"Arab Autumn": As Egypt Goes, So Does the Revolution?

[MegalosSkylaki]

Damned in Paradise? Islamicism and the Arab Brotherhood? Or, the return of Mubarik's last lieutenant? The return of Military rule to impliment it?

Today Friday, in anticipation of this weekend's Elections, the High Court abolished the Parliament controled by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Who would be behind a rigged election returning the Military and Mubarik's last Prime Minister to power?

America and the CiA? Isreal and Mossad? France and the Deuzieme Bureau....MI-5 ? All of the foregoing with interest in not allowing an Islamicist State to form in the biggest and arguably the most import of the Arab Spring states?

Does the Egyptian military really need all the support when the stakes are so high and the imposing of Moslim Law is in the offing?

SEE>>>msnbc.com Video Player

Which brings us back to the naive notion that overthrowing a despotic government means a "democratic" Gov't is the blessing of Liberty, when history has shown that "democratic" Gov'ts are often another ruse for a populist and despotic regime--sometimes worse than what it replaced.

Remember how the "Protector" Oliver Cromwell "saved" Parliament from the despotism of Catholic King Charles--only to impose a Protestant dictatorship that was even more despotic.

Read Robert Kaplan about how a "hybrid" Government in most of the World is more desireable that could develop the economy and political infrastructure to the point where something vauguely resembling a mixed Gov't--with little illusion of a multi-party State.

In the meantime, watch whether Egypt--or just as likely, the surrounding Great Powers--decide which form of Tyranny its people will "enjoy".

MegalosSkylaki

[pickel]

Damned in Paradise? Islamicism and the Arab Brotherhood? Or, the return of Mubarik's last lieutenant? The return of Military rule to impliment it?

Today Friday, in anticipation of this weekend's Elections, the High Court abolished the Parliament controled by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Who would be behind a rigged election returning the Military and Mubarik's last Prime Minister to power?

America and the CiA? Isreal and Mossad? France and the Deuzieme Bureau....MI-5 ? All of the foregoing with interest in not allowing an Islamicist State to form in the biggest and arguably the most import of the Arab Spring states?

Does the Egyptian military really need all the support when the stakes are so high and the imposing of Moslim Law is in the offing?

SEE>>>msnbc.com Video Player

Which brings us back to the naive notion that overthrowing a despotic government means a "democratic" Gov't is the blessing of Liberty, when history has shown that "democratic" Gov'ts are often another ruse for a populist and despotic regime--sometimes worse than what it replaced.

Remember how the "Protector" Oliver Cromwell "saved" Parliament from the despotism of Catholic King Charles--only to impose a Protestant dictatorship that was even more despotic.

Read Robert Kaplan about how a "hybrid" Government in most of the World is more desireable that could develop the economy and political infrastructure to the point where something vauguely resembling a mixed Gov't--with little illusion of a multi-party State.

In the meantime, watch whether Egypt--or just as likely, the surrounding Great Powers--decide which form of Tyranny its people will "enjoy".

MegalosSkylaki

And , you, do not see the same thing happening here, in the USA

[MegalosSkylaki]

See what is happening?

[MegalosSkylaki]

(Reuters) - Egyptians choosing their president freely for the first time faced a daunting choice between a former general from the old guard and an Islamist who says he is running for God, leaving many voters perplexed and fearful of the future

"Egypt writes the closing chapter of the Arab Spring," read a headline on Sunday in independent newspaper al-Watan, which said the election offers a "choice between a military man who aborted the revolution and a Muslim Brother who wasted it."

"DEEP STATE"[a reference to the persistence of the Mubarak regime in Egyptian society after forty years of power and Western support]

In 60 years since army officers toppled the colonial-era monarchy, Egypt's armed forces have built up massive wealth and commercial interests across industries, helped since the 1970s by a close U.S. alliance which followed the decision of the most populous Arab state to make peace with Israel.

Commonly referred to as the "deep state", it is these shadowy structures, currently overseen in public by the ad hoc Supreme Council of the Armed Forces under Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, which many Egyptians see maintaining influence long after the promised handover to an elected civilian by July 1.

"There is no doubt that the state in all its institutions - judicial, military, interior, foreign and financial - back Shafik[a Mubarak protege ? as he was his last Prime Minister?] for president and are working to that end," said Hassan Nafaa, a politics professor who campaigned against Mubarak.

"It is very difficult to eradicate this spirit of Mubarak."

Only if liberals swallowed their qualms and voted for Morsy[the Islamic Moslim Brotherhood candidate] to prevent Shafik winning, Nafaa said, "only then may the 'deep state' back down - but I doubt this will happen."

