Tag Archives: Tahrir Square

Was It A Coup?

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The Tampa Tribune posted an article today entitled, “Was the overthrow of Egypt’s government a coup?” Sounds like a very technical question, but right now it is a very important one. USA Today is reporting tonight that Egypt’s military suspended the constitution Wednesday, put President Morsi under house arrest,  and ordered new elections.

The article in USA Today reports:

Al-Sisi  (Army chief of staff Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, speaking on national television in front of a row of prominent political and religious leaders) said the chief judge of the constitutional court, backed by technical experts, would have full powers to run the country until the constitution is amended and new elections are held. Adli al-Mansour, the 67-year-old head of Egypt’s supreme constitutional court, is to be sworn in Thursday as interim president, state media.

The Tampa Tribute reminds us:

“U.S. aid is cut off when a democratically elected government is deposed by military coup or decree,” U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, a key decision-maker on U.S. foreign aid, said Wednesday. He said his foreign assistance committee “will review future aid to the Egyptian government as we wait for a clearer picture.”

As soon as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was removed from office, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) began consolidating their power in Egypt. Their goal was to set up a country ruled by Sharia Law, similar to Iran. Elections were held quickly because the MB was the only organized group in the country that could mount a successful campaign. The MB quickly took over the parliament and wrote Sharia Law into the constitution. There really was never to true chance for democracy in Egypt under the Muslim Brotherhood.

The people of Egypt are dealing with an economy that has collapsed. That may be part of the reason for their going back to Tahrir Square. The military has at least temporarily brought some order to the country, but it remains to be seen where we will go from here.

Much of the Egyptian military has been trained in the United States, and many members of the Egyptian military have positive feelings toward America and its people. Having the military run the country for a while would not be a bad thing for either America or Israel.

The military has at least temporarily taken over Egypt, but I am not sure what they did is an actual coup. It will be interesting to see what the Obama Administration does in terms of aid to the military during this transition period.

 

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The Failed Revolution In Egypt

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In January of last year, over 50,000 protesters filled Tahrir Square in Egypt to protest the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. They were demanding freedom and democracy. Unfortunately, it does not appear that that is what they got.

The U. K. Telegraph reported yesterday on what has happened in Egypt since the original protest.

The article reports:

The two presidential candidates who, as counting nears completion, seem to have got through to a second round of voting are the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood‘s front party, the FJP, and a former Air Force general who was prime minister when the “last dictator” Hosni Mubarak finally stepped down.

It really doesn’t seem like much of a choice, but the author of the article has a slightly different view. He states that this is democracy in action–the candidates got the votes and are therefore the choice of the people.

The article points out how the two candidates won:

The three losers appealed to people who like to argue about politics and ideas, and have “messages”. But they were essentially dilettantes. The Brotherhood and the ex-regime spoke directly to the concerns of ordinary Egyptians, and said what it could do for them.

The Brothers frighten the West with their Islamism. But their campaign talked about education for the poor, and defending traditional values. They came out strongly in favour of free market economics, and while it would be wrong to say Hayek won the election, in most of provincial Egypt, the imam, the teacher, the engineer and the local shop-keeper make more sense than semi-Marxist rhetoric coming out of Cairo; think of Britain and France in the 1950s, captivated by Angry Young Men and Sartre respectively, but voting Tory and Gaullist, and you get the idea.

Shafiq had one message: Mubarak was Mubarak, but security is security; two years ago you could walk the streets safely, and now you can’t. For communities traumatised by crime, that speaks loud.

This is a lesson that should be learned by American politicians–if you want to win, have a plan!

I don’t see any hope for a democracy in Egypt. If the Muslim Brotherhood wins this election, they will institute Sharia Law and that will be the end of freedom. I hope that I am wrong, but the lessons of history are, unfortunately, on my side.

 

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