Soldiers were poorly compensated and saddled with failing equipment. Dissatisfaction grew with the military’s leaders for staying too long.
After all that AmeriKan aid?
Oh, right, we turn out crap for ourselves so the surplus we ship to allies must be s***.
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At least they won't be a threat to Israel if they have shoddy equipment.
"Egyptian leader ousts generals, military leaders; Morsi reclaims power of civilian government" by Kareem Fahim | New York Times, August 13, 2012
CAIRO — President Mohammed Morsi forced the retirement on Sunday of his powerful defense minister, the army chief of staff, and several senior generals in a stunning purge that seemed for the moment to reclaim for civilian leaders much of the political power the Egyptian military had seized since the fall of Hosni Mubarak last year.
Morsi also nullified a constitutional declaration, issued by the military before he was elected, that eviscerated the powers of the presidency and arrogated to the military the right to pass laws. It was not immediately clear whether he had the constitutional authority to cancel that decree.
In a news conference broadcast at about 5 p.m., Morsi’s spokesman, Yasser Ali, announced the retirements of the defense minister, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, and the chief of staff, Sami Anan. He said that both men would serve as advisers to the president, suggesting that they had acquiesced to the plan.
Morsi also named a senior judge, Mahmoud Mekki, as his vice president. During the Mubarak era, Mekki fought for judicial independence and spoke out frequently against voting fraud. The president also replaced the commanders of the navy, air force, and air defense.
With Sunday’s moves, Morsi restored to his office the powers taken from him, seizing back sole control of the constitution-drafting process and the right to issue laws.
He decided that if the 100-member panel drafting the document did not finish its work for whatever reason, he will appoint a new one within 15 days and give it three weeks to finish its work. The draft will then be put to a vote in a national referendum within 30 days. Parliamentary elections will follow if the draft is adopted.
‘‘There was a duality of power,’’ said Saad Emara, a senior Muslim Brotherhood member. ‘‘This had to be settled in favor of one authority. The boat with two captains sinks.’’
A few hours after the decisions were announced, Morsi called on Egyptians to rally behind him in the face of the nation’s many challenges.
‘‘Today’s decisions are not directed at certain persons or meant to embarrass certain institutions. . . . I only had in mind the interest of this nation and its people,’’ he said in a televised speech. ‘‘I want [the armed forces] to dedicate themselves to a mission that is holy to all of us and that is the defense of the nation.’’
After nightfall, thousands of jubilant Morsi supporters celebrated in Tahrir Square, birthplace of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak 18 months ago. Another crowd of supporters formed outside the presidential palace in Cairo’s suburb of Heliopolis.
Tantawi, 75, had been expected to retire in the near future, but no timetable had been set, at least not publicly. Ali, praising Tantawi’s ‘‘invaluable services to the homeland,’’ said that the current chief of military intelligence, Abdul Fattah el-Sisi, would become the country’s new defense minister.
It's possible; it's also possible that they have developed their own agenda after having been created by western intelligence, much like Hamas after Israel created it to oppose Arafat.
There was no immediate reaction from the military, which traditionally sees itself as the guardian of the Egyptian state and is a fierce defender of its own powers and prerogatives. It remained to be seen whether the shake-up was the result of an understanding between Morsi and his senior generals or an unexpected attack that could draw a sharp response.
But a member of the military council, General Mohammed el-Assar, told Reuters that the decision was, ‘‘based on consultation with the field marshal and the rest of the military council.’’ On Sunday, el-Assar was appointed deputy defense minister.
In Washington, officials have closely watched the confrontation between Morsi’s civilian government and the military leaders, and recently welcomed signs that negotiations over how to share power were underway behind closed doors. Although neither the White House nor the State Department offered any immediate reaction to Morsi’s actions on Sunday, both Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta met with Field Marshal Tantawi and Morsi last month.
The changes were part of the continuing fallout from the killings of 16 Egyptian soldiers one week ago in the Sinai Peninsula. In the aftermath of the attack, which exposed intelligence failures by the government, Morsi fired his intelligence chief and replaced several other top security officials.