Washington, paymaster of the Egyptian military, and the European Union, a major aid donor, both expressed alarm at the move against parliament and urged the generals to honour their pledge to stand aside. But, like neighbouring Israel, both are also uneasy at the rise of the Brotherhood and have looked on anxiously as Islamists have closed in on power in other new democracies of the Arab Spring, notably in Tunisia and Libya.

From>>>
Anxiety as Egypt's presidency vote nears end | Reuters

[MegalosSkylaki]

Egypt's ruling military council has vowed to hand over power to an elected president by the end of June. [As we will see, this is a meaningless gesture...---Ed de DOOG]

The promise comes as votes are counted after Sunday's presidential run-off election, with both candidates claiming they are ahead in early results.
However, the council had earlier issued a declaration granting itself sweeping powers over legislation and the introduction of a new constitution.

Opposition groups condemned the declaration as a "coup".[Emphasis suplied]

Lt Muhammad al-Assar from the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (Scaf) told a news conference that a ceremony would be held in late June to hand over power to the new president, state media report.

However, the constitutional declaration issued by the Scaf late on Sunday effectively gives it legislative powers, control over the budget and over who writes the permanent constitution following mass street protests that toppled Mr Mubarak in February 2011.

It also strips the president of any authority over the army.


Continue reading the main story

from BBC News - Egypt's army vows to hand power to elected president

Egypt has no history that would predispose it to a multiparty democracy and as evil as it sounds the de facto Military junta may be the only viable steping stone forward to a mixed State, one that can resolve vastly conflicting interests. In fact, it may have no choice anyway as the great powers and regional powers may have already intervened to bring about this outcome of military rule, something the West has been used to for four decades.

Analysis
Yolande Knell BBC News, Cairo
________________________________________
Despite the celebrations by Muslim Brotherhood supporters at the Mursi campaign headquarters and in Tahrir Square that started in the early hours, this was not a clear victory.
Just as polls closed, the ruling generals issued a new constitutional declaration that will keep their hands on the reins of power and restrict the role of the new president.
The military made themselves Egypt's lawmakers after parliament was dissolved last week. They have control over the national budget and heavy influence over who writes the new permanent constitution.
At a lengthy news conference on Monday to give more details, armed forces spokesmen insisted that their legislative power would be "restricted". Major General Mohamed al-Assar said a ceremony would take place at the end of the month to hand over to the new president.
If Mr Mursi is confirmed in that role, a power struggle between the Brotherhood and the military - two of Egypt's strongest forces - could ensue.
The Scaf have even guaranteed themselves jobs for life, the BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo reports.

-From the NEW YORK TIMES---------------------------------------------------

Egyptians celebrated what they believed was a victory for Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood on Monday in Cairo. More Photos »
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: June 18, 2012

CAIRO — Egyptian news organizations declared Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood the winner of the country’s first competitive presidential race on Monday just hours after the ruling military council issued an interim constitution granting itself broad power over the future government, all but eliminating the president’s authority in an apparent effort to guard against just such a victory.

FROM>>> https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/w...pagewanted=all

Brotherhood supporters called the apparent victory by the Islamist candidate, Mr. Morsi, a rebuke to the military’s power grab.

The military’s new charter is the latest in a series of swift steps that the generals have taken to tighten their grasp on power just at the moment when they had promised to hand over to elected civilians the authority that they assumed on the ouster of Hosni Mubarak last year. Their charter gives them control of all laws and the national budget, immunity from any oversight and the power to veto a declaration of war.

After dissolving the Brotherhood-led Parliament elected four months ago, and locking out its lawmakers, the generals on Sunday night also seized control of the process of writing a permanent constitution. State news media reported that the generals had picked a 100-member panel to draft it.

“The new constitutional declaration completed Egypt’s official transformation into a military dictatorship,” Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, wrote in an online commentary. Under the military’s charter, the president appeared to be reduced to a powerless figurehead.[Emphasis supplied.]

Though final results were not available, Brotherhood supporters called the apparent victory by the Islamist candidate, Mr. Morsi, a rebuke to the military’s power grab. “Down, down with military rule!” a crowd at Mr. Morsi’s campaign headquarters chanted as he prepared to give a victory speech shortly after 4 a.m. Monday.

Mr. Morsi thanked God, who, he said, “guided Egypt to this straight path, the path of freedom and democracy.” He pledged to represent all Egyptians, including those who had voted against him. And he made a special profession of support for the rights of members of Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority, many of whom had rallied against him out of fear of the Brotherhood.

Other Brotherhood leaders had already begun escalating their defiance of the generals in meetings and statements Sunday night.

After meeting with Gen. Sami Hafez Enan of the military council, the Brotherhood-affiliated speaker of the Parliament, Saad el-Katatni, declared that the military had no authority to dissolve the Parliament or write a constitution. He said a separate 100-member panel picked by the Parliament would begin meeting within hours to write its own constitution, raising the prospect of competing assemblies.

