Al-Ahram is "independent" and Dahlan is virtuous

""We have a very weak opposition. We don't have a civil society. The police are very powerful," said Fahmy Howeidy, a columnist for Ahram, an independent newspaper. "In Iran, at least there are real elections. We've never had any real elections here in 50 years. Our society has been weakened. We have not allowed political groups to grow."" How can I trust foreign correspondents of mainstream American newspapers? How can you rely on dispatches from somebody covering the Middle East (like Sudarsan Raghavan) and who refers to Al-Ahram as "independent newspaper." That reference in itself should get the writer a failing grade. But what about the foreign editor? Why would they not catch such a basic error?