Al-Jazeera’s rude reception in Cairo probably reflects a perception that has been building since even before Morsi and his political party, the Muslim Brotherhood, won and lost power in Egypt over the past year: that al-Jazeera and its owner, the royal family of the oil-rich Persian Gulf state of Qatar, have been supporters of Morsi and the Brotherhood. With Egypt now deeply divided, those alleged loyalties have cast al-Jazeera into disfavor among Egypt’s anti-Morsi faction.

The news channel Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr saw 22 members of staff resign on Monday in Egypt over what they alleged was coverage that was out of sync with real events in Egypt.

The statement said intellectuals are the soft power that strengthens Egypt in the Arab and international arenas. The draft gives the president the power to appoint a quarter of the members of the Senate from officials, ministers and former ambassadors, but did not mention writers, thinkers and artists and intellectuals, the statement added, who are the nation's conscience and mind.

In this sense, overcoming 9/11 revisionism is, perhaps, the greatest challenge facing American public diplomacy in the coming decade: So long as such conspiracy theories persist, Arabs will continue to view American policies aimed at preventing “another 9/11” as thoroughly illegitimate since, as they see it, 9/11 is just a big American lie.

Egyptian foreign policy tended to maximize the value of Africa and Egyptian concern for strengthening our relationship with all African partners, especially the countries of the Nile Basin, whether through official diplomatic channels or public diplomacy.

That the true intentions of a religious organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, would become the most hotly debated issue surrounding the overthrow of Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, would have garnered guffaws among Western intellectuals only four decades ago.

The end of the Mubarak regime demonstrates the falsity of commonly held stereotypes: Arabs reject democracy, Islam is incompatible with popular sovereignty, the grip of rulers of security states is unshakable.

From former President George Bush's Freedom Strategy to President Barack Obama's Islamic policy, Washington has pursued a dual approach in the turbulent Mideast: supporting military-based alliances with authoritarian regimes; while urging popular agitation for free and fair elections.