And Saad El Hussainy, the leader of the Brotherhood’s parliamentary bloc, said the group’s lawmakers would show up at the Parliament as scheduled on Tuesday morning. The generals had stationed military and riot police officers to keep the lawmakers out, potentially setting the stage for new clashes in the streets.
The military’s moves were “a new episode of a complete military coup against the revolution and the popular will,” Mohamed El Beltagy, a leading Brotherhood lawmaker, said in a statement online.

Looks like the Egyptian saga is far from over and the much vaunted Arab Spring in Egypt has only resulted in a Military State which receives its 1.7 (?) Bn budget from the United States. There are other interests as well in maintaining such a government in Egypt. One wonders how Russia will react and what it wants in return to avoid agitating the situation.

MegalosSkylaki

[MegalosSkylaki]

Egypt's Hosni Mubarak reportedly clinging to life in military hospital

[SEE MSNBC FOR TOOB ABOUT mUBARIK CLINGING TO LIVE AND CONFLICTING REPORTS OF DEATH]

Amid reports that Hosni Mubarak is clinically dead, the Muslim Brotherhood thinks it won the Egypt elections and now wants full power. But the campaign of Ahmed Shafiq, ousted President Mubarak's old prime minister, said he really won the elections. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

By NBC News and news services

Egypt’s state news agency said former President Hosni Mubarak is "clinically dead" after multiple strokes, but a lawyer for Mubarak told NBC News early Wednesday that the ousted leader was clinging to life.


Mubarak, 84, had reportedly suffered multiple strokes and heart failure and had been moved late Tuesday to a military hospital from the prison hospital where he was being treated. He was reported to be on life support.

His health has been deteriorating since 3 p.m. (9 a.m. ET), his lawyers told NBC. He suffered two or three strokes and his heart had to be restarted with a defibrillator, they said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Video on Hayat TV showed an ambulance taking Mubarak to Maadi military hospital, the same one where his predecessor Anwar Sadat was declared dead more than 30 years ago after being gunned down by Islamic militants.

<<< Egypt's Hosni Mubarak reportedly clinging to life in military hospital - World News >>>

The end results of the much vaunted ARAB SPRING --at least in Egypt where it most famously acted out--was an Election Final between a Mubarik protege and PM, Shafik, on one side and an Islamicist, Moslim Brotherhood candidate Mr.Mursi on the other. Meanwhile the Army stripped the Islamicist-majority Parliament of it legislative powers (huh?) just before the last days of the Election and has all but declared itself the Government.

While the US and UK pay lip-service in oposition, quite frankly I can't see any enthusiam in installing Mursi and the Moslim Brotherhood in power in strategic Egypt and since it pays the bills for the Egyptian Military, despite what it says, it would not be unduly cynical to suppose that it secretly supports the Military coup d'etat.

References to the 'Deep State' are to the persistance of the four-decade Mubarik regime in Egypt and now it seems it literally will not die.

MegalosSkylaki

[MegalosSkylaki]

PS. One version of the Mubarik saga is that his "near death" experience is just a sham so that the Military can wisk him out of prison, regroup with him, and ultimately wisk him out of the Country...maybe to a Swiss or French hospital.

France has no extradiction treaties.

[tony_j15]

On another note, the US has no interest in seeing a democratically elected Egypt. That would be a big unknown "x" and could harm the region and Israel.
So covertly (not really), we are continuing selling arms to Egypt's military. The implications of this should be obvious.

[MegalosSkylaki]

Well, an Islamacist has won the Election, over a former Military officer and Mubarik ally.

However, what he's won is not quite clear at this point, beyond the title of President.

While the Western powers may "welcome" the outcome of a "democratic election", what is being done surriptitiously is anyone's guess.

Perhaps a "crowded democracy" in the long run is the best outcome with the Islamicists and the Military sharing real power.

MegalosSkylaki

[Chuckiechan]

Well, let me add that even though a Islamic Brotherhood won, there is more to the story.

If the military candidate would have won, it would be view as "new boss same as the old boss"... with the IB dude, he is the winner of a fractured country, and is going to have to moderate to come to grips with the job of governing a country that is far from unified behind the IB.

So in short, the IB winner is going to have to mellow his rhetoric and face a country with no jobs, tourism gone missing, tax base disintegrated, and young people still demeaning freedom. They aren't demanding stricter Shirra laws.

And lastly, the USA can and should (?) demand than the Israeli and Egypt peace accords be honored. This is not a leap. They are so FUBAR right now, the last thing Egypt needs is for the USA to cut their paycheck.