The initial joy felt by the Egyptian people last year when they cast off the rule of strongman Hosni Mubarak has been replaced by a painful disillusionment. Egypt now appears to be caught between Islamic radicals and oppressive military leaders.
The Muslim Brotherhood and some even more extreme groups won recent elections, which does not bode well for prospects for individual liberty in Egypt.
But at the same time, the powerful Egyptian military continues to exert a great deal of control.
Left in the crossfire are those Egyptians who had hoped for a democratic nation dominated by neither Islamic extremism nor military oppression.
One recent sign of Egypt’s woes was the storming of the offices of nearly a dozen human rights and pro-democracy organizations in that country. Staff members were arrested, and their computers, cell phones and documents were seized by security forces.