egyptian president sacks the military chief

[bud]

The Egyptian president has ordered the powerful head of the army and defence minister, Field Marshal Hussein Mohamed Tantawi, into retirement and cancelled constitutional amendments issued by the military restricting presidential powers.

Morsi also sent into retirement the chief of army staff, General Sami Anan, and appointed him as a presidential adviser.

link

this is what the egyptians wanted; the end of the old regime which included the powerful military. we'll see how this will unfold.

[Argus]

The Egyptian president has ordered the powerful head of the army and defence minister, Field Marshal Hussein Mohamed Tantawi, into retirement and cancelled constitutional amendments issued by the military restricting presidential powers.

Morsi also sent into retirement the chief of army staff, General Sami Anan, and appointed him as a presidential adviser.

link

this is what the egyptians wanted; the end of the old regime which included the powerful military. we'll see how this will unfold.

Into another Iran, most likely. That does seem to be what the Muslim Brotherhood wants.

[jbg]

Expect a coup.

[bud]

Into another Iran, most likely. That does seem to be what the Muslim Brotherhood wants.

you make that comment based on what?

[bud]

Expect a coup.

that's what some are saying could happen. there are still many high ranking military officials who have gained power through the old regime and probably want to hold onto their power.

[GostHacked]

Expect a coup.

That already happened last year.

[jbg]

Expect a coup.

that's what some are saying could happen. there are still many high ranking military officials who have gained power through the old regime and probably want to hold onto their power.

Expect a coup.

That already happened last year.

The alternative is a cutoff of Western funds which are the lifeblood of the Egyptian kleptocracy, now headed by Morsi. Even a gutless wonder such as Obama can't send billions of U.S. dollars to an Iranian-style regime. And unlike Iran Egypt doesn't have the oil wealth to fuel it. Edited August 13, 2012 by jbg

[j44]

that's what some are saying could happen. there are still many high ranking military officials who have gained power through the old regime and probably want to hold onto their power.

I think most of the higher ups in the military are more concerned with their financial interests than anything. If Morsi can make them happy he can pull a little political power from them and still survive.

I can't say I was expecting Tantawi being turfed though. We will see how smart Morsi is. He appears to be fairly shrewd.

[bud]

I think most of the higher ups in the military are more concerned with their financial interests than anything. If Morsi can make them happy he can pull a little political power from them and still survive.

I can't say I was expecting Tantawi being turfed though. We will see how smart Morsi is. He appears to be fairly shrewd.

it was a bold move. but of course, i'm sure there were some deals in the back rooms with the rest of the council. the revolution continues:

link

Crowds in Cairo praise Morsi's army overhaul

Thousands gather in Tahrir Square to support move to replace defence minister and army chief by President Mohamed Morsi.

[JB Globe]

Encouraging news, but I also think this is even more encouraging:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Egyptian%E2%80%93Israeli_border_attack#Egypt

Essentially you have Israel and Egypt working out a security agreement on the fly and Egypt conducting intense operations against Islamist terrorists, all spearheaded by the Egyptian President (on the Egyptian side).

Not getting a lot of publicity, but very significant.

Edited August 13, 2012 by JB Globe

[j44]

it was a bold move. but of course, i'm sure there were some deals in the back rooms with the rest of the council. the revolution continues:

link

Crowds in Cairo praise Morsi's army overhaul

Thousands gather in Tahrir Square to support move to replace defence minister and army chief by President Mohamed Morsi.

Encouraging news, but I also think this is even more encouraging:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Egyptian%E2%80%93Israeli_border_attack#Egypt

Essentially you have Israel and Egypt working out a security agreement on the fly and Egypt conducting intense operations against Islamist terrorists, all spearheaded by the Egyptian President (on the Egyptian side).

Not getting a lot of publicity, but very significant.

By sacking the army brass Morsi makes his base a little happy and even gets some liberals on his side.

