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عمو حسام

@barracks.substack.com
2.3K followers 37 following 4K posts

In a dictatorship, independent journalism, by default, becomes a form of activism, and the spread of information is essentially an act of agitation. My book: www.versobooks.com/products/3225-co…

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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 10h
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.
barracks.substack.com
A Small, Small World of Missiles
Miniman, Blowpipe and Egypt’s Military Imagination After 1967
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 28/09/2026
New issue of Egypt Security Sector Report is out.
barracks.substack.com
The Surveillance State Gets a Face-Lift
Egypt Security Sector Report
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 24/09/2026
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.
barracks.substack.com
Improvised Armor
Israel's Use of Captured Soviet Tanks
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 21/09/2026
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.
barracks.substack.com
Military Gatekeepers, Presidential Relativesgive
Egypt Security Sector Report
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 17/09/2026
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.
barracks.substack.com
Official Casualty Figures for Yemen, 1967, War of Attrition
Egypt's Fallen
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Terrence Peterson @tgpeterson.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
It's true though
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 14/09/2026
New issue of the Egypt Security Sector Report is out!
barracks.substack.com
Sisi’s Political Wasteland
Egypt Security Sector Report
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Cool Zone Media @coolzonemedia.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
New It Could Happen Here 🇪🇬 Counterrevolution in Egypt @danaelkurd.bsky.social linktr.ee/ICHHpod
New It Could Happen Here 🇪🇬

