Group items tagged

"Regardless of how disappointed millions of Egyptians were in Morsi's rule, he was an elected president. It is hard to argue that Morsi's removal was anything but a military coup. As such, US law dictates that the $1.5 billion in annual aid to Egypt be cut. The Obama administration is likely to look for ways around that law, and a flexible approach is in order. Aid to Egypt flows from its peace agreement with Israel, so cuts could jeopardize that treaty. Nonetheless, if Egypt's generals fail to move in a more democratic direction, some curbs to military support should be on the table. Anti-American sentiments run high in Egypt, and US influence over events is limited. Still, the United States must use the few tools it possesses to help Egypt achieve a more stable path."

Obama's July 3rd statement on events in Egypt.

Preempting the "will of the people" or legitimate support for removal? Army and judiciary in Egypt linked with authoritarianism. Urge for caution.

Targeting of Christians by Islamists highlights need for reconciliation between various groups in Egypt.

Sure, revolutions never happen in one simple turn over of power, shifting gov from one group to another, and there's no reason to expect Egypt's revolution is any different. But we should not get excited about the Egyptian military being on the side of good no matter how much you may dislike the Brotherhood--in fact, the military has historically done much to make martyrs out of the Brotherhood; they're a powerful clique with a long history of torture and abuse--and sadly the only stable force in Egypt--with much credit for that going to successive US governments.

It has been especially surprising to watch many Egyptians and Americans try to cast a military coup - which is what the army executed when it deposed Mr. Morsi, detaining him and many of his Brotherhood allies - as a democratic tool. The Obama administration, hoping to avoid a legally mandated cutoff of United States aid to Egypt, thus further inflaming anti-Americanism there, has used tortuous rhetoric to avoid calling a coup a coup, or even condemning it. So have many lawmakers and analysts who say the surest way to protect American interests in the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, the Suez Canal and Egypt's cooperation in countering terrorism is to work with the army, Egypt's most powerful institution. A different but equally pragmatic case is made by Egyptian liberals, secularists and non-Islamists who bravely took to the streets to force the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, voted (in many cases) for Mr. Morsi, then turned against him. As Mr. Morsi proved increasingly eager to impose Islamic authoritarianism on the country, the opposition said it collected more than 20 million signatures on a petition demanding his removal (surpassing the 13 million votes Mr. Morsi won in the 2012 election ) and rallied millions of protesters. In their analysis, the army was simply honoring the people's will when it forced Mr. Morsi out. Some Egyptians say they will do that again if the next president also fails them. The basic flaw in these arguments is that coups, forcible overthrows, whatever one calls them, do not provide a foundation for stability or sound representative government. And unlike Mr. Mubarak, Mr. Morsi was not an autocrat imposed by the army, but the country's first freely elected president. True, he was a disastrous leader. But as The Times has reported, remnants of Mr. Mubarak's old order worked hard to sabotage him. It would have been better if his opposition, including the protesters, had worked to defeat him at the ballot box.

the Muslim Brotherhood ... failed to exercise the art of modern-day inclusive, participatory, and consensus-building politics that is necessary to move post-Mubarak Egypt forward.

Just two weeks before the rioting that resulted in the ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Zack Gold, F09, was visiting Cairo, where he thought things seemed eerily quiet. "Don't be fooled," he was told by people he met. "A protest is being planned." No one, though, could have predicted its size and impact.

Ironic, since the US govt has been a major reason since Sadat for Egypt not becoming a Democracy

*Judith Miller is a middle east expert *Judith Miller - Morsi " 'obliterated' fundamental democracy in Egypt" *Calls Morsi's ouster a "soft coup" *Cutting off military aid a bad idea. We want to support the new government because "the United States has a strategic interest in Egypt." *Democracy should be more than just elections. *Israel "relieved" that Morsi was removed but worried about what will replace Morsi. Israel wants stability in Sinai Peninsula and the streets

Prosecutors froze the financial assets of senior leaders in Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, raising concerns of an impending crackdown on the group that could dash hopes for political reconciliation with Egypt's new military-backed government.

Article from Jerusalem Post 7.11.13

A polarised Egypt is facing the most critical phase of its post-revolutionary life after Egypt's army ousted the country's elected president, Mohamed Morsi, and scheduled fresh elections in a what was labelled by the presidency as a "full coup".

Painful as it was to see the democratic process interrupted so soon after the revolution that overthrew the longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011, the military's action was necessary. At its most blatant level, there was no way that Mr. Morsi and his affiliates in the Muslim Brotherhood were going to leave power willingly, no matter the severity of the civil discontent over the president's efforts to consolidate his power while mismanaging major problems from fuel shortages to rising inflation.

In Egypt, fear of the Muslim Brotherhood - by secularists, liberals and religious minorities - is already leading many who once condemned the army to accept it as a neutral arbiter. In such an environment, it is unlikely that genuine democratic government will emerge; instead Egypt is likely to experience some form of "military-guided democracy," as has happened in Indonesia, Pakistan and other states with powerful generals. The tragedy of this pattern is clear: It allows the military to tame democracy, without being accountable to voters or being responsible for improving governance.

interesting comments from people on the streets in Egypt as well