This is one hell of an info packed post. I would very much appreciate the gift of your time to read as I gifted my time to research and write. Thank-You in advance :)When I began working on this post, news out of Egypt had just started hitting the media. What was clear from those earliest reports is that this had been a brutal operation. Starting at dawn, protest camps fogged heavily with tear gas. Bulldozers, helicopters, snipers and live fire were all immediately reportedEarliest casualty counts had approximately 40 dead. That seemed to low for some of the imagery shown and the crowded conditions at the camp. Here are a couple of early reports I had book marked this a.m though the coverage has likely changed and been updated since my initial reads. On Monday I mentioned or rehashed the previous mentions regarding the two conditions that would push Egypt further into destabilization and all that entails. Egyptian Military Kills its own while collaborating with Israel & NATO ??? The destabilization began with the coup. The two newest worrisome developments were the appointment of a new Ambassador. The other was the crack down by the Egyptian military on the protest camps.Well the crack down took place and it was quite an abuse of military power.*Early reports immediately after the crackdown -43 dead though the number increased through out the day*Latest reports 278 dead. A state of emergency, curfew and El Baradei resigns-Should we as civilized individuals or sentient beings condone the military using live fire to break up a protest encampment, anywhere, ever? -Is this an appropriate response by the military of a nation to what were largely reported to be peaceful protest encampments?Also and this is important: Before today's crack-down had even been completed...... Appointment of 19 Generals as Provincial Governors Raises Fears in Egypt
" Egypt’s new military-appointed government on Tuesday named a roster of generals as provincial governors Of the 25 provincial governors named, 19 are generals: 17 from the military and 2 from the police"
The western media had informed us after psy-op coup # 2 it was "Game Over" (Not by a long shot) and this was about the restoration of democracy. (Egyptian military had the laser light, firework show ready to go) I wasn’t a recent coup supporter. Certainly not because I am a fan of the Muslim Brotherhood. Nor am I a supporter of religious extremism in any way shape or form. That includes the Islamic, Judaic and Christian forms of extremism. In fact, I don’t support organized religion. Period. It’s all mind control in my book. I simply could not support the coup because it looked to me to be a step in a very bad direction. Not a correction. Certainly not anything that could be touted as restoring democracy. And definitely not something done for the benefit of the populace of Egypt. Just a step towards destruction & death.Some people understood where I was coming from. Others, not so much.Immediately after the psyop coup you may recall my comment “cue the civil war”. That is how I interpreted that event. An inevitable push towards chaos. The whole meme for the coup was ‘well democracy just can’t work for those people” I made reference to “white mans burden” and other of the usual western drivel. The Egyptians are quite capable of running their own country. As are the Syrians. As were the Libyans. The biggest problem for these nations is all the meddling of other self appointed imperious jack asses and the sycophants within the targeted nation states. Who are usually compromised in some way... but even so they are compromised by said imperious jack asses. Power corrupts and often corrupts what it touches, too.The coup was presented as the only option. A false paradigm for a contrived dilemma. There is always more then one way. Often there are hundreds of option. Limited only by a failure of imagination. More of that False Paradigm: People will pay if army fails challenge of political Islam Either military theocratic tyranny or run of the mill theocratic tyranny. And dammit you will believe the media when they tell you that nothing lies between those two extremes.This story forms the basis for the post of the day. I will highlight important points and include additional links
THE forces of political Islam - expounding an ideology to transform Muslim societies along a variety of Islamic lines, depending on one's interpretation of the Islamic faith - have been dealt a serious blow in Egypt and, as a consequence, in the region. Yet, unless the new rulers of Egypt come up with a viable alternative ideology of nation-building, political Islamism will continue to be a critical variable in shaping Egyptian and regional politics in the years to come.The Egyptian military has begun a process of systematically weakening the Muslim Brotherhood, which was the publicly sanctioned ruling party until the overthrow of president Mohammed Morsi last month. Not only Morsi and many of his cabinet colleagues, but also most of the Brotherhood leaders are now in detention. They all face charges of sedition and inciting violence in one form or another.
*The imprisoning of Morsi and company was intended asinflammatory act.
The aim seems to be to ensure that the Brotherhood and its political wing, the Justice and Freedom Party - which won a parliamentary and a presidential election, respectively, last year - will no longer be in a position to achieve electoral triumph.
*Or make them martyr figures?
In this, the military has had the support of not only the old authoritarian structures, created under former Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak, but also many pro-democracy and liberalist forces who have acted as the custodians of the February 2011 pro-democracy revolution. They include the ex-chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, and former foreign minister Amr Musa.
*Odd bedfellows, the February 11 movement and the old authoritarian structures ie the military
Meanwhile, most conservative oil-rich Arab monarchies, led by Saudi Arabia, have been quick to back Egypt's military-installed government under Adly Mahmoud Mansour, with $12 billion of financial aid. They have shared the Syrian regime's congratulatory message to the new rulers, despite vehement opposition to that regime.
*If the US approves, the Saudi Arabia does also
As for the major powers, the US, which has a close relationship with the Egyptian military (the main beneficiary of its $1.3bn annual aid to Egypt), has called for the release of Morsi and his colleagues, but has refused to brand the military takeover as a coup and therefore cut off aid to Egypt.
*The US does not brand this a coup, because it wasn’t. The military. The real authority of Egypt still retains power. Therefore there is no impetus to brand this anything at all. Other then just another movement on the chess board.
