Islamofascist Rule in Egypt

 

 

I believe firmly that unknown heroes will emerge from the ranks of the people who revere freedom , pride and believe in the dignity

(Right) 1940′s- Hassan Al-Bana the founder of MB kissing the hand of King Abdulaziz – (Left) 1960′s- Nasser sitting on ground with an Egyptian peasent

Mursi Kissing Saudi king during his first visit as president

by Stephen Lendman

Washington engineered Mubarak’s ouster. He fell from grace. He became more liability than asset. For years, State Department and Pentagon officials wanted him out. He opposed Bush’s 2003 Iraq war and other US policies. He had to go.

 

Washington engineered Egyptian uprisings. Spontaneity was created and manipulated. Arab Spring is Western terminology. It’s yet to bloom.

It was first used in March 2005. It suggested a beneficial Iraq war spinoff. Washington deplores emerging democracies. It prioritizes unchallenged control.

Regional uprisings achieved nothing. Daily life reflects poverty, unemployment, and despotism. Tens of oppressed millions suffer.

Conditions now are worse than earlier. People want jobs, decent pay, better services, ending corruption and repression. They want liberating democratic change.

In February 2011, Mubarak was ousted. At the time, an article said hold the celebration. Egypt’s struggle just began. Everything changed, stayed the same, and worsened.

Junta power and Muslim Brotherhood (MB) interests rule. Mohammed Morsi is their public face. Islamofacist rule is policy.

In the 1920s, Britain established the MB’s precursor, the Society of Propaganda and Guidance. It backed UK colonial rule. Post-WW II, it established close CIA ties.

It’s pro-Western, pro-business, pro-privilege, pro-super wealth, pro-neoliberal, anti-progressive, anti-labor, anti-dissent, anti-freedom, and anti-government of, by, and for everyone equitably and fairly.

In June 2012, Morsi became Egypt’s fifth president.

 

 

On November 23, protests erupted nationwide. They came after his November 22 decree asserted dictatorial powers.

 

 

 

He declared the right “to take any measures he sees fit in order to preserve and safeguard the revolution, national unity or national security.”

Rescinding it made little difference. He claimed “all of its consequences remain in effect.” He overstepped. Egyptians want him out.

Doublespeak duplicity conceals tyranny. Democracy is verboten. It’s not tolerated. Hardline rule is policy. So are social injustice and anti-worker practices.

Despite strong opposition, Egypt’s Constituent Assembly approved a draft constitution on November 30. In mid-December, a national referendum adopted it.

Two voting rounds were held. Around 30% of eligible voters cast ballots. Fraud allegations followed. Egypt Independent said the MB’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) bused in remote-based residents. They were told to vote yes. Media reports suggested ballot box stuffing, obstructing or banning opposition voters, assaulting those who tried, and other fraudulent practices.

 

Egypt’s new constitution establishes Islamofascist rule. Junta power heads it. Repression confronts resisters.

On January 25, 2011, anti-Mubarak protests erupted. Cairo’s Tahrir Square became iconic. On the uprising’s second anniversary, hundreds of thousands of youths, workers and others rallied nationwide.

They oppose MB power. They demanded Morsi’s ouster. They want Egypt’s constitution revoked. They want social justice and democratic governance.

 

Chants including saying “The people want to bring down the regime.” “Leave Morsi, leave.” “Bread, freedom and social justice.”

One protester reflected public sentiment, saying “The revolution has been hijacked. We want to complete the revolution’s goals.”

“The situation is getting tougher under the Brotherhood’s rule. Unemployment is on the rise, and jobs are harder to find.”

An unemployed new graduate added “I’m here to get rid of Morsi. First Mubarak, then (General) Tantawi, now Morsi. We are only ruled by bastards.”

Repressive right-wing extremism is policy. Social justice is verboten. Force-fed austerity prevents it. Mursi’s $4.8 billion IMF loan demands it.

Impoverished Egyptians face harder times. Popular sentiment demands real change.

On January 24, Morsi suggested protesters would face harsh crackdowns. He claimed “counter-revolutionary” forces “undermine the state.”

He outlined his own agenda. He called for providing a “suitable environment for investment.” Doing so involves worker exploitation. Ordinary people are sacrificed on the alter of profits.

 

Egyptians demand better. Protests continue nationwide. On January 27, curfews were established in major cities. Morsi declared a 30-day state of emergency. He could extend it indefinitely.

Mubarak’s 30 year dictatorship enforced it. Egyptians hated it. Sweeping government powers were established. Anyone considered dangerous could be indefinitely detained without charge.

Morsi claims dictatorial executive powers. Constitutional rights don’t matter. Nor does press freedom. Security forces can detain protesters indefinitely. They can be held uncharged. They can tried in military courts.

Morsi told Egyptians what to expect, saying:

“I always said I’m against any exceptional measures, but I also said I might resort to such measures if I had to. I may even do more for the sake of Egypt, it’s my duty.”

“I instructed interior ministry officials to deal strictly with whoever threatens the people, public, and private institutions.”

Protests remain ongoing. Security forces confront them violently. Live ammunition killed dozens. Hundreds were injured. Muslim Brotherhood offices were attacked. So were police stations and other government buildings.

 

Morsi and Egyptian junta leaders invited National Salvation Front opposition representatives to “broad national dialogue that would be attended by independent national characters.”

They refused. He asked all political parties to participate. Opposition activist Ayman Fayed told Voice of Russia he believes Washington is manipulating events covertly.

He said Obama officials want Egypt isolated. They want Russian and Chinese regional influence marginalized. They want unchallenged control.

They’ve been “encouraging Islamists to thwart the much aspired freedom.” It remains to be seen what’s next. Turmoil shows no signs of ending.

Egyptians demand democracy. Morsi hijacked it. Most Egyptians consider Muslim Brotherhood leadership illegitimate and corrupt.

