A good old fashioned military coup. Corrupt officials leaving with bags of cash, media outlets taken over and tanks rolling in the streets. .................................................................................................................................................................... Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy "is no longer a part of the decision-making circle," the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said Wednesday, citing "a senior official source." "The president is no longer able to make any political decisions now and a decision has been taken to prevent leaders loyal to the current regime from traveling overseas until the General Command of the Armed Forces are finished formulating their expected statement," it added. The announcement came less than two hours after the nation's first democratically elected president offered to form an interim coalition government and as one of his aides and a Muslim Brotherhood spokesman said it appeared that a military coup was under way. An adviser to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said Wednesday that a military coup was underway, that tanks were on the move outside Cairo and that communication with the president had been cut off.
I don't think these protesters are worried about missing work or losing their job. The people in that square seem to only want their country back the way they want it. I say good for them, the people are speaking. to heck with polite society, get down, get dirty and get it done.
Honestly i trust the egyptian military more than i trust the muslim brotherhood. I'd much rather a regular old dictator interested in money and power than a religious fanatic running things over there any day.
Live link- these people are happy. He did win by 51% but it seems he veered from his "platform". I am with you on the brotherhood. That group is trouble. Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com basically same view but: On air — RT
Damn, we could use an ethical media and credible leaders... "Al-Sisi said there would be a code of ethics for the media that would “establish values and ethics for the media to follow.” He also stated that there would be a committee for reconciliation from leaders who are credible." ................................................................................................................................... On Wednesday, Gen. Abdel Fatah Said Al-Sisi announced a military coup in Egypt. He said that the Constitution had been suspended, that early elections would take place, and that there would be a “code of ethics” for the media. He stated that the chief of the Constitutional court would be taking charge during a transitional period before another election. He said the new government would be “diverse and include all the people,” and that the constitution would be revised to reverse changes made by ousted Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi. Al-Sisi said there would be a code of ethics for the media that would “establish values and ethics for the media to follow.” He also stated that there would be a committee for reconciliation from leaders who are credible. The armed forces, he said, call on the great Egyptian people with its various groups to continue to have peaceful protests and end the crisis. He also said that the military warned it would take action against anyone moving beyond peaceful protest.
Pictures from the coup.... the signs say it all. Imagine Egyptians have their eye wide open, while America is focus on the Zimmerman trial. Doug Ross @ Journal: 15 Photos From the Tahrir Square Protests You'll Never See In Legacy Media. #Egypt #Morsi #Obama
I'm torn on this issue. If you are only seeing it through the U.S. media then it is a wonderful thing. A popular uprising of the masses. But I lived in Egypt for four years, I have many friends there and work with many here. I haven't spoken to one yet that had anything positive to say about this. Just this morning I was talking to a guy, he voted against Morsi, hates the Muslim Brotherhood, but he was livid at the "stupid donkeys" that were in the streets protesting. That is pretty much the same sentiment I am hearing from all my Egyptian friends. They see this as a power grab by the remnants of the Mubarak regime, clandestinely orchestrated by the U.S.. The judge who the military put in power was appointed by Mubarak, the military commanders were always loyal to Mubarak, the rich businessmen who own the media outlets are Mubarak supporters. No one would accept Mubarak back in power but his son was being groomed to be his political heir apparent and many think he is waiting in the wings to step in. Or some Mubarak lackey. That is what led to Morsi winning the election in the first place. The Mubarak apparatchik was behind his opposition. So many votes were not one for Morsi but against Mubarak. Soon after his election the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Ann Peterson, was reassigned to Egypt. She is widely speculated to be a C.I.A. operative or asset. She worked in Afghanistan to prop up the U.S. backed puppet regime of Karzai. Many believe that it was her covert actions, backed by the controlled press that began to foment the anti Morsi fervor. Many of the early "protests" were organized by some of the worst of Egyptian society who used them as a smokescreen to rob,rape and murder at will. And indeed in the last uprising there have been dozens robbed and killed. The media has portrayed this mass uprising of millions of people. I have friends in other cities who are saying they saw few protests outside of Cairo and indeed that is the only news coverage we have seen. An estimated 1 million people crammed into Tahrir square. That makes for good TV but put it into perspective. Cairo is one of the most populated cities in the world. It is estimated that there are between 16 and 19 million people who live there and that swells to up to 26 million during the work week as people commute in from outlying areas. So 1 million people? Even if that is accurate, that is still a mere fraction of the population. That is what my friends are upset about. They say that these are "stupid" people who have been manipulated by the press for the last year and whipped up to this frenzy to serve as an excuse for the military to take over. But no matter what is behind it look ahead to the results. A democratically elected president, one who is said to have curtailed the power of the military, put a constraint on the rich businessmen running the country, has without having committed a crime, been removed from power by the military. Now again, remember this summation is coming from people who don't like this guy, who disagree with many of the things he has done. But there is no law to allow him to be forcibly removed from office barring having committed an impeachable offense. Now anyone who follows after has the sure knowledge that if they step out of line they too can be removed as easily. Businesses will be hesitant to invest in Egypt because the political stability can be overturned in an instant. This is setting the stage for the military, up front now but removing their presence to the background later, and the Mubarak era cronies to seize, hold and forever control the "democratic" process in Egypt. There will never be an honestly elected president who does not have to fear the reprisal of the military and his removal if he steps on too many toes. Like I said if you only hear what is being fed to the public by the U.S. media then you would think this is a great thing that has happened. But what I am seeing and hearing from "boots on the ground" there is quite a different story.
