Military Gives Morsi 48 Hours

In the wake of enormous protests, Egypt’s military has given President Mohamed Morsi 48 hours to resolve the crisis threatening his government or they will take over and appoint a temporary government.  Protesters are cheering the military’s action.

It’s unlikely Morsi can meet this deadline, so he seems about to go the way of Hosni Mubarak.  Ten of his cabinet ministers have resigned.

Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood have provided a whole lot more Islam to the country, but they haven’t provided jobs or improved the dire plight of Egypt’s poor, many of whom voted for him and now have turned against him.

It looks as if a more secular government will follow.

It’s interesting how Egyptians are turning against the U. S. and President Obama for supporting Morsi, but all we did was support the government they elected.

Deja Vu All Over Again?

There are reports that President Obama is moving closer to arming the Syrian rebels.  Thus far we have provided only non-lethal aid.  The problem is that there aren’t really any secular rebels who have a shot at replacing Assad.  The most successful and powerful rebel groups are all Islamist, with some now pledging loyalty to Al Qaeda.

We are damned if we do and damned if we don’t in Syria.  Awful as Assad is, the viable alternatives seem as bad or worse.

Remember how we helped the Taliban fight the Russians in Afghanistan?  That didn’t turn out too well for us.

The GOP is setting up the Prez to fail whatever he does.  They are all over him for not taking immediate action in response to reports of use of sarin.  But if Syria falls into the hands of radical Islamists, they’ll curse him for that too, as they regularly do for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.  And some of the potential leaders in Syria would make Mohammed Morsi look like Thomas Jefferson.

Quote of the Day 3

“We all had faith that Morsi would be the one who would fulfill our dreams and take Egypt where we wanted it to go.  The problem is that not only has he abandoned our dream, he has gone against it. … They took our dream and implanted their own.  I am a Muslim, but I think with my own mind. … Half of me is heartbroken, and half of me is happy today.  The part that is heartbroken is because I am aware that we are entering a stage that could be a real blood bath.  And the part that is happy is because people who were completely apathetic before have now woken up and joined us.”

Ahmed Hassan, 26, quoted by Thomas Friedman, “Can God Save Egypt?,” NYT

Egypt — Back to the Future

Egypt’s President Morsi is about to impose martial law.  Mubarak used martial law as an excuse to prevent the Muslim Brotherhood from coming to power!

Quote of the Day

“I never thought I would say this, but even Mubarak was more savvy when he spoke in a time of crisis.”

Hossam Bahgat, executive director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, commenting on Morsi’s speech dealing with his power grab and the resulting demonstrations and violence.

Sic Semper Tyrannis

About 200,000 Egyptians turned out to protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square against President Mohammed Morsi’s power grab.  That’s about how many had protested against Mubarak back in the Arab Spring.

Can’t We Do Better, People?

The big headline this morning on Drudge is “Rampage,” and I thought it was about the protests across Egypt over President Morsi’s assumption of even more power.

But nooooooo, the story is about us Americans behaving badly at the Black Friday sales.

So you’ve got some folks fighting for freedom while we’re fighting for flat-screen TV’s.

We Have a Winner!

Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi has been declared the winner in Egypt’s presidential election.

Of course at this point, all power is really with the military, and he will just be a figurehead.

No Prez Announcement in Egypt

The Egyptian Election Commission was supposed to announce tomorrow whether Islamist Mohamed Morsi or former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq won the election for president.

They have now postponed that announcement indefinitely while they look into complaints from both sides.

The military remains in total control, and they will, no matter who is declared the winner.

 

Morsi Wins a Hollow Victory

Egypt’s  Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) is doing its best to ensure that the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi  won a hollow victory as president and will essentially be a figurehead.

SCAF  is keeping the power to draft a new Constitution, make laws, and control the budget and the military.

The military says it will turn over authority to Morsi as promised by the end of the month, but it will be authority in name only without any real power.

The Muslim Brotherhood says it will return to the streets to try to stage a counter-coup.  Good luck with that.  Tahrir Square overthrew Mubarak, but not the military, who have been in charge for 60 years.  They’re not quietly walking away now.