 

It broke major promises made. Dictatorial rule is policy. Conditions are worse than under Mubarak. Egyptians demand better. Clashes continue. Resolution remains distant.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled “Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

Egypt: The Return of SCAF
New Pharaoh? ‘Military fascism replaced by Islamofascism in Egypt’

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Egypt: The Return of SCAF

A man walks near graffiti reading: “Leave Mursi , you are a murderer” after clashes between riot police and protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, on Qasr el-Nil bridge, which leads to Tahrir Square, in Cairo on 30 January 2013. (Photo: Amr Abdallah Dalsh – Reuters)

 

By: Ismail Iskandarani

 

Published Wednesday, January 30, 2013

 

On 28 January 2013, Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi delivered the cities of Port Said, Ismailia, and Suez to the military establishment on a plate of gold. When the president declared a state of emergency, it signaled the army’s return to the political arena, its gateway: the Suez Canal cities.

The media campaign against the Sinai can be deemed a success. News coverage caused residents of the Nile Valley to believe their region had transformed into Tora Bora. As such, justifications for deploying the military in its cities and streets were plentiful.

The Suez Canal, which is much more significant than the northeast borders of Sinai, is considered an integral part of citizens’ livelihoods. It’s also one of the most militarized of Egypt’s non-border districts, with the army exerting tremendous control over civil life.

For example, the military intelligence headquarters in Ismailia is a frequent stop of citizens in need of a variety of civil licenses. Furthermore, the canal’s district is home to the largest number of families whose members are officers and soldiers who settled in the area following the 1973 war.

 

Mursi made a big mistake by declaring a state of emergency in the entire canal district for 30 days. This move will only assist the military in its plans, especially since Mursi gifted the military the governorate of Ismailia, the most populated and diverse in the canal. This was despite the fact that the city did not witness widespread clashes or street wars like in Suez and Port Said.

 

From the view of military maps, Ismailia is a strategic point that links the two sides of the canal. With the military control of Ismailia, the Nile Valley would be separated from Sinai.

The military is now practically in control of three regions in Egypt; the civil state has no sovereignty. Mursi’s move was a complex strategic mistake that might cost him his presidency or, at the very least, many of his powers.

The military is now confronted with the challenge of bringing order to the streets of the canal and proving to the public that military rule is stronger and safer than Brotherhood rule.

Theirs is a golden opportunity to promote their model on a wide scale in reply to peoples’ needs for security. The announcement of a state of emergency could be the beginning of the end of the Brotherhood rule in people’s hearts.

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.

 

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Egypt’s Free Economy Excludes the Poor

 

A man works on a graffiti representing the Muslim Brotherhood along Mohamed Mahmoud street near Tahrir Square in Cairo 24 January 2013. (Photo: Reuters – Abdallah Dalsh)

By: Bisan Kassab

Published Friday, January 25, 2013

 

Egypt’s 25 January Revolution produced few economic benefits for the country’s poor even though they were instrumental in overthrowing the old order. The Muslim Brotherhood has other economic priorities, including pushing measures that further economic liberalization in Egypt.

Given the Egyptian media’s focus, it might be difficult to believe that Egypt’s 25 January 2011 Revolution was not one of the educated middle class. On the TV screen, these shiny young faces appear on talk shows, portrayed as the leaders of the revolution.

But 28 January 2011’s “Friday of Anger” belonged to the marginalized who – using the tricks they learned in their daily battles with the state apparatus in the slums – were able to defeat the police forces. Regardless, the media see the revolution differently: “This is the revolution of dignity and not of the hungry,” they say.

This discourse paved the way for state repression of social demands. It even reached a point where the media began depicting Egypt’s working class – those that bolstered the revolution’s ranks with its mass mobilizations – of deliberately aiding the counter-revolution through strikes that hurt the economy. The first law issued by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) following their rise to power banned strikes.

As time passed, the voices of social justice were replaced by the murmurings of political battles. These politicians, who have the upper hand in the media, wanted a piece of the revolutionary pie after disregarding its true heros.

Post-Revolution, Little Help for the Poor

Even before the revolution, experts close to the ruling National Democratic Party saw signs of unrest rooted in growing poverty. This was clear in the First Investment Report: Towards a Fair Distribution of the Fruits of Growth prepared by the General Investment Authority in 2009, which warned of sharply rising poverty rates.

Despite the steady economic growth in the last decade of Mubarak’s rule, the proportion of the population living below the national poverty line rose from almost 17 percent of the population in 2000 to 22 percent in 2008, according to the latest figures available from the World Bank.

Nevertheless, when SCAF took power after the fall of Mubarak, they ignored these facts and rejected the expansionary budget presented by Minister of Finance and prominent NDP member Samir Radwan. Instead, the first post-revolution budget was austere: workforce training funds were scaled back to 1 billion Egyptian Pounds ($151 million) from an original 2 billion, and funds for low-income housing were never raised by the expected EGP500 million ($75 million).

Furthermore, SCAF sought to protect the rich from any burdens, such as the tax increase proposed by Radwan on the distribution of capital gains by financial institutions.

Although the last days of SCAF’s rule witnessed an open struggle between the military class and Islamist forces, the conflict was not an indication of different economic policies. “The Islamist parties, which between them won a majority in the 2011-12 parliamentary election appear to favor the continuation of a broadly pro-market policy…” explained an April 2012 report from Chatham House titled “‘Bread, Dignity and Social Justice’: The Political Economy of Egypt’s Transition.”
The new Egyptian Constitution is a glaring example of the bias of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) towards market liberalization. It stipulated linking salaries with production for the first time and neglected to set a ceiling for agricultural property.

But the constitution aligns with the Brotherhood’s previous positions: the group had been the primary opponent of agrarian reform during the Nasser era and endorsed a 1992 act liberating the relationship between landlord and tenant on agricultural land. The act had abolished gains won by peasants and was faced with wide-scale opposition in 1997.