Yes, the timing of that sure was strange, coming as it did after the visits.
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"President, generals move closer to showdown in Egypt" by Steve Hendrix | Washington Post, July 10, 2012
CAIRO — President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt and his allies refused to back down on their call to reinstate the disbanded Islamist-dominated Parliament on Monday, ignoring a veiled threat from the military and a rebuke from the country’s highest court, and ordering lawmakers to take their seats Tuesday at noon.
The deadline marked the second day of escalating tensions in the standoff between the newly elected Morsi, a member of the long-banned Muslim Brotherhood, and the vestiges of the former Mubarak regime, which still control Egypt’s military and judiciary....
Morsi’s aggressive opening moves make it more likely that public confrontations between the sides will follow. In Tahrir Square, the center of last year’s historic popular uprising, Morsi supporters on Monday waved signs cheering his actions. And some Brotherhood members called for a mass march to support the lawmakers’ return to Parliament.
There was a modicum of civility between the two sides Monday, when Morsi appeared at a military graduation ceremony as the guest of Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, leader of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. As the two leaders watched the marching cadets, they exchanged a few words and laughs, but they mostly looked on somberly....
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Related:
"Some of the secular-minded lawmakers opposed to the Brotherhood did not attend the session, showing their support for the military’s dissolution of the Islamist-led body even though it cost their own seats."
"Only Egypt’s president can dissolve parliament, committee says" Bloomberg News, July 31, 2012
CAIRO — A subcommittee of Egypt’s constitutional panel agreed Monday that the Parliament can be dissolved only by a presidential decree after a referendum.
The committee also decided that under the new constitution, which is in the process of being drafted, the president will be the supreme commander of the armed forces, the state-run Ahram Gate reported, citing Salah Abdel Maaboud, a committee member.
The president also will have the power to declare war, subject to Parliament’s approval, it said.
The decision is likely to raise tensions in the political arena between the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took interim power after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, and the Muslim Brotherhood, which dominated the now-disbanded Parliament.
President Mohammed Morsi comes from the ranks of the Islamist group.
The National Front alliance — a group of democracy advocates, secularists, and moderate Islamists behind the uprising that drove Mubarak from power — has said that Morsi has reneged on campaign promises to form a national unity government.
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Related: Amid protests, Egypt court delays constitution ruling
Somebody call out formation:
"Despite criticism, Egyptians still view army favorably" by Karin Brulliard | Washington Post, July 15, 2012
CAIRO — When Egyptian protesters overthrew Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year autocracy last year, they first embraced the long-hallowed armed forces as revolutionary guardians. But that amity quickly decayed amid reports of troops firing on demonstrators and abusing women and suffered further when an interim junta delayed the democratic transition and stripped powers from the president.
Despite the unprecedented ire centered on military chiefs who had never faced public scrutiny, there are very few signs of a dent in the reputation of the Egyptian armed forces at large.
Even among demonstrators chanting strident, once-unthinkable slogans in Tahrir Square earlier this month — “Down with military rule!” — it was not difficult to find people such as Tarek Abo Elnaga, 16, who said he dreams of becoming an officer, or Medhat Mohamed, who said he would enlist in a heartbeat, even at age 45, “for my nation.”
The public admiration could bode well for stability. But as the generals fade from the spotlight, analysts say it could hinder civilian efforts to wrest real control of Parliament and military matters, something likely to require backing from a population that is tired of protest and looking for leadership from President Mohammed Morsi.
Then I wonder why there are thousands protesting in the streets every day.
I hope you can see why I've had it with the s***-slop we call a newspaper over here.
“It’s definitely going to make the president’s — or whatever civilian institution’s — task all that much more difficult,” said Yasser el-Shimy, an Egypt-based analyst with the International Crisis Group. “It’s one thing to revolt against Mubarak. It’s completely another to revolt against the military.”
Oh, right, this article was before the firings.
