Epstein Secrets

administration has also met with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group whose political party is poised to win a major role in the country's new Parliament and remains the biggest political counterweight to the military council. Jacob Walles, a deputy assistant secretary of state, met for the first time

ary council. Jacob Walles, a deputy assistant secretary of state, met for the first time this week with the leaders of the Brotherhood's newly formed Freedom and Justice Party at its new headquarters in Cairo. While American diplomats have had intermittent contacts for years with Brotherhood lawmakers in the Egyptian Parlia

ook the oath of office, the Supreme Court, stacked with holdovers from the Mubarak regime, effectively dissolved the country's first freely elected Parliament. Then the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) amended its own previously issued Constitutional Declaration, giving veto power to the militar

llenges to the disbanding of Parliament, how to select the assembly that will write the new constitution, and even whether the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party can legally exist. (There's old legislation still on the books that forbids the creation of religious-based political parties.) Meanwhile, the gene

r the surrogate mo=her. It's demeaning of the institution of the government that allows thi= kind of ticket touting to govern access to Congress or Parliament or the =upreme Court. It's demeaning of representative government to put access up for auction in this way.<=p> We've seen these long queues where

ay to Egypt's =oor, with the rest benefitting the middle and upper income brackets. Reforming government suppo=t It is true that some of th= ruling Freedom and Justice Party members have spoken on a number of occas=ons about their intentions to reform the system of government support, suggesting a number of mechanisms th

entioned have been former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati, who may have crossover appeal among all principlist wings, and former speaker of the Parliament Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, who will be the most likely candidate to challenge Larijani's speakership if hardliners do well in the election. The politi

hink the king is seen as being particularly enamored with the prospects of Islamists in government," Danin says. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party now controls roughly 45% of parliamentary seats. In Tunisia, recent elections propelled Islamists to the top. Carnegie's Ottaway says it is "inevi

me Court, stacked with holdovers from the Mubarak regime, effectively dissolved the country's first freely elected EFTA_R1_02209742 EFTA02723614 Parliament. Then the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) amended its own previously issued Constitutional Declaration, giving veto power to the militar

lenges to the disbanding of Parliament, how to select the assembly that will write the new constitution, and even whether the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party can legally exist. (There's old legislation still on the books that forbids the creation of religious-based political parties.) Meanwhile, the gen

ting the action plan. Bashar al-Assad, under heavy international pressure to comply with the peace plan, appeared unfazed as he gave a speech to the Parliament on June 3 denying any government responsibility for the killing of civilians and describing the situation as an externally-driven crisis. Diplomats

IPI Middle East Update June 21, 2012 Eno(: Early results from the June 16-17 run-off presidential election indicate that the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party candidate, Mohammed Morsi, is in the lead. The release of official results has been postponed pending review of complaints from the candidates. The

it is not by nature revolutionary." To their credit, the Egyptian generals moved swiftly to put in place a pathway to democracy: elections for a new Parliament were set for September; this Parliament will then oversee the writing of a new Constitution, and then a new civilian president will be elected. Sound

field is already clear. It is characterised by two main orientations, one religious, the other secularist. The Muslim Brotherhood, represented by its Freedom and Justice Party, leads the former camp, which also consists of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, the Egyptian Jihad and the various shades of Salafis. They are likely to win the