The knockout blow to the MB’s popularity might be their attempt to implement a package of reforms for tax laws, which was frozen by President Mohamed Mursi a few hours after being announced. It would’ve raised sales taxes on several cement and communications goods and led to a steep increase on the commercial advertising tax – a move that could have hiked up the sales prices of nearly all goods and services.

It seems the MB has learned a lesson from the bread uprising against President Anwar Sadat in January 1977. At the time, the MB magazine al-Daawa described the protests as a “communist conspiracy.”

While the revolution seems to have resulted – at the very least – in a minimum wage increase to EGP700 ($105), the collapse of the Egyptian Pound against the US dollar this past January has precluded any benefits from such a raise.

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.

• Egypt Two Years On
• After the Revolution: Egypt Remembers Its Martyrs

 

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Mursi vs. SCAF: Two Weeks Later

By Sarah El Sirgany – Fri, 2012-08-24 19:33- Labyrinth

 

SCAF Member: “Is that move legal?” Mursi: “According to which rules – yours, or the rules of the game?”

Cairo – The day President Mohammed Mursi ordered the retirement of the Minister of Defense Hussein Tantawi, Egypt was caught by surprise at the new balance of power. On August 12, it was difficult to immediately see all the possible ramifications.

The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) president’s reshuffling within the powerful Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) were welcomed by many activists. It was a victory by an elected, civilian president over an unelected military body that has given itself the right to write the rules and avoid accountability.

As the shock waned, as analysts and politicians found some answers to their numerous questions and as the celebration of this “victory” subsided, it was time for an obvious realization. The Muslim Brotherhood, who just two weeks ago was complaining about the limited authorities given to Mursi, is now in control, full control. It’s a realization that presented itself in the first week, but grew in strength over the days.

Mursi breaks the lock placed by Tantawi on the People’s Assembly building.

In addition to the SCAF reshuffles, Mursi also canceled a constitutional addendum which the SCAF had issued towards the end of the presidential elections to give itself powers over the elected president, a de facto influence over the drafting of the constitution, and legislative powers. The eleventh hour constitutional decree was an illegitimate usurpation of power. Mursi canceled it, but gave these powers to himself.

Michael Hanna, a fellow at the Century Foundation, described Mursi’s decisions as “a necessary corrective to the intrusion of the military on the prerogatives of civilian governance and an important check on the expanding political ambitions of the Egyptian military.”

 

However, he also described them as a “unilateral power grab [that] parallels the original sin in Egypt’s chaotic and turbulent transition,” a reference to SCAF’s takeover of power in March 2011.

The debate transcends the regular MB versus SCAF deliberations to reflect the deep-rooted distrust of the Muslim Brothers, even among those who supported Mursi during the elections. While some of the concerns are exaggerated, others find their valid justification in Mursi’s other decisions.

The government under the new president’s leadership got more aggressive in its crackdown on journalists critical of Mursi. The fact that it targeted controversial and infamous names or that Mursi later removed the prison sentences on publishing crimes did little to assuage fears about the MB intentions in governance.

The track record of the MB in power – especially when they held 47 percent of the now dissolved People’s Assembly – isn’t promising, especially given that Mursi inherited a regime and a defunct legal system designed for rulers’ abuse. The recent selection of chief editors for state-run papers reflected a continuity of the Mubarak media policy rather than a move towards professionalism and merit-based appointments.

These concerns are further informed by theories that describe the new friendly relationship between the MB and the generals Mursi appointed. The tension between these two poles of powers – Tantawi’s SCAF was presumed to be the most powerful – was replaced with mutual understanding.

Activists frustrated with SCAF “crimes” won’t see the retired generals in court – maybe with pressure, but that’s a remote possibility. Groups that have been working to expose the militarization of the state through systematic appointment of officers in civilian jobs will continue their work as usual. Nothing in Mursi’s changes suggest a structural or institutional change. He even appointed a general as head of the Suez Canal Authority.

“The preserving of military privileges, its economic projects and the scope of its power – even its expansion [in a bid] to pass the change of leadership – will enhance the status quo of a state within a state, which is the original ailment and the core legacy of the July state,” Tamer Wagih wrote in al-Masry al-Youm last week.

 

Yet, he saw an opportunity for action, very much different from calls for an August 24 protest against the MB – calls led by part of the camp that had previously declared it preference of military rule over the MB’s.

Wagih suggested taking advantage of Mursi’s success in removing military leaders to pressure him to achieve social, economic and political demands through a popular, grassroots movement. This popular movement, he explained, should reveal the deal that was struck, not between Mursi and Tantawi, but between the conservative and reformist MB and the wing of the “new liberal state” that is not as strongly aligned with the former regime.
 

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Egypt: The Fuloul Attempt a Revolution

By: Rana Mamdouh

Published Thursday, August 23, 2012

Cairo – President Mohammed Mursi is about to face the first real test of his professed belief in the democratic right of all citizens to express their views, even when those views are avowedly hostile to him and his Muslim Brotherhood (MB).

Friday is to witness what is being billed as the “August 24 Millioniya” (million-strong rally), or the “Second Revolution of Rage.” Detractors refer to it as the the “Revolution of the Fuloul” – the “remnants” of deposed president Hosni Mubarak‘s regime.

The chief advocates of this millioniya can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Most of the country’s varied array of political currents and forces have not heeded their call. Every well-known political party in Egypt has announced it will not take part, with the exception of the leftist Tagammu party. Most of the revolutionary movements have also opposed the move, arguing that it is too early to pass judgement on Mursi’s performance.

Nevertheless, the call to demonstrate triggered the same kind of reaction which opponents of the Mubarak regime used to get. The would-be protesters and their leaders were accused of being traitors and even heretics – most notably by the cleric Sheikh Hisham Islam, who said participants in the August 24 protests would be “apostates” and implied they could be killed with impunity.

This caused an uproar, giving added momentum to the planned demonstrations, and more in-advance publicity than the 25 January 2011 protests.

 

Rallies are to be held at fuloul-associated sites such as Abbasiya square in North Cairo, as well as Roxy square opposite the presidential palace.