All I see that's good about this whole episode is the removal of some of the Muslim Brotherhood from the food chain. The mb will never be eliminated any more than the Taliban or generic jihadists can be eliminated, there will always be remnants coming along to rebuild and carry on more sectarian revenge. That's just the way it has been for a rather long time in the mid East, and will remain for an even longer time. At least that's my pessimistic view.
I‘m inclined to agree with your assessmen, minuteman. The cia prefers to deal with maleable corrupt dictators rather than revolutionaries. .Secular, religious or otherwise. In the turmoil, carpet baggers and criminals just add to thecollective misery that prolonged political instability creates.
Wonderful post MM, I appreciate a POV from people that are living there and not on the outside looking in. While reading your post I thought of our country. Media fed frenzy, people not voting for a person but against another (party). While our current admin may currently be curtailing the military, they are also shoring up the power of rich business/people, thus making the average folks want to take to the streets like a bunch of "donkeys". Since America has such a controlled media it does make me wonder if a certain mindset/party could capture our country. Could a truly honest person be elected President and serve, making the hard choices that could be widely unpopular?
When I came in the office this morning I had a print out left on my desk by one of the Egyptians that works for me. It is a history of the presidents of Egypt and it is quite interesting. There have been 5 president since a military coup in 1952 overthrew the monarchy and deposed King Farouk I. The leaders of the coup formed a Revolutionary Command Council with Muhammad Naguib as president and Jamal Abdel Nasser as his deputy. Of the 5 presidents only one has not been in the military, only one has been democratically elected. (if you don't count the show elections staged by Mubarak during his reign) And only one has not been forcibly removed from office (by assassination in Sadat's case) by the military. Muhammad Nuguib was appointed president by the military council on 18-June 1953. He was one of the leaders and founding members of the Muslim Brotherhood. He and Nasser had deep and heated disagreements on how to govern the country. After an assassination attempt against him by the Muslim Brotherhood, Nasser, backed by other military commanders cracked down on the organization and arrested Muhammad Nuguib and removed him from power. He was to stay under house arrest for the next 18 years. Jamal Abdel Nasser was appointed by the military and sworn in as president in 1956 and ruled until his death from a heart attack in 1970. He is the only president to not be forced from office. Anwar El Sadat was appointed by the military command and sworn in 15-October 1970 and ruled until he was assassinated by fundamentalsit army officers on 6-October 1981 Muhammad Hosni Mubarak was appointed by the military and sworn in in 1981 and ruled until removed and arrested by the military after 18 days of protests during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. On 2-June 2012 a court sentenced him to life in prison. Muhammad Morsi was the first elected president of Egypt, and first civilian to hold office. He ruled from June 2012 until being removed from office by the military and placed under house arrest on 3-July 2013. So it seems that being president of Egypt is not such a great job. And I found it interesting that with the Muslim Brotherhood involvement this is nearly a blow by blow repeat of what happened to the first president. Maybe it is true that history does repeat itself. This goes to show that the military has always ruled Egypt, and always will.
