عمو حسام

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New issue of the Egypt Security Sector Report is out!

Coming up Monday on my Substack

A stunning cover from an Egyptian Armed Forces magazine, September 1978. The 1973 War revived the army’s heroic image and inspired striking military propaganda, often crafted by true believers. Compare that artistic legacy with the sterile propaganda of Sisi’s regime.

Coming up Thursday on my Substack

New issue of Egypt Security Sector Report is out!

On Monday, I'll publish a long read on my Substack tackling the potential rifts within the Sisi regime and the question of his succession.

Samy Ibrahim’s memoir offers a rare view of the engineers behind Egypt’s 1973 Suez crossing. My review explores its mix of military labor, evangelical faith, nationalist mythmaking, and apologetics for Sisi’s regime.

More arms, more business, more repression. My latest Egypt Security Sector Report covers a proposed US Javelin sale, the military’s expanding business empire, prison protests, mounting police killings, and journalists’ torture allegations.

US man shoots off-duty ICE agent who allegedly attacked him and daughter

Coming up Thursday on my Substack

How did Egypt’s 1973 war become a sacred national creed and a justification for military rule? My review of Mustafa Menshawy’s brilliant study.

This issue covers Sisi’s propaganda offensive, arrested fact-checkers, intelligence and judicial family ties, military business expansion, US arms contracts, and Emirati investment, alongside the Regeni verdict, delayed detention reforms, prisoner protests, and deaths in custody.

After the 1967 defeat, Egypt’s press presented new weapons as symbols of military recovery. My latest explores Akher Saa’s fascination with Miniman and Blowpipe, and the gap between weapons hype and reality.

New issue of Egypt Security Sector Report is out.

During the June 1967 War, Israel seized hundreds of Soviet-made tank trophies from the Egyptian and Syrian inventories, primarily T-54s and T-55s. They were quickly absorbed into Israel’s armored forces and put to use against their former operators.

This week’s issue covers Egyptian–Saudi relations, Red Sea shipping, and the military’s growing role in civilian recruitment and healthcare. It also examines business ties to Sisi’s family, police killings, and restrictions on civil and religious rights.

Rare audio from 1970: War Minister Mohamed Fawzi briefs Nasser and Gaddafi on Egypt’s losses in Yemen, the June 1967 War, and the War of Attrition.

It's true though

New issue of the Egypt Security Sector Report is out!

New It Could Happen Here 🇪🇬 Counterrevolution in Egypt @danaelkurd.bsky.social linktr.ee/ICHHpod

The story of the North Korean pilots' squadron of MiG-21s during the October 1973 War

Big shout out to all my extremely normal colleagues who are taking advantage of this Labor Day off from work to send a bunch of fucking work emails

Coming up this Thursday on my Substack

New issue of my weekly Egypt Security Sector Report is out. Subscribe to read.

Simon Dunstan’s Israeli Fortifications of the October War 1973 offers a concise analysis, part of Osprey’s Fortress series, examining a military system that evolved into a political myth and battlefield ruin.

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A new opinion piece by @barracks.substack.com published in @thenewarab.bsky.social linking the rise of far-right government officials to maintaining closer Israeli relations, and vice-versa. www.newarab.com/opinion/colo...

The Stronghold gives Israeli soldiers depth and humanity while reducing Egyptians to faceless attackers. My ARMY ON SCREEN piece examines the film's portrayal of the 1973 surrender at Port Tawfik. Humanity is reserved only for Israelis.

New issue of the weekly Egypt Security Sector Report is now out.

My latest ARMY ON SCREEN series piece looks into Dalia Mostafa's book about Egypt's military in pop culture

On the podcast: Donald Trump’s vision of Fortress America is a violent attempt to resolve what Baldwin called the ‘rich confusion’ of American identity. But there are other possible Americas. @adamshatz.bsky.social explores what they can offer the present moment. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

O Canada

Coming up Thursday on my Substack barracks.substack.com

This week’s issue includes an analysis of Egypt’s absence from the tripartite regional military alliance and reports on transport safety, the growing business empire of the Future of Egypt agency, capital punishment, and the secret military’s VIP jet.

The story of the Saggers, RPG-7s, and the October War tank hunters

An important thing to keep in mind: When drones fly their cameras are on all the time--they're often not just recording what happens when they get to a location, they're recording all the time. Police tech companies know this and are finding ways to use that incidental footage for other purposes.

A new issue of Egypt Security Sector Report is coming up next Monday on my Substack Subscribe: barracks.substack.com

Their job is enforcing paper work violations

Routine in the Desert

This week’s issue includes a profile of Lt. Gen. Kamel el-Wazir and reports on the militarization of education, a new case of suspected police extrajudicial killings, and prison deaths.

New issue of my weekly Egypt Security Sector Report is coming out on Monday Subscribe: barracks.substack.com

Timothy Mitchell, acclaimed author of Carbon Democracy, visited our offices to talk about his latest book, The Alibi of Capital: How We Broke the Earth to Steal the Future on the Promise of a Better Tomorrow. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzKi...

Coming next Thursday: a piece on Abdel Ati, the “Tank Hunter,” the story of the RPG-7 and Sagger missiles, and how Egypt pioneered infantry anti-tank tactics during the October 1973 War. barracks.substack.com

Review of Sinai Field Mission (1978)

On Thursday, I will publish a review of Frederick Wiseman’s 1978 documentary 'Sinai Field Mission' on my Substack barracks.substack.com

so excited for Nada Elia’s Falastiniyyat: A Century of Palestinian Feminisms, out from @versobooks.bsky.social on October 6. writers and reviewers let me know if you’d like an early copy!

Interviewed about my book, on the Counter-Punch Podcast

From Marassi to Bardawil: Who Owns Egypt’s Shores?

Next Thursday, I'm starting a mini-weekly series on my Substack about the Egyptian Army on Screen, discussing the military's appearance in pop culture Subscribe to read: barracks.substack.com

Where was Egypt’s air defense system? Why wasn’t the drone shot down in Damietta? The answer is simple. We have a fragmented, chaotic system that neither synchronizes nor is interoperable.