 

They will be strictly peaceful, and according to the chief organizer, former MP Mohammed Abu Hamed, protestors will chant: “Down with the rule of the murshed” – the “guide”, as the Brotherhood’s leader is titled.

 

Abu Hamed told Al-Akhbar it had been decided best to stay away from Tahrir Square in order to avoid any confrontation with the Brotherhood, whose supporters he said might try to stage counter-demonstrations at the same time.

He implied that this was the same reason why plans to hold demonstrations at the Brotherhood’s Cairo headquarters and its branch offices throughout the capital and in the provinces had been abandoned.

“We are keen to preserve the peaceful nature of the demonstrations and to avoid any resort to violence, especially as the protests will not end tomorrow,” he said. “They will continue until all our demands are met for halting the Brotherhoodization of Egypt and its institutions.”

The decision to stay away from Brotherhood premises was widely seen as reflecting the protestors’ weakened position following the abrupt ending of the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). SCAF Chairman Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, Chief of Staff General Sami Annan, and intelligence chief General Murad Muwafi – all sacked by Mursi – had backed the main organizers of the August 24 millioniya: chiefly Abu-Hamed and fellow former MP Mustafa Bakri, as well as pro-SCAF broadcaster Tawfiq Okasha (Mursi and his people moved to silence the latter by closing down his al-Faraeen TV channel and seeking his indictment on charges of insulting the president).

Observers therefore expect the planned demonstrations to have little impact. While the demands being raised might have been heeded when the SCAF was in power, it is argued, they look different since Mursi has settled his power-struggle with the military in his favor. The rolling protest promised by Abu Hamed will have to roll for a long time if the idea is to get Mursi to reinstate the Supplementary Constitutional Declaration. Mursi had scrapped that declaration transferring in the process legislative power to the Supreme Constitutional Court rather than SCAF, giving him as president both legislative and executive authority.

Equally unlikely to be heeded are demands for the Brotherhood to be made to register as a voluntary association subject to all kinds of legal controls and banned from practicing politics, or to be dissolved and have its property confiscated by the state. It is also hard to see leaders of the Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) leaders being investigated about their funding, lavish election spending, meetings with foreign leaders, and alleged involvement in a long list of violent incidents usually attributed to the fuloul.

Even though the call for protests at the thousands of MB offices dotted around the country was withdrawn, the interior ministry announced the security forces would be on the alert to safeguard these premises. Presidential spokesman Yaser Ali said police had been ordered to “protect the peaceful demonstrators on August 24 and to apply the law firmly to anyone who breaks it.” He stressed that the presidency “supports the right to demonstrate peacefully, provided the law is adhered to and private and public property and institutions are respected.”

Most political groups in the country have dissociated themselves of the anti-MB protests. Some had even called for the formation of human shields to protect Brotherhood premises from attack. Yet many groups and activists were alienated by a blistering attack launched by the FJP’s acting leader Essam al-Erian against the Egyptian Left. This was in the form of a list of reasons for the “failure of the Left” written on his personal twitter account, which included “foreign funding and influence;… fractiousness; divisiveness; disregard, indeed contempt, for the role of religion; elitism; arrogance towards the people.”

This caused a storm of protest, with critics charging that the MB was behaving like the former regime and its security agencies which habitually denounced opposition groups as being externally-funded or foreign agents without providing any evidence. Some warned the Brotherhood against making the same mistake as former president Anwar al-Sadat, who used religion and the Islamist current as a way of turning Egyptian society against the Left.

As Rabab al-Mahdi, a political science professor at the American University of Cairo, points out:

“Accusing the Left of disloyalty and treason is one of the hallmarks of the (former ruling) National Democratic Party and State Security Intelligence.” 

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Mursi retires both Defence Minister Tantawi and Chief of staff Gen. Annan

Egypt’s President Mohammed Mursi (c) gestures, while Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi (l) and an army general look on at a checkpoint in al-Arish (Photo: Reuters – Egyptian Presidency)

Published Sunday, August 12, 2012

Egypt’s president on Sunday ordered the defense minister and chief of staff to retire and canceled the military-declared constitutional amendments that gave top generals wide powers.

President Mohammed Mursi also appointed a senior judge, Mahmoud Mekki, as vice president.
The decisions announced on Sunday are effective immediately.

Spokesman Yasser Ali said in a news conference aired on state TV that Mursi had appointed a new defense minister, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

He replaces Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who headed the military council that ruled Egypt for 17 months after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in a popular uprising in February 2011.

Tantawi was defense minister for nearly two decades under Mubarak but was much despised in Egypt.
The military council’s second in command, Chief of Staff Sami Annan, was also ordered to retire.
A general told Reuters that the decisions had been made in consultation with Tantawi.
“The decision was based on consultation with the field marshal and the rest of the military council,” General Mohamed el-Assar told Reuters.

Mursi also scrapped an interim constitutional declaration issued before he was sworn in that ruled the president could not rule on matters related to the military – including appointing its leaders.
In sweeping changes, he also ordered the retirement of the commanders of the navy, air defense and air force.

The retired navy commander, Lt. Gen. Mohan Mameesh, was named as chairman of the Suez Canal, the strategic waterway linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean and a major source of revenues for the country.

The move will be seen as a major moment in the battle for power between the Muslim Brotherhood from which Mursi came and the army, which remains among the most well-organized bodies in the country.
(Al-Akhbar, AP)

 DEBKAfile considered Mursi’s move as an anti-army coup in Cairo. Tanks move up to Israel border 

President Morsi with army chief Field Marshal Tantawi in Sinai

Having gained control of the Egyptian parliament, government and presidency, the Muslim Brotherhood has made itself the unchallenged ruler of Egypt. Demoting the heads of the military leaves the MB in control of the biggest army in the Arab world.

Two months after assuming the presidency, the Muslim Brotherhood’s President Mohamed Morsi swept away the powerful pro-American Supreme Military Council heads ruling Egypt since Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow. 