Counterrevolution in Egypt

@danaelkurd.bsky.social‬ 

https://linktr.ee/ICHHpod
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 10/09/2026
The story of the North Korean pilots' squadron of MiG-21s during the October 1973 War
barracks.substack.com
Kim Il Sung’s Secret Squadron Over Egypt
North Korean Pilots in the October War
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Terrence Peterson @tgpeterson.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
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
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 07/09/2026
Coming up this Thursday on my Substack
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 07/09/2026
New issue of my weekly Egypt Security Sector Report is out. Subscribe to read.
barracks.substack.com
The Mukhabarat Reshuffles Its Media Business
Egypt Security Sector Report
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 06/09/2026
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.
barracks.substack.com
The Rise and Fall of the Bar-Lev Line
A Fortress Built on Fear, Vanity, Misreading
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 31/08/2026
Subscribe to my weekly newsletter on Egyptian politics
barracks.substack.com
The Army’s Privileges on Land, Sea, and Air
Egypt Security Sector Report
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Radwa El Shafei @radwaelshafei.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
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...
newarab.com
From Colombia to Venezuela, Palestine is a global litmus test
Across continents, shifting political power reshapes alliances with Israel and recognition of the Palestinian struggle, writes Hossam el-Hamalawy.
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 27/08/2026
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.
barracks.substack.com
The Stronghold
Surrender at Port Tawfik
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 24/08/2026
New issue of the weekly Egypt Security Sector Report is now out.
barracks.substack.com
How Safe Is Egypt’s Nuclear Ambition?
Egypt Security Sector Report
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 20/08/2026
My latest ARMY ON SCREEN series piece looks into Dalia Mostafa's book about Egypt's military in pop culture
barracks.substack.com
The Egyptian Army Myth-Making
How Cinema Made the Military Intimate
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 19/08/2026
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...
podcasts.apple.com
Adam Shatz: Visions of America
Podcast Episode · The LRB Podcast · 19 August · 56min
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 18/08/2026
O Canada
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 17/08/2026
Coming up Thursday on my Substack barracks.substack.com
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 17/08/2026
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.
barracks.substack.com
Strategic Weightlessness
Egypt Security Sector Report
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 13/08/2026
The story of the Saggers, RPG-7s, and the October War tank hunters
barracks.substack.com
The Farmer Behind the Tank Hunter
A Conscript, a Village, the Making of a War Hero
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Matthew Guariglia @mguariglia.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
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.
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 12/08/2026
A new issue of Egypt Security Sector Report is coming up next Monday on my Substack Subscribe: barracks.substack.com
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Adam Miller @ajm6792.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Their job is enforcing paper work violations
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 11/08/2026
Routine in the Desert
barracks.substack.com
Routine in the Desert
Review of Sinai Field Mission (1978)
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 10/08/2026
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.
barracks.substack.com
Transport General Presides Over Debt and Disaster
Egypt Security Sector Report
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 08/08/2026
New issue of my weekly Egypt Security Sector Report is coming out on Monday Subscribe: barracks.substack.com
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Verso Books @versobooks.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
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...
youtube.com
Timothy Mitchell presents The Alibi of Capital
YouTube video by Verso Books
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 06/08/2026
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
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 06/08/2026
Review of Sinai Field Mission (1978)
barracks.substack.com
Routine in the Desert
Review of Sinai Field Mission (1978)
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 04/08/2026
On Thursday, I will publish a review of Frederick Wiseman’s 1978 documentary 'Sinai Field Mission' on my Substack barracks.substack.com
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eva lucía @evalucia.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
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!
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 03/08/2026
Interviewed about my book, on the Counter-Punch Podcast
open.substack.com
Counter-Revolution in Egypt w/ Hossam el-Hamalawy
A discussion with Egyptian journalist and author Hossam el-Hamalawy about his new book "Counter-Revolution in Egypt: Sis's New Republic."
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 03/08/2026
From Marassi to Bardawil: Who Owns Egypt’s Shores?
open.substack.com
From Marassi to Bardawil: Who Owns Egypt’s Shores?
Egypt Security Sector Report
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 30/07/2026
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
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 30/07/2026
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.
barracks.substack.com
Fragmented Skies
Egypt Security Sector Report
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 30/07/2026
When the Khedive Decorated Egypt’s Invaders
open.substack.com
When the Khedive Decorated Egypt’s Invaders
A Bronze Star With a Very Dark Story
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Laleh Khalili @lalehkhalili.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Matt Kaminsky channels the collective fantasy in his photo.
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 29/07/2026
New issue of the Egypt Security Sectot Report coming out Monday
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 28/07/2026
This coming Thursday I'll be concluding my weekly mini-series on the history of the Egyptian army in colonial Sudan barracks.substack.com/t/egyptian-a...
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 28/07/2026
I bought a medal struck by Khedive Tawfiq to honor the foreign troops who crushed the ʿUrabi revolt, bombarded Alexandria, and inaugurated the occupation. A small, handsome artifact of collaboration, and a state narrative cast in bronze. New post Thursday. Subscribe to read! barracks.substack.com
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 02/05/2026
Subscribe to my weekly newsletter on Egyptian politics and military history
barracks.substack.com
State & Barracks | Hossam el-Hamalawy | Substack
The nexus of military, money, and the state in Egypt. Click to read State & Barracks, by Hossam el-Hamalawy, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
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Fathel @fath0039.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
My review of Genocide in Libya open.substack.com/pub/fathel/p...
open.substack.com
Review of Genocide in Libya: Shar, A Hidden Colonial History by Ali Abdullatif Ahmida (Routledge)
In Genocide in Libya through decades of oral history and archival research, Ali Abdullaftif Ahmida traces the history of the Shar (evil in Arabic).
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 28/07/2026
An Uncomplicated Man
lrb.co.uk
Emily Wilson · An Uncomplicated Man
As they say at the awards shows, I was humbled to learn that Christopher Nolan has read at least the first line of my...
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Laleh Khalili @lalehkhalili.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Shipments of oil from Yanbu (on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Coast) since March.
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Verso Books @versobooks.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Our entire World History Series is part of our Summer Reading Sale - all up to 50% off
versobooks.com
Verso World History Series
We're proud to present the Verso World History Series, which offers beautiful new editions of classic texts on world history, including our latest: The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World. [book...
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 27/07/2026
This week’s issue includes reports on the fallout from the regional war on Egypt’s economy, the military’s business empire, arms imports, the militarization of education, and police crackdowns on dissent.
open.substack.com
Army Economic Expansion Continues Unabated
Egypt Security Sector Report
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عمو حسام @barracks.substack.com · 26/07/2026
20 January 2011, five days before the outbreak of the Egyptian uprising: Time Magazine: After Tunisia: Why Egypt Isn't Ready to Have Its Own Revolution
time.com
After Tunisia: Why Egypt Isn't Ready to Have Its Own Revolution
Many Arabs across the Middle East are looking to events in Tunisia for inspiration. It is the first of the region's dictatorships to fall at...
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