Arab Spring, Round 2

[garbon]

Are we supposed to be sad about the demise of the Brotherhood? Sure repression is bad and shouldn't be aimed for - but then neither is radical islam.

[Admiral Yi]

Are we supposed to be sad about the demise of the Brotherhood? Sure repression is bad and shouldn't be aimed for - but then neither is radical islam.

We're supposed to be sad about the derailment of democratic progress and the politicization of the military.

[mongers]

Not a surprise, Egypt seems to be very rapidly turning into a very unpleasant police state; I think the army, but especially all the internal security forces feel emboldened by the relative 'success' of their operations in recent days. 

Nasty things are now happening, actually very nasty, as in not seen even under Mubarhak. Like this weeks killing of 38 MB prisoners at first supposedly whilst escaping, then because of teargas inhalation and now the lawyers for the families say as the result of torture and summary execution within the prison.   

[KRonn]

Turkey has a long standing secular government.  I'm not sure they had rule of law.

And there may be a connection from that fact to the events in Egypt.

The AKP has long been seen as the very best case scenario for an Islamic governing party.  From the standpoint of an Egyptian military commander, the best possible case that could come out of MB rule in Egypt would be something like the AKP in Turkey.
But that isn't very reassuring for the Egyptian military.  Because on August 5, the former Chief of General Staff of the Turkish Army along with other former high military officials were convicted and sentenced to long prison terms on what appear to be trumped up and political motivated charges.
If I were an Egpytian general, that news would give me great concern about my likely future should an MB government return to power and consolidate its authority.

That could be one of the factors that helped tip the balance to hardliners in the Egyptian military one month after the Morsi coup.

I was thinking similarly to that. The Egyptian military may feel it is acting as the safe guard against government becoming too extreme, similar to how the Turkish military used to function until the latest rulers clamped down on the military.  And now the Eqyptian military may be acting partly because they fear what happened in Turkey could happen to them and the nation slide into an extreme government with the MB taking over and consolidating more and more power to themselves.

[CountDeMoney]

Hosni is free!

Time to reinstall him!

[DGuller]

Hosni is free!

Time to reinstall him!

I thought he was pretty sick and on death's door?

[Ed Anger]

Alaa Abdelnaby for president!

[DGuller]

Allahu Akbar seems be pretty popular over there as well.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Allahu Akbar seems be pretty popular over there as well.

I prefer admiral Ackbar myself, even if he looks a bit fishy.

[CountDeMoney]

Hosni is free!

Time to reinstall him!

I thought he was pretty sick and on death's door?

Who gives a shit.  We'll make it work.

[Savonarola]

And the struggle continues in Libya:

Libyan army, militias clash in Benghazi

Clashes between Libyan troops and an armed group in the eastern city of Benghazi have killed at least nine people and wounded at least 47 during a military operation, the Interior Ministry said.

The Libyan army on Monday declared a state of alert in Benghazi and summoned all troops to report for duty after a battle with Ansar al-Sharia fighters erupted.

Gunfire and explosions could be heard and thick smoke rose from the Ras Obeida area of the city. The army ordered residents to stay off the streets, witnesses told the AFP news agency.

Fighting broke out when an army special forces unit chased a suspect into an area where Ansar al-Sharia operates its own checkpoints, city security officials said. the group was blamed for the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi a year ago when Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed.

Rival militia groups withdrew from Tripoli last week after clashes killed more than 40 people when protesters marched to one of the fighters' bases to demand they leave the capital.

Militia defiance

The clashes came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and British Foreign Secretary William Hague met in London with Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, who was briefly abducted in Tripoli last month by Ansar al-Sharia.

Kerry said after the meeting that the U.S. and Britain would continue to support Libya, after weeks of violence in the country.

"The prime minister informed us of a transformation that he believes is beginning to take place and could take place because the people of Libya have spoken out and pushed back against the militias," Kerry said.

"So this is a moment of opportunity where there's a great deal of economic challenge, there's a great deal of security challenge."