Sunday. Aug. 12, he fired the Egyptian Defense Minister, Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, the Egyptian chief of staff Gen. Hafez Sami Annan and three more generals and appointed Field Marshall Abd al-Fatah Sissi defense minister and Gen. Sidki Sobhi chief of staff in their place.

The three generals also sacked were Air Force chief Rezza Abd al-Megid, Navy commander Mahab Muhamed Mamish and Air Defense chief Abd Al-Aziz Muhamed Seif.

President Morsi also annulled the law amendments endowing the military with broad powers.

debkafile reports: Field Marshal Tantawi and Gen. Annan were regarded as the last major impediments to the Muslim Brotherhood’s complete takeover of Egypt. Morsi’s action has cast Egypt’s military caste out into uncertain territory with regard to its future status in government.

Morsi’s actions in the last month have aroused serious concern in the United States and Israel. His coup Sunday will give them more unsavory food for thought. They will not have missed the sudden arrival of Egyptian army M-60 tanks (made in the US) right up to the Israeli border of Sinai while the new appointments were announced in Cairo.

It is still not yet clear whether the Israeli government and army were caught off guard or gave permission for this extreme exception to the demilitarized clauses of their 1979 peace treaty. However, last week, the Egyptian president said that treaty clauses not deemed beneficial to Egyptian interests by the new regime would have to go. Israel did not respond to this statement.

In another new departure, he appointed a former senior judge Mohamed Mahmud Makki vice president, a new office in Egyptian government. 

debkafile was the only publication to report that the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi were exploiting the terrorist attack in Sinai to rid Cairo of the pro-Western military control of the Egyptian government.
debkafile was the only publication to report that the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi were exploiting the terrorist attack in Sinai to rid Cairo of the pro-Western military control of the Egyptian government. A faster worker, Morsi has achieved this in exactly seven days.

Morsi’s anti-terror ploy to root out pro-US influence in Cairo, cut Israel from Sinai

Morsi orders Tantawi’s retirement

Morsi orders Tantawi’s retirement – Israel News, Ynetnews.

In dramatic move, Egypt’s new president sacks man who served as Mubarak’s defense minister for over two decades, cancels military declared constitutional amendments

Roi Kais and AP

08.12.12, 18:45 / Israel News

Major jolt to Egypt’s political echelons: A government spokesman said Sunday that Egypt’s president has ordered the defense minister and chief of staff to retire and has canceled the military-declared constitutional amendments that gave top generals wide powers.

President Mohammed Morsi also ordered the retirement of Egyptian Air Defense Commander Lt. General Abd El Aziz Seif-Eldeen, and Chief of the Navy, Vice Admiral Mohab Mamish. In addition, Morsi appointed a senior judge, Mahmoud Mekki, as vice president.

Related stories:

The decisions announced Sunday are effective immediately. Spokesman Yasser Ali said in a news conference aired on state TV that Morsi appointed a new defense minister, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Morsi with Tantawi (Photo: EPA)

He replaces Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who headed the military council that ruled Egypt for 17 months after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in February 2011. Tantawi was defense minister for nearly two decades under Mubarak.

The military council’s No. 2, Chief of Staff Sami Annan, was also ordered to retire.

The surprise moves comes less than a week after Morsi appointed a new national intelligence chief and dismissed the governor of the increasingly lawless north Sinai region after gunmen killed 16 border guards there.

Morsi also fired the commander of the presidential guards and named new chiefs for security in Cairo and the police’s large central security, a large paramilitary force often deployed to deal with riots.

The intelligence chief that Morsi fired, Murad Muwafi, was quoted in Wednesday’s newspapers as saying his agency was aware of the Israeli warning regarding the border attack but did not think that Muslims would attack Muslims while they were breaking their fast during Ramadan.

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The Sinai Peninsula Rejoins the Axis of Resistance

Franklin Lamb

Beirut
Graphics by Alex

Israeli troops near border with Egypt’s Sinai desert on June 18, 2012.

The Sinai Peninsula has rejoined the Arab and Islamic Resistance as this great awakening spreads inexorably across the region toppling Western imposed security states and replacing them with governments of greater popular legitimacy. 

Egypt and other countries in the region are contributing to righting the historic wrong done to the Palestinian people as millions around the World are employing an increasing variety of resistance strategies in solidarity with this regions central cause of liberating Palestine from the crumbling but ultra-violent Zionist colonial project.
Historically, the 23,000 sq. mile triangular Sinai Peninsula has been an area of Resistance against a series of occupiers and despots since it was joined to Egypt during in Mamluk Sultanate (1260-1517) when the Ottoman sultan, Selim the Grim, won the Battles of Marj Dabiq and al-Raydaniyya, and added Egypt to the Ottoman Empire.

Following the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty‘s rule over the rest of Egypt in 1805, the Ottoman Porte, faced with increasing resistance from Sinai, transferred administration of the restive Peninsula to the Egyptian government, by this time under the control of the colonial power, the United Kingdom.

The British occupied Egypt since 1882 and imposed the border in an almost straight line from Rafah on the Mediterranean to Taba on the Gulf of Aqaba which has remained the eastern border of Egypt. At the beginning of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egyptian forces invaded Palestine from Sinai to support the Palestinian Resistance in their struggle against the imposed State of Israel.

Last week’s Sinai operation by “terrorists in Bedouin clothing” against the occupiers of Palestine resulted in the deaths of 16 Egyptian guards protecting the Israeli border as well as several of the Fedayeen, signals again that the Sinai Peninsula has returned to its historic role in confronting colonialism on Egypt’s border. The Egyptian people, if not yet fully their leaders are returning to their historic struggle to liberate Palestine.

The regime of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak would purposefully undermine relationship between the Egyptian and Palestinian people.
However, over the past 18 months, much of the Sinai has become more Resistance oriented, as police stations in the Sinai were dismantled, the gas line with Israel repeated severed, and Bedouin tribes and others began to stockpile weapons arriving from Libya and from Israel’s black market and elsewhere. The area is becoming a major Resistance base with fighters vowing to repel any attempt by the US and Israel to retain control.