In his inauguration speech, Morsi said the armed forces would “go back to the barracks.” But even before he spoke, the audience of dignitaries and former parliamentarians chanted that Egyptians and the army are one.
“The majority of Egyptians are very much pro-SCAF and pro-military,” said Sameh Saif el-Yazl, a retired army general and security analyst who is viewed as close to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. “People look to the army as the final salvation.”
Polls taken before the elections support his claim. A Gallup survey conducted in April found that Egyptians’ confidence in the military had dropped little since June 2011, from 95 percent to 89 percent. A Pew Research Center survey this spring indicated that three-quarters of Egyptians believe the military has a good influence. Both surveys found that majorities viewed the council of generals positively.
The military’s standing was built over decades of dictatorial rule by presidents who hailed from the armed forces and was aided by censorship laws that prohibit reporting on the military, shielding it from examination.
To many Egyptians, the army is a valiant force that faced Israel in the 1973 conflict known here as the October War, which ended in stalemate but led to Egypt’s eventual repossession of the Sinai Peninsula. It is viewed as more inclusive and less brutal and corrupt than the police and security services, whose members often served as henchmen for Mubarak.
“At some level, even what it means to be Egyptian is connected to your relation to the military,” said Joshua Stacher, an Egypt specialist at Kent State University who has studied the armed forces.
Feels like AmeriKa to me.
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Also see: Two from Massachusetts held in Egypt
Boston pastor reportedly offered himself as hostage
Families rejoice at local pair’s release in Egypt
Family, friends await hostages’ return from Egypt
Boston pastor recounts captivity in Egypt
Egypt’s Mubarak returns to prison
Egypt will open tombs to reinvigorate tourism
Next Day Update:
I came in here to add this piece of bulls*** and found the spacing all f***ed-up after I already checked it last night. You can imagine how I am feeling right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Egypt’s president asserts himself, faces new scrutiny" August 17, 2012
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi replaced the military brass with generals who will be loyal to him. Many presidents would have done the same. The most surprising thing about Morsi’s shake-up is that it went so smoothly....
Meaning it is either a deceptive shuffling for domestic consumption or the military and Brotherhood have reached an agreement.
It is still unclear why the military acquiesced so quickly.
And the propaganda paper won't be clearing it up for me.
The recent attack on Egyptian border guards in the Sinai, allegedly by Islamic militants, presented an opening for Morsi to assert himself.
Oh, that Mossad false flag benefited Morsi, huh?
Oh, right, I have to remember the prism I'm seeing through here.
His crackdown on the militants in Sinai, which showed a willingness to defend law and order against fanaticism, and his removal of senior military officers appear to have been widely accepted by Egyptians....
Translation: He will do what Israel wants.
As a result, Morsi has almost no check on his authority until a new parliament is elected this fall. He can rule by decree.
Egypt's version of the executive order and signing statement, Americans. Remember those? Obama uses them as much as Bush, but nary a word in my s*** fooley media these days.
Although he didn’t create this situation, he could exploit it in ways that would be unhealthy for Egypt’s democracy, especially when it comes to drafting a new constitution. Egypt’s civil society and US officials must watch Morsi’s actions carefully and raise alarm bells if he abuses his power.
Translation: If he doesn't do what USrael wants the criticism will start appearing in the paper.
Oooooooh, now I see why the lying, agenda-pushing, war-promoting paper is so concerned.
The truth is, readers, the ENTIRE AmeriKan MEDIA is FALSE! It is either a COLOSSAL DISTORTION or an OUTRIGHT LIE! It's ALL STAGED and SCRIPTED, folks. I know that is a VERY DIFFICULT IDEA to accept; however, it is the truth.
That raises fears that Morsi is poised to become yet another military dictator.
Now we have reached the level of insult. This after all those years of supporting Mubarak and the military.
Morsi should understand that the whole world is watching. And the global community will judge him based not on how much power he can acquire, but how wisely he uses it.
Just when I thought the level of elitist insult couldn't be raised.....
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I'm starting to revolt against this rank shit, readers. I don't know how much longer I can do this, and you will see why as I move forward above.
