Morsi Out as President, Liberal-Military Coalition Rule In

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Gen Abdulfattah al-Sisi, the head of the army, made a televised address to the nation accusing Mr Morsi of rejecting calls for national dialogue.
Backed by the country’s main religious leaders, Ahmed al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University, and Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Church, he said the military was taking up its “patriotic duty to the Egyptian masses”.

He announced a political road-map suspending the constitution, forming an interim government, and leading to new elections. He appointed the chief justice of the constitutional court as interim president with “full powers of decree”.

The Coptic pope Tawadros has also spoken. “We have all gathered under the Egyptian flag,” he says, supporting the army’s move.

Next up is Mohamed El-Baradei, the former presidential candidate and opposition leader. He says the transition period will move toward new elections. He calls for “social justice for every single Egyptian.” He says the Egyptian street has paid a high price for a hopeful political future.

The sheikh of Al-Azhar mosque follows Sisi at the podium. He says he supports the step the army has taken and calls on Egyptians to mend their differences.

An important presence at the army televised address is the Nour party, Egypt’s second-largest Islamist organization, which opposed the Muslim Brotherhood in the post-January 25 period. The party has declared its support for the political transition.

That’s about as big a coalition as you can get. I predicted a counterrevolution back in October and now it seems to be about done.

The announcements are in and they say that Morsi is no longer president. Morsi says that he is too president. But in a country whose original government was overthrown by mass protests and the military announcing their withdrawal of support, that doesn’t count for much. Just ask Mubarak.

Morsi’s big mistake was in alienating too many groups at the same time. He alienated the military by making too many sudden moves against it and alienated the liberal opposition by breaking all his promises to them.

He didn’t expect that the military and the liberal opposition would join forces against him. He was wrong. The Egyptian military has bypassed him assembling a coalition of religious and political leaders to sideline the Brotherhood.

Don’t count the Brotherhood out yet. There were a lot of Western investors who expected to cash in on Brotherhood rule and the fall of Mubarak. Part of the opposition to Mubarak was investment-based, he wasn’t reforming Egypt fast enough. And the American and European left these days prefers Arab Islamists to Arab Socialists.

And even if the military and the liberal opposition succeeds in their political judo move, they inherit a disastrous economy and a wave of popular anger over it. The Brotherhood can stage another revolution or a counter-revolution or a counter-counter-revolution after a few months of El Baradei running Egypt into the ground. If the military doesn’t remove him first.

Brotherhood protesters are already denouncing this as a military government. That will be their rallying call in the days, months and weeks ahead.

The Egyptian military has, like so many other regional militaries, taken on a Praetorian Guard role. This probably won’t be the last time they throw their political weight around.

Morsi too may not be done. But the liberal protesters have successfully shattered the idea that he can bring stability. And without that Western leaders will be less inclined to protect him.

So what does the fall of Morsi really mean? It means the end of the Arab Spring. There’s no positive change here, just revolution followed by revolution in an endless succession of banana republics. The Middle East isn’t on the verge of reform. It is what it has always been, an unstable and violent place with no culture of responsible governance or mutual respect for human rights.

But this is good news for Coptic Christians who have a shot at a government that may respect their human rights, though that will vary based on local authorities.

UPDATE: Morsi is at an “undisclosed location”.

  • Johnconrad

    I miss him already

  • mindRider

    The new leader inherits an Egypt as poor and dilapidated as two days ago, after the fireworks have died out this truth shall hit the revolutionaries straight in the eye.

    • objectivefactsmatter

      Ya

  • cj

    On the one hand, a fractured Egypt will have difficulty focusing on their hatred of Israel. On the other hand, a fractured Egypt creates opportunities for Salafists and other radical Islamists to take advantage of the increased economic instability to gain supporters. Either way, it seems that Muslims are their own worst enemy, and that is good for us. Obama is caught in the middle by his own lies and lack of commitment to anything but his own interests.