No proof positive has been proffered to support a number of claims being made regarding those responsible for the Sinai attacks and other recent attacks against Israeli installations that number more than 30 just since last year’s Tahrir revolution.

A spokesman for the Hamas government has claimed that the Sinai attack was an Israeli “attempt to tamper with Egyptian security and drive a wedge between the Egyptians and the residents of the Gaza Strip.”

Tarek Zumar, a spokesman for the group, claimed that Israel was behind all recent terror attacks against the Egyptians “because it wants to make changes along its border with Egypt.”

The day after the attack, and relying on its own intelligent sources, Hamas announced that:

“This crime can be attributed to the Mossad, which has been seeking to abort the revolution since its inception and the proof of this is that it gave instructions to its Zionist citizens in Sinai to depart immediately a few days ago.”

An American critic of Israel’s influence over the U.S. Congress, who is an Assistant Staff Director on a Congressional Committee, emailed that “We are looking into what Israeli leaders knew about the Sinai attack and when they knew it, but no definite responsibility for this operation has been established.”

The Muslim Brotherhood has also blamed Mossad for the attack.

One of the reasons the Egyptian public is increasingly calling for abolishing or at least re- negotiating the “Treaty of Shame” as the Camp David agreement is commonly known, is that Egyptian security forces in Sinai are not enough to protect the borders. Under Camp David’s “Peace Agreement” it is Israel, and not the Egyptian government who determines how many Egyptians security personnel can stand guard at Egypt’s border.

Morsy says he heads Sinai military operations

On 8/4/12, Egypt’s new pro-Palestinian President, Mohammad Morsi, responded to the attack by sacking the pro-Israeli intelligence chief Murad Muwafi, as well as the governor of Northern Sinai Abdel Wahab Mabrouk.

 The same day Mursi ordered his defense minister to relieve the head of the country’s military police, as his spokesman said to “turn a page” in the Palestinian struggle and also as a confidence building move in the face of a predicted Zionist campaign to blame the Muslim Brotherhood for the attack.

There has been a relentless campaign by Zionist leaders since Mubaraks ouster, to weaken the Egyptian public’s determination to isolate Israel and cancel their governments relations with the occupiers of Palestine.

Supporters of Morsi’s rival in the presidential election, Ahmed Shafik, a former air force commander, have called for Egyptians to rise up against the Brotherhood and President Morsi as a result of the Sinai operation. Such attacks underscore the divide between new pro-Palestinian government and the military, which continues to hold enormous political power and has limited the president’s authority.

The Resistance operation comes only a week after Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya made a rare visit to Egypt to meet with Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi to discuss easing travel restrictions on Gaza imposed by Israel’s siege, restrictions respected by Mubarak for years.

That meeting, coupled with Morsi meeting both Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal and Palestinian President Abbas last month, resulted in the opening the Rafah border for 12 hrs a day and increasing the daily limit on passengers from Gaza to 1,500. By opening the border Morsi was following through on a campaign promise he made during the run up to Egypt’s hotly contested election. With the advent of the Arab Spring a number of Egyptian pro Resistance organizations demanded the complete opening of the Rafah crossing to all traffic, including commercial. During his campaign Morsi stated that “the time has come to open the Rafah crossing to traffic 24 hours a day and all year round.”

Unfortunately, following the most recent operation the Rafah crossing has been indefinitely closed just like it was under the deposed Egyptian president which will cause great hardship to Gazans and amounts to nothing less than Israeli style “collective punishment” as claimed by Musa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official.

As one Gazan young woman, Rana Baker, a member of the Gaza-based BDS organizing committee recently observed,  

Battle: Hundreds of Egyptians stormed the building housing Israel’s mission in Cairo

“It is worth recalling here the official Egyptian stance on the murder of two Egyptian security guards in an Israeli raid along the Israeli-Egyptian border last year. Not one Egyptian helicopter took off in search of the assailants and not one bullet was aimed at “suspects” from the Israeli side. Not only did the SCAF bury the incident as if it had never happened, but it went as far as to quell Egyptian protestors at the Israeli embassy in Cairo almost a year ago today. Days later the SCAF erected a high wall around the embassy to “protect” it against“extremists.”

The Gaza Strip has now been closed off, as it was during the time of deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. The siege is now expected to intensify following the indefinite closure of the Rafah and Karm Abu-Salem border crossings.

Robert Satloff , Executive Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), founded by AIPAC, presented the Zionist lobby’s reaction to the Sinai operations and the expanding geography of Resistance.

He offered the following suggestions presented on their website and in Lobby publications:

“The US must undertake firm communication to Egypt’s Morsi that if he wants international support to bolster his flagging economy, he cannot pander to the worst instincts of Egyptian public opinion. Indeed, any serious effort to prevent terrorist infiltration in Sinai requires coordination with Israel, and this will not proceed in an environment of public vilification.”

 



Mursi between Tantanwi and Anan at Iftar in Rafah

“Second, U.S. policymakers should reaffirm to the Egyptian military that Washington views securing Sinai as an essential aspect of Egyptian-Israeli peace, and that continued provision of substantial military aid, which has exceeded 35 billion over the past three decades, is absolutely contingent on the investment of adequate personnel and resources to do the security job. Failure to direct the right people and resources to the peninsula will trigger an overall reassessment of the U.S. military assistance package, with an eye to updating this 1980s-era relationship for the current environment.”

Satloft’s views are reflective of the vast disconnect between reality and expectations of Zionist officials and their shills, over what the past 18 months has birthed in the Middle East with respect to Resistance to the continuing colonization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine. 

With the Sinai Peninsula returning to the era and culture of Resistance the liberation of Palestine draws every nearer and more certain, perhaps sooner than later.
Franklin Lamb is doing research in Lebanon. He is reachable c\o fplamb@gmail.com
He is the author of The Price We Pay: A Quarter-Century of Israel’s Use of American Weapons Against Civilians in Lebanon.