I am hoping these moves will give him the maneuverability to continue cooperation with Israel on some issues. Such as the Sinai. I think Egypt, Israel and even Hamas could and should work together to get that area stabilized.

[jbg]

I think most of the higher ups in the military are more concerned with their financial interests than anything. If Morsi can make them happy he can pull a little political power from them and still survive.

I can't say I was expecting Tantawi being turfed though. We will see how smart Morsi is. He appears to be fairly shrewd.

I think Morsi's a bit too greedy for that. That is the pattern in these countries.

[bud]

I think Morsi's a bit too greedy for that. That is the pattern in these countries.

how did you come to the conclusion that morsi is greedy?

[TheNewTeddy]

Morsi is proving that you can be an Islamist without being a radical Islamist terrorist.

[jbg]

Morsi is proving that you can be an Islamist without being a radical Islamist terrorist.

I think that a month or so into his reign is a bit short to judge. I am suspicious.

[j44]

I think that a month or so into his reign is a bit short to judge. I am suspicious.

Hasnt he been appointing technocrats? Where are the Islamic fundamentalists?

[TheNewTeddy]

In India, a BJP government does not spell the end of democracy. "Religious" Buddhist parties have been in power (sharing) in Japan, and Japan is still free. The US has had a ton of super religious christians and they never overturned democracy. Even in Israel, "ultra orthodox" parties are often in the government.

I don't see why a religious muslim can not rule fairly.

[bleeding heart]

Morsi is proving that you can be an Islamist without being a radical Islamist terrorist.

To be fair, the majority of the Earth's inhabitants already were aware of that.

[j44]

Can't say I agre with everything here but interesting perspective

http://m.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137823/steven-a-cook/morsi-makes-his-move

[bud]

I think that a month or so into his reign is a bit short to judge. I am suspicious.

says the guy who made this comment: I think Morsi's a bit too greedy for that.

[bud]

In India, a BJP government does not spell the end of democracy. "Religious" Buddhist parties have been in power (sharing) in Japan, and Japan is still free. The US has had a ton of super religious christians and they never overturned democracy. Even in Israel, "ultra orthodox" parties are often in the government.

I don't see why a religious muslim can not rule fairly.

turkey, malaysia and kuwait are just a few countries.

[j44]

turkey, malaysia and kuwait are just a few countries.

While Erdogan is an improvement I wouldn't say he is governing fairly.

[TheNewTeddy]

Kuwait is not a democracy, and the latter two are borderline, but, I do not see either as a hotbed of terrorism or focal point for the lack of human rights; especially compared to other "islamic" countries.

[j44]

Kuwait is not a democracy, and the latter two are borderline, but, I do not see either as a hotbed of terrorism or focal point for the lack of human rights; especially compared to other "islamic" countries.

With regard to human rights pretty much every country compares favorably to 'Islamic' countries. That is setting the bar pretty low.

Back on topic. This is about Israel's deteriorating security position (http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/israeli-crisis?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120814&utm_term=gweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=24704e4312d04731bc0dcccd7712912f) but it contains this

There are two theories on what has happened. In the first, Morsi -- who until his election was a senior leader of the country's mainstream Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood -- is actually much more powerful than the military and is acting decisively to transform the Egyptian political system. In the second, this is all part of an agreement between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood that gives Morsi the appearance of greater power while actually leaving power with the military.

On the whole, I tend to think that the second is the case. Still, it is not clear how this will evolve: The appearance of power can turn into the reality of power. Despite any sub rosa agreements between the military and Morsi, how these might play out in a year or two as the public increasingly perceives Morsi as being in charge -- limiting the military's options and cementing Morsi's power -- is unknown. In the same sense, Morsi has been supportive of security measures taken by the military against militant Islamists, as was seen in the past week's operations in the Sinai Peninsula.

[jbg]

turkey, malaysia and kuwait are just a few countries.

The same Malaysia that returned someone who fled Saudi Arabia for making a "tweet" questioning Allah or Mohamed, to be executed?