U.S. Terror Tag Offers Cairo a Convenient Repression Blanket
The New Arab reports Cairo's embrace of a potential U.S. terror tag on the Muslim Brotherhood. What this 'news' neatly omits is the long, sordid history of US-backed strongmen using 'terrorism' as a blanket excuse to crush internal dissent, regardless of actual threat. Egypt's current regime under Sisi, which violently ousted the democratically-elected Brotherhood government in 2013, has already
jailed tens of thousands, including women and children, under similar pretexts. The U.S. State Department’s own 2022 human rights report on Egypt details widespread repression, arbitrary arrests, and torture. So, Washington's 'terror' designation isn't about objective security; it's a retroactive validation for Cairo's established brutality, granting diplomatic cover for further human rights
abuses. One might wonder if the White House believes this repression will lead to stability, or merely more comfortable dictatorial photo ops. How many 'terrorist' labels does it take to acknowledge a regime is simply crushing its political opposition?