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Egypt’s President Morsi meets Iran’s VP Hamid Baghaei

Via FLC

“… The brief meeting in the Egyptian capital did not produce any breakthroughs, but it was symbolic. Formal relations between the two countries were broken after the Iranian Revolution and Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel…
Baghaei’s stopover came at a pivotal time for both nations regarding Israel….. Cairo is under pressure from Israel and the United States to improve security in the Sinai peninsula after recent attempts by militants to infiltrate Israel…….
It is unlikely that Sunni Muslim-dominated Egypt’s relationship with Shiite Muslim-controlled Iran will change significantly in the short term. The secular Egyptian military, which receives about $1.3 billion in U.S. aid, holds considerable power ……. the Muslim Brotherhood, has also been careful not to strain relations with Sunni Persian Gulf countries …..
The Saudi monarchy had strong bonds to Mubarak and has long been suspicious of the Brotherhood’s Islamist populism. Morsi’s first international trip as president was to Riyadh, the Saudi capital. Saudi Arabia holds billions of dollars in potential aid for Cairo, which is facing shortages of electricity and water and dwindling foreign financial reserves…”

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 10:08 AM

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Sinai Attack Aftermath: More Questions Than Answers

By: Muhammad al-Khouli

Published Tuesday, August 7, 2012

A member of the Army embraces a relative of one of the soldiers killed during an attack at a checkpoint along the Sinai border with Israel by unknown gunmen, during their funeral in Cairo on 7 August 2012.  (Photo: Reuters – Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Cairo – On Tuesday, Egypt will be burying the victims of Sunday’s terrorist attack in Sinai, which took place at a border checkpoint near the Karam Abu-Salem crossing, killing 16 and wounding several others. The Egyptian presidency, the armed forces, and the government vowed that they will respond forcefully to the perpetrators of the attack.

There is much anguish among the Egyptian public in its search for answers, amid conflicting information over the identity of those who killed the soldiers.

While some voices rushed to accuse Hamas of involvement, and called for the annihilation of the Gaza Strip and its inhabitants, some analysts blamed extremist Islamist groups taking refuge in the mountains of Sinai. Others held that there are Israeli hands involved in the attack, perhaps using elements from Sinai or Palestine.

Observers said that the attack carried with it several messages, with some seeing it as an attempt to drive a wedge between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, and sever the alliance between the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

Others argued that the attack is aimed at undermining the Muslim Brotherhood administration at home and undercutting its involvement abroad. Yet others stressed that the incident in Sinai is an opportunity to revise the Camp David Accords. However, all these interpretations do not invalidate the one truth we know so far, which is that 16 Egyptian soldiers have been killed.

Official Story

Mursi skips military funeral for Sinai attack victims

The Egyptian public has reacted with shock since news of the incident first broke out, while the presidency, the government, and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) tried to prove that they continue to have the upper hand.

President Mohammed Mursi inspected the scene of the incident on Monday, accompanied by defense minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the armed forces Sami Annan, and interior minister Ahmed Gamal al-Din.

A few hours after the attack, Egyptian television carried statements by Mursi, in which he said that “the blood of the martyrs of the Sinai attack will not go in vein,” and stressed that the perpetrators and their collaborators will pay a dear price for their crime.

Mursi vowed that “there is no room to appease this treachery and aggression,” and that “everybody will see that the Egyptian military and police forces can get these criminals wherever they are,” adding that “these criminals, these attackers do not belong among us.”

For his part, Yasser Ali, the spokesman for the Egyptian president, issued a presidential decree to honor all those who perished or were wounded in the attack, and for them to be treated like the victims of the January 25 uprising.

Mursi ordered three days of mourning over the deaths and a military funeral for the victims. On Monday, military planes carried the bodies of the fallen soldiers from the hospital they were initially taken to in al-Arish to the Almaza military airport in Cairo, in preparation for the military funeral.

According to the president’s spokesman, the security services are working around the clock to uncover the circumstances of the incident, saying: “All the details surrounding [the attack] will be announced as soon as possible.”

In response to a question about whether the Camp David Accords may be revised, to allow additional forces to be deployed in Sinai, the spokesman said, “There are measures to assert Egyptian sovereignty over Sinai, which is indisputable.” This was then echoed by the Egyptian foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr, who said that any talk about revising the Camp David Accords is premature at present.

A Terrorist Group

Meanwhile, SCAF issued a statement condemning the attack and explaining its circumstances. The statement said, “A terrorist group of 35 people attacked an Egyptian border guard post south of Rafah at the time of maghrib prayers, where 16 soldiers were martyred and 7 injured; three of them were critically wounded and were subsequently hospitalized.”

The statement added that the assailants “commandeered an armored personnel carrier and used it to break through the Egypt-Israel border through the Karam Abu-Salem crossing south of Gaza, where Israeli forces destroyed it.”
The statement also stated that “at the same time of the attack, elements from the Gaza Strip carried out a mortar shell attack on the Karam Abu-Salem border crossing.”
According to SCAF, this exemplifies the threats facing Sinai “which requires us all to be vigilant regarding the schemes and plots targeting Egypt.” Finally, the statement emphasized that “the armed forces will cooperate with Sinai citizens and the interior ministry to restore security and stability as soon as possible”.
Reactions in Cairo
Politically, most parties and groups issued statements condemning the attack against the border post. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party called for “all necessary measures to be taken to address this serious challenge to Egyptian sovereignty, and protect Sinai from all armed groups.”

A statement by the Building and Development Party, which belongs to al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, said that it cannot rule out that the Israeli intelligence services were involved in pushing some elements from Sinai to attack Egyptian troops. Meanwhile, the Salafi al-Nour Party called on the President to close all informal crossings at the Egyptian-Palestinian border, and to facilitate the flow of aid into Gaza through the official crossing.
The Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement in which it said, “This crime may have been perpetrated by the Mossad, which has sought to abort the revolution from the beginning.” The statement added that “this is evident from the fact that it [the Mossad] instructed Zionist citizens in Sinai to leave immediately a few days ago.”

