FREEDOM ON THE MARCH

Ben Johnson in David Horowitz's FrontPage Magazine, 2/28/05:

...a sea-change is taking place in the Arab world: democracy is becoming reality for the first time in history – and all this progress came about because of the determination of President George W. Bush and over the most vicious objections of the American Left.
 
The most recent dividends of the Bush Doctrine became evident on Saturday, when Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak demanded the 1971 (socialist) constitution be amended to allow multiparty elections for the first time....

AP today:

Egyptian Opposition Leader Charged With Forgery, Ordered to Stand Trial

The only man who has dared to challenge Hosni Mubarak for the presidency was charged Tuesday with forging signatures to win approval for his party - an escalation in the government's confrontation with the most prominent figure in Egypt's fledgling reform movement.

...Prosecutors accused Nour of forging signatures required for the registration application of his Al-Ghad - or "Tomorrow" - party. The 40-year-old politician denies the charges, saying they are an attempt to wreck him politically.

...If he is convicted, Nour would lose his right to run for office and could face a prison term of up to 15 years - though the right would be restored if he successfully appealed any guilty verdict. No date for a trial has been set, and the process of trials and appeals could take years....