The traditional U.S.-Egypt partnership is in danger of shredding, Ben Wedeman reports from Cairo. The cartoons in a state-run Cairo paper set the tone, a nasty looking Uncle Sam spying on Egypt but wielding the pistol of aid is confronted by an Egyptian cannon. The caption read 'dignity.'

In this land where national pride is a national obsession, the criminal charges brought against 43 staff members at US and European non-governmental organizations, including 19 Americans, threaten to shake the decades-old ties between Egypt and the United States.

Watch Ben's report above.