“[The attack] also draws our attention to the fact that our troops currently present in Sinai are insufficient to protect it or protect our borders, which requires us to reconsider the terms of the treaty between us and the Zionist entity,” the statement concluded.
But Israel denied the accusations made by the Muslim Brotherhood concerning its involvement in the incident. Yigal Palmor, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said, “Even the person who says this when he looks at himself in the mirror does not believe the nonsense he is uttering.”
For ordinary people, there was disagreement about the identity of the group that carried out the attack, but most maintained that the victims should be avenged, and that the armed forces should carry out a large-scale operation in Sinai to eliminate terrorist elements.
Some calls went so far as asking for the peace treaty with Israel to be abolished, or at least amended to allow the security services to redeploy in that area.
On the other hand, others criticized the Egyptian intelligence services, especially as there had been earlier reports indicating the possibility of an imminent terrorist attack in Sinai.
Some in the Egyptian street interpreted the incident as a plot to turn the Egyptian presidency against Hamas. Those refused the accusations that Palestinians are behind the attack, and maintained that in analyzing who stands to benefit, Hamas would be the party to sustain the most damage from the incident.
Suleiman al-Sayed, an Egyptian youth, believes that those who carried out the attack are armed groups from Sinai, citing the fact that the last few days had seen incidents where foreign tourists and Egyptian soldiers were abducted.
Ahmed, another youth, believes otherwise. He thinks that the account that says Islamist groups were behind the attack is more plausible, particularly when the majority of these groups have been infiltrated by the Israeli intelligence services, as he said.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.

• “Israel cooked, Egypt ate, and Gaza has to wash the dishes,”
• THE GHOSTS OF THE HAUNTED NATION
• The Sectarian Agenda And The Sectarian Rats Let Loose

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"Israel cooked, Egypt ate, and Gaza has to wash the dishes,"

The Sinai Attack: Sending a Message

An Israeli soldier inspects a burnt armoured vehicle near the Kerem Shalom border crossing after unidentified gunmen crossed into Israel from Egypt on 6 August 2012. (Photo: AFP – David Buimovitch)

“there are two winners, Israel and SCAF. The losers are Hamas and the Egyptian MB.”

“The siege is now expected to intensify following the indefinite closure of the Rafah and Karm Abu-Salem border crossings”

By: Houssam Kanafani

Published Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The assault on Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai is not unrelated to events that the country has witnessed in the last few months. The Muslim Brotherhood’s (MB) control of the presidency has directly impacted Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, especially its ruling party.

Egyptian president-elect Mohammed Mursi has demonstrated receptiveness to the Palestinian Hamas movement. He even invited its leadership to the presidential palace – the first time in the movement’s history.



Mishaal condemns Sinai attack in phone contact with Morsi

Undoubtedly, observers in Egypt, Israel, and the United States were not very keen about such a high-level reception. So something had to be done to reaffirm the boundaries of the relationship between Egypt and Hamas, which the US considers a terrorist organization.
The Sinai attack was a path towards achieving this goal. Regardless of the direct perpetrators, those behind the curtains wished to send several messages to Egypt’s new rulers and Gaza’s older ones.

The only way to make the message clear was to display a show of strength that would provoke Egyptians to stand against the MB leadership’s strategy for alleviating the siege imposed on Gaza.
Public opinion can be roused by spilling the blood of Egyptian soldiers. This was a way to return the ball to the court of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), the “avenger of blood” entitled to exact retribution on the killers.

According to most Egyptian officials and media, the killers were “Palestinian from the Gaza Strip infiltrating Sinai.” This version of the story spread quickly through the streets.

The discourse had racist undertones, against “Palestinian terrorists,” despite numerous rational voices that apportioned blame based on who would gain from such a move, and who would lose. In this there are two winners, Israel and SCAF. The losers are Hamas and the Egyptian MB.
Those who planned, implemented, and enabled the operation were able to strike “two birds with one stone.”

The Gaza Strip was closed off, just like it was during the time of deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. The siege is now expected to intensify following the indefinite closure of the Rafah and Karm Abu-Salem border crossings.
It is interesting that the attack came hours after Israel warned tourists in Sinai of a “potential terrorist attack.” The news should have reached Egyptian security. Either they did not treat it seriously enough, or kept it under wraps to use for internal political ends that will become apparent in the coming days.

The blow first hit the Egyptian presidency and its efforts to play a role in external politics. Now it seems that this arena will remain firmly in SCAF’s hands, starting with Palestine.

Al-Saedni is one of the founders of the Tawhid and Jihad group.

The president will have to make do with working on internal issues and navigating between the boundaries drawn by SCAF. It seems, for now, changing presidents will not alter the political framework devised by the officers.

It was also a blow to Hamas at the exact time when the “terrorist” accusation would stick, following its incomprehensible decision to release a militant Salafi leader, who had been incarcerated in Gaza for the past two years.

The release was part of a deal, whose parameters are not yet clear. But it tainted Hamas with the stain of implicit cooperation with extremist movements. This made it easier to accuse Gaza’s rulers of participating in the Sinai attack.

“Israel cooked, Egypt ate, and Gaza has to wash the dishes,” goes the Strip’s new joke about the Sinai attack.

Houssam Kanafani is Arab world and international desk editor at Al-Akhbar.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.

The Muslim Brotherhood further called on the Egyptian people to counter the criminal activities collaborators, and to stand with the newly elected president in his efforts to restore law and order, and to maintain a strong security situation. 

• Egypt blocking Gaza tunnels after shootings
• Egypt targets Gaza tunnels after attack
• Tantawi leads funeral for Egyptian soldiers
• MB and SCAF: A Trial Truce and Trade of Powers

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