The government has hired some of Libya's armed groups to provide security, but they remain loyal to their commanders or tribes and often clash in disputes over territory or personal feuds.

The Libyan government has struggled to restore order as fighters, most of whom were among the rebels who fought in the war that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, have defied the new military's attempts to disarm them.

I like Kerry's attempt to put a smiley face on a very bad situation.  He should have gone with "Did you know in Chinese the ideogram for Libya is made up of the characters for danger and opportunity?"

[Caliga]

I can't wait till all the Libyans start saying life was better under Gahdafi and blaming the Great Satan for liberating them.

[Syt]

Egypt have kicked out the Turkish ambassador after Erdogan had called for a release of Mursi and criticized the heavy handedness of how the military handled pro-Mursi protests.

[Savonarola]

I can't wait till all the Libyans start saying life was better under Gahdafi and blaming the Great Satan for liberating them.

Take up the White Man's burden--
And reap his old reward:
The blame of those ye better,
The hate of those ye guard--
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah, slowly!) toward the light:--
"Why brought he us from bondage,
Our loved Egyptian night?"

[Savonarola]

I love the smell of teargas in the morning it smells like victory.   

Tear gas fired in Tahrir Square as draft constitution nears approval
December 1, 2013  4:21PM ET
Anti-government and pro-Morsi protesters rallied as voting began on draft constitution that would ban religious parties

Egyptian security forces fired tear gas in Cairo's Tahrir Square to disperse anti-government protesters Sunday, as a new constitution that would reinforce the military's political power edged closer to approval.

"The people want to topple the regime," chanted several hundred protesters who descended on the square as voting was underway on a draft constitution that would ban all religious parties.

Though it only lasted about half an hour before security forces acted, it appeared to be the biggest protest by Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers in Tahrir since deposed President Mohamed Morsi's fall in early July. An Egyptian court in September banned all activities by the Brotherhood on the basis of national security.

One protester scaled a lamppost where he hung a picture of Morsi. Others flashed the four-finger hand sign denoting sympathy with the hundreds of Morsi supporters shot dead by the security forces when they broke up their Cairo sit-ins Aug. 14.

Some of the protesters said they were not from the Brotherhood. "I want Sisi out and a real end to army rule," said Ramez Ibrahim, 32, a professor of political science, referring to armed forces chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Army vehicles moved in to drive the demonstrators away and later sealed off the square completely. Some passersby shouted abuse at the protesters; others waved in support.

The government says it is determined to implement a law passed last week that heavily restricts protests. Criticized by the United States, the law has hardened fears of pro-democracy campaigners about the future of political freedoms in Egypt.

Banning religious parties

A few hundred yards from Tahrir Square, the 50-member constituent assembly was voting on the draft constitution, the provisions of which include a ban on parties formed on a religious basis. Islamist parties like the Brotherhood and the hardline Nour party, which backed Morsi's ouster, have won all national votes.

The draft constitution reflects how the balance of power has shifted in Egypt since secular-minded generals deposed Morsi in July after mass protests against him. It contains language that could ban Islamist parties outright.

The Nour party has described the draft as "satisfying."

A major milestone in Egypt's political roadmap, the constitution must be approved in a referendum before new elections, which Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, driven underground by security measures and a legal ban, is unlikely to contest.

The new constitution will replace one drafted by an Islamist-dominated assembly and signed into law by Morsi last year, after it was approved in a referendum. The new text strips out Islamist-inspired additions introduced last year.

The 2011 Tahrir Square uprising awoke hopes of a new era of freedom in Egypt, which is the world's most populous Arab nation. But three years of turmoil have made many Egyptians yearn for stability.

Sisi is now seen as an army strongman and a front-runner for the presidency, though he has yet to declare his candidacy.

Morsi's fall set off the bloodiest bout of internal strife in Egypt's modern history, with hundreds of his partisans killed and armed attacks on the security forces becoming commonplace.

Arab Democracy is the longest and most painful route from military dictatorship to military dictatorship.