More on Egypt

Since I’ve been remiss in my rather limited coverage of the crisis in Egypt, I turn to the brilliant staff of writers at Slate to help me out. They’ve put out a number of great articles that should be required reading for anyone looking to seriously and critically think about the revolution in Egypt and its overall importance:

1. The Explainer details the ways in which Egyptians’ right to free speech is curtailed.
2. Hitchens argues that dictators like Mubarak face overthrow not because of their ruthless control over their citizenry, but because they insult their citizens by holding fake elections and the like. He also reminds us that the lure of the stable dictatorship is illusory and ought to be tossed in the trash.
3. Shmuel Rosner preaches caution, because revolutions are unpredictable and dangerous. Remember Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution, which Rosner points out has crashed and burned.
4. Foreign Policy profiles eight US allies besides Mubarak that embarrass the US.

Also check out this brief NPR interview with Egyptian dissident and Harvard professor, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who discusses US aid to Egypt and how it can use that aid to promote human rights.