This is all too familiar to the Brotherhood and political Islamists throughout the Arab world, where they are now once again subjected to wider crackdowns. Mubarak's toppling opened the way virtually by default for the Brotherhood to gain electoral victory, inspiring other Arab political Islamists to become more assertive.
*Ah, but wait a minute. If the Brotherhood is ‘once again subjected to crackdown’ this can only mean the brotherhood will have to fight back
The Brotherhood cannot be absolved of responsibility for the sad situation in which it and many other Arab political Islamists now find themselves. Morsi and his Brotherhood supporters, now locked in a bloody power struggle with the military and its civilian backers, proved to be too ideological and less inclusive. They appeared to forget that the revolution against Mubarak had been led by pro-democracy elements, not the Brotherhood, which entered the fray only when it became clear that the days of the old regime were numbered.
*Yes, the brotherhood stepped in to win an election that was rigged on their behalf.
They also could not see that most of their electoral support came from the vast impoverished social and economic strata of the Egyptian society, who expected urgent improvements in their living conditions. Nor could they comprehend that the Arab ruling elites had little or no appetite for tolerating a kind of political Islamism that could challenge their political legitimacy. Instead of recognising the changing conditions with a sound plan to address the pressing issues at hand in an inclusive and reformist manner, Morsi and his cohorts showed a closed mentality in pursuit of power.
*The Arab ruling elites, tolerance and challenging their political legitimicy had zero to do with this removal of Morsi and co. SA, Qatar, and the like have no problem whatsoever with the MB’s in Egypt. They are cut from the same cloth. What kind of Islamism were the MB promoting that was a challenge in any way to the despots in SA, Qatar, UAE etc?
Concurrently, Morsi and the Brotherhood leaders remained confident of the military's backing.
*Of course MB and friends remained confident. The US and company had guaranteed their win. Why would they doubt the military backing?
Upon assuming his position as Egypt's first democratically elected president, little more than a year ago, Morsi moved fast to exert his authority over the military. He appointed a relatively unknown but religiously pious General Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi as Defence Minister. Sisi, who has a masters degree from the US Army War College, had scored a meteoric rise since 2008. He had gained a reputation as the effective Army Commander of Alexandria and as one defending the military's practice of female virginity testing during the Egyptian revolution. He rapidly replaced a number of ranking officers to shore up his position, and earned the Brotherhood's trust. However, what Morsi and his colleagues could not discern was that Sisi may have also had political ambitions.
Sisi as Defence Minister? A man who has a masters degree from the US Army College and scored a meteoric rise since 08. Before Morsi and while Mubarek was in? What kind of meteoric rise? Did Morsi appoint this man, really. As if it was his choice to make? Not bloody likely!Did he put a local seal of approval on the man who appears to be chosen by the US. More sensibly.Why would the February 11 movement, the pro-democracy movement. The movement that created the show for ousting Mubarek, throw their support behind this religious military crack pot? The answer seems to me that the Feb 11 movement is backed by the same crowd as el Sisi is
The Brotherhood's failure on different fronts caused growing public agitations, spearheaded largely by the very elements that led the February 2011 revolution. This finally provided a unique opportunity for Sisi to side with the protesters, and topple Morsi's government. He instituted a civilian government, with him as the Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister - all in the name of the people and the need for effective democratic transition. He called on the Brotherhood's opponents to come out on the streets to give him public legitimacy to crush the Islamists' resistance.The general has now arguably become as polarising a figure as Morsi, setting Egyptians against Egyptians and imperiling the country's transition to a democratic set-up. He has indeed come up with his own brand of democratisation, based on a military-centred politics of polarisation of the public, which carries the risk of a widespread bloody confrontation.As such, the scene is set for Egypt's long-term structural instability and insecurity, unless the military changes course to open the way for the growth of political pluralism and inclusiveness, and national unity.
Order from chaos. This is the exact contention I made way back in July, immediately following the second coup psyop. And one final news article. Regarding Egypts army and where it's loyalties lie.Egypt's Military State Within a State- excerpts belowI have stated on numerous occasions Egypts military is not like the military in Syria.It is more akin to the Turkish military.
The generals also preside over 16 enormous factories that turn out not just weapons, but an array of domestic products from dishwashers to heaters, clothing, doors, stationary pharmaceutical products, and microscopes. Most of these products are sold to military personnel through discount military stores, but large amount are also sold commercially.The military also builds highways, housing developments, hotels, power lines, sewers, bridges, schools, telephone exchanges, often in murky arrangements with civilian companies.
The military are also Egypt's largest farmers, running a vast network of dairy farms, milk processing facilities, cattle feed lots, poultry farms, fish farms. They've plenty left from their huge output to sell to civilians through a sprawling distribution network.
The justification for all this non-military activity is that the military are just naturally more efficient that civilians. Hard not to be "more efficient" when you are able to employ thousands of poorly paid military recruits for labor.
Many civilian businessmen complain that competing with the military is like trying to compete with the Mafia.
Whatever the number, Robert Springborg, who has written extensively on Egypt, says officers in the Egyptian military are making "billions and billions and billions" of dollars.But there's no way to know how efficient or inefficient the military are, nor how much money their vast enterprises make, nor how many millions or billions get skimmed off since the military's operations are off the nation's books. No real published accountings. No oversight. Even Mohammed Morsi was obliged to agree to the military's demand that there be no civilian oversight of the military budget.
So, don't tell me that Morsi ran Egypt. He was the figure head as long as the military allowed it.The only way the Egyptian military can turn this situation around is if the conscripts rise up and turn on the generals and the corrupt system with the support of ALL Egyptians. All Egyptians. Islamic, Christian or whatever.