more serious,” he said. source

25 Jan 2012 14:45

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World: Jan25, one year later: Egypt marks protest movement anniversary

  • Sights and sounds on the ground: Egyptians packed into Tahrir Square today in celebration (with some underlying tension, due to the continued rule of the Military Council) of the anniversary of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak’s reign. That there are complex and treacherous political problems facing the nation going forward is undeniable, but there’s no shame in taking a moment to look back at just how much Egypt has changed in one year. source