July 14, 2012

Egypt Can and Will Complete its Revolution

The challenge for Egyptian society is to reconcile these genuine feelings and legitimate aspirations with the post-revolutionary realities on the ground and, more broadly, in the global economy. This requires four conditions to be met: a better all-around understanding of Egypt’s transition and the historic pivots facing the country; a clearer vision of the country’s medium-term economic destination; immediate steps to restore the country’s growth and employment engines, and to stabilize its finances; and steady progress in the multi-year efforts to establish strong, more transparent and highly accountable institutions.

The Tahrir Forum
Democracy is Inevitable
Jimmy Carter

Events over the last year or more have been a credit to the people of Egypt. You have been able to overcome enormous obstacles. Developments have been sometimes uncertain, sometimes positive, sometimes negative, but there has been progress. If Egyptians are successful in their democratic transition, not only will you correct the problems that have existed in this country, but you’ll set an example for other countries, Arab and non-Arab, that are moving from dictatorship or totalitarianism to freedom and democracy.

The Tahrir Forum
We Must Dream
Ahmed Zewail

When people in the Middle East ultimately gain their freedom, the world will be better off. Some scholars argue that the world is destined always to be embroiled in conflicts and wars. But this bleak picture is surely not the result of a natural phenomenon. We the people cause such conflicts, and we the people can either kindle the fire or help to extinguish it.

Essay
Quest for Water
Farouk El-Baz

The Middle East is among the driest areas on Earth. Actually, it has plenty of water but much of it lies underground and unexplored. Go vernments in the region must undertake serious efforts to map ground water basins and aquifers and develop regulations for their use.

Q&A
The Cairo Review Interview: To Mars and Beyond
Cairo Review

Charles Elachi, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, leads an institution long in the forefront of man’s exploration of the universe. He speaks with Managing Editor Scott MacLeod about his upcoming search for life on Mars, the future of the U.S. space program, the need for investment in Middle East education, and what happens when a space explorer and an actor from Star Trek have dinner together.