Foreign Political Interference

During the past few months, prior to the election of the United States president, the mass media was focusing on Russian interference in the American election. The Los Angeles Times reported (1/17/2017) that president Obama slapped Russia for meddling in the United States presidential election. He ordered dozens of Russian diplomats to leave the United States.
            It is of interest to notice that what the Russians have done was not unusual by comparison to what the United States has been doing for many years. The United States has a long history of attempting to influence presidential elections in many countries. According to database amassed by D. Levin of the Carnegie Mellon University, the United States interfered 81 times in the presidential election of foreign countries between 1946 and 2000.
            In my judgment, such political interference by the United States government is still going on. I have witnessed the American interference in the presidential election in Egypt during 2013. The United States was supporting Dr. Mursi who was the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, against General Shafik. According to the Egyptian press, the United State ambassador, A. Peterson, called Shafik and told him he was not the winner. The result of the election was delayed several days. At the end, Mursi was declared as the elected president. Nevertheless, most Egyptians were aware that Shafik was the winner.