Egypt court sentences four gays to prison

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Yahoo News / AFP

Cairo (AFP) - A court in Egypt sentenced four men to up to eight years in prison on Monday for practicing homosexuality, a judicial official said.

Prosecutors had accused the men of holding "deviant parties" and dressing in women's clothes. Three were sentenced to eight years and the fourth to three years in prison.

Prosecutors have used a law banning "debauchery" to try homosexuals in the past.

Those accused of homosexuality are often forced to undergo medical tests to establish they are "habitual" gays, a practice rights groups have decried as abusive.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-court-sentences-four-gays-prison-132607635.html

[Swede Atlanta]

1. How exactly do you "practice" homosexuality?

Either you are sexually attracted to members of the same gender or you aren't. Homosexuality is the state of being - a person with a God-given attraction to members of the same gender.

Homosexual conduct, on the other hand, requires something different but I wouldn't call it "practicing". Most of the gay men I have met don't need to practice their sexuality.

Dressing as a woman is now a crime?

Why do we continue to support these repressive regimes? Cut off all their money and watch them wither on the vine.

[warrant46]

2. Sounds like another Regime to give a few Billion $$$$

Why does the USA ally with such backward Feral Regimes of Morans ?

The world is a changing place Egypt is truly in the 10th century

[AngryDem001]

3. Three words:

Oil, oil and OIL!

[Recursion]

4. Egypt has essentially no oil

It's got less than Vietnam. Even the stuff it does have it can't get at because it's in the Suez gulf and the Saudis get pissy.

[AngryDem001]

5. If no oil,

then why are we (seemingly) such buddy-buddies with them?

[Recursion]

6. Sigh

The foreign policy of the United States, shrill whining aside, is infinitely more complex than "oil". Our relationship with Egypt, in particular, has been fashioned over a very long period of time and very diverse set of circumstances.

The first stage of modern Egypt-US relations was, oddly enough, our using them as a proxy against the UK and France in the Suez war, in an attempt to keep NATO an American-led club (this came back to bite us in the ass during Vietnam).

Then Egypt proved masterful at playing us and the Soviets off one another for money; they essentially took both our dollars and their rubles and completely ignored us. They swung from "buddy" to "enemy" with surprising speed, multiple times.

The next phase involved the post-1973 peace arrangements with Israel; Egypt and Saudi Arabia were the two pillars of our "keep shit quiet over there" strategy; this, however, merges with the Cold War narrative as both Egypt and Israel at that point were still very good at playing us and the Soviets off each other (and there's even some evidence of collusion between them to that end, ironically...)

The 10-cent version of that long period that basically cemented the US-Egyptian relationship was "don't invade Israel and don't become pro-Soviet and we will sign whatever check you want". Egypt was basically a buffer between the pro-Soviet block in southwest Asia (Syria, Iraq) and the sub-Saharan states; essentially the Turkey of Africa.

Since the fall of the Soviets, Egypt has had relatively less to offer us, which may explain their increasing toleration since then of MB splinter groups (which give them something to offer us... see Kipling on Danegeld...)

Since 9/11, the Bush doctrine made it pretty clear that any government that suppresses pan-Islamic political movements is a friend of ours.

[warrant46]

7. A very good analysis of a bunch of the Egyptian 1% who behave like their religious Saudi Brothers

Who gamble in Cannes enjoy Blonde Prostitutes on the French Riviera and wear blue jeans and Drink the Best Scotch in private.

Who keep their harems of dozens of wives from driving.

Just like Scumbag Bandar Bush.

[Recursion]

8. Your point of that was?

I wish things were different in Egypt too.

[warrant46]

9. Egypt dances to the tune

Played by its corrupt Saudi MASTERS

[Recursion]

10. Huh? They closed their embassies with each other last year

It's one of the most strained inter-Arab relationships in the world right now.

[happyslug]

11. Egypt has the largest Arab Army, and borders Israel.

Israel wants the Egyptian Army happy, thus whenever the US threatens to cut support to the Egyptian Army, Israel lobbies Washington to keep them. The Egyptian Army then rips off that aid to their own pockets and every one is happy.

Israel and the US knows that if Saudi Arabia goes into Civil War. Such a Civil War is a good possibility, increasing every year, but so far the sons of King Saud I, died 1952, have managed to prevent such a Civil War, the big question is as that generation dies out, and it is dying out, what will their sons do? In most such situations, it is the third generation that tears a country apart as they fight over control (their fathers, being all brothers, grew up together and thus reluctant to kill each other and thus tends to stop short of any bloodshed, that is NOT true of the third generation, who are slowly moving into positions of power in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).

In such a Civil War, the worse thing Israel or the US can do is send in their own troops. The two holy cities of Islam is in Saudi Arabia and any US or Israeli troops that goes near either city faces the possibility of a full scale holy war. On the other hand, US and Israeli support for an EGYPTIAN ARMY INTERVENTION avoids that whole issue. Given the area of Egypt, you have to have a decent size army to take it over, the only countries with the population to support a decent size army are Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Egypt. Turkey, while Islamic, has a bad reputation from the time of the Ottoman Empire (and really want nothing to do with the rest of the Middle East if it can help it). Iran was possible, when the Shah ran Iran, but since 1979 Iran is NOT an acceptable intervener. Iraq, under Saddam was NOT an acceptable intervener and given that Iraq is slowly becoming a close ally of Iran, it is also not an option for the US or Israel.

Thus, that leaves Egypt, a role it has accepted since the late 1970s when it agreed to a separate peace with Israel, in exchange for massive US support for its own military. This is the main reason we are buddy buddy with the Egyptian Military, it is our main option in case Saudi Arabia goes into Civil War.

Egypt provided the Second largest ARAB army in the First US Gulf War in 1991. Egypt supplied 20,000 men, Saudi Arabia was #1, at 60,000 men, but it sat out the second Gulf war given the level of internal opposition to that war (The US supplied over 600,000 men, yes 2/3rds of the "Coalition" in the first Iraq War were US troops).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_of_the_Gulf_War

While Egypt did not participate in either Gulf War, neither war involved any actual threat to Mecca (Mecca is on the other side of Saudi Arabia). The problem is Mecca, and the possible need for some sort of "Islamic" army to take it if Saudi Arabia breaks down. The Egyptian Army can do that, if supported by the US and Israel.