  • Softly Bob

    No change really. The Muslims will just try to gain power again. Chumps like Obama will champion their cause.
    Muslims need to be kept on a tight leash. They need tough, brutal semi-secular dictators like Mubarak, Assad and even Saddam to keep them in line.

    Hardline Muslims need a serious kicking now and again to keep them in their place. It’s the only language that they understand!

  • objectivefactsmatter

    “Brotherhood protesters are already denouncing this as a military government. That will be their rallying call in the days, months and weeks ahead.”

    Let’s see, what do I prefer? Military-secular coalition or sharia rule?

  • Profit

    I’m predicting a continuation of the Muslim abuse of Coptic Christians.

  • Drakken

    Comrade Obummer and his minions must be having complete fits by now, you really have to laugh at the ineptness and wrong headed thinking of this regime. Enjoy the show folks, Obummer and company will without a doubt eff it up even worse.

  • ziggy zoggy

    Well, this was as easy to see coming as pig $hit in a pig pen. Morsi’s real mistske eas being a totaltarian jihadi fu€tard in a country where the majority of the population prefer smart phones to burkas. Derp!

  • okokok

    This is exactly what will happen to Tea Party fundamentalists–just like the Muslim brotherhood fundamentalists–they get power and then sneak laws past the people–like in NC, Ohio, and Texas! take note! lol

    • ziggy zoggy

      DorkDorkDork;
      HAHAHA! left-wing projection at it worst and most typical. Obama is the world’s worst totalitarian and the Muzzie Brotherhood’s greatest patron and protector. The Tea Party opposes this tyranny from “the most transparent Administration ever.” Take note! LOL!

      • okokok

        are you a certifiable nut case? or just a nut case?

        • Arf

          Is that all you can come back with?

          • okokok

            not much more when communicating with an idiot, is there?

          • ziggy zoggy

            Does swallowing rot your brain? Try some nice iced tea instead of the spooge flavored cool aid.

          • okokok

            Advice from a famous fluffer?

          • UCSPanther

            Is that all you have, loser?

          • okokok

            being a cougar doesn’t work anymore?

          • okokok

            I can give you the complete article if desired?

            Despite their important implications for interpersonal behaviors and relations, cognitive abilities have been largely ignored as explanations of prejudice. We proposed and tested mediation models in which lower cognitive ability predicts greater prejudice, an effect mediated through the endorsement of right-wing ideologies (social conservatism, right-wing authoritarianism) and low levels of contact with out-groups. In an analysis of two large-scale, nationally representative United Kingdom data sets (*N* = 15,874), we found that lower general intelligence (*g*) in childhood predicts greater racism in adulthood, and this effect was largely mediated via conservative ideology. A secondary analysis of a U.S. data set confirmed a predictive effect of poor abstract-reasoning skills on antihomosexual prejudice, a relation partially mediated by both authoritarianism and low levels of intergroup contact. All analyses controlled for education and socioeconomic status. Our results suggest that cognitive abilities play a critical, albeit underappreciated, role in prejudice. Consequently, we recommend a heightened focus on cognitive ability in research on prejudice and a better integration of cognitive ability into prejudice models.

          • okokok

            would you like the complete link?

            Despite their important implications for interpersonal behaviors and relations, cognitive abilities have been largely ignored as explanations of prejudice. We proposed and tested mediation models in which lower cognitive ability predicts greater prejudice, an effect mediated through the endorsement of right-wing ideologies (social conservatism, right-wing authoritarianism) and low levels of contact with out-groups. In an analysis of two large-scale, nationally representative United Kingdom data sets (*N* = 15,874), we found that lower general intelligence (*g*) in childhood predicts greater racism in adulthood, and this effect was largely mediated via conservative ideology. A secondary analysis of a U.S. data set confirmed a predictive effect of poor abstract-reasoning skills on antihomosexual prejudice, a relation partially mediated by both authoritarianism and low levels of intergroup contact. All analyses controlled for education and socioeconomic status. Our results suggest that cognitive abilities play a critical, albeit underappreciated, role in prejudice. Consequently, we recommend a heightened focus on cognitive ability in research on prejudice and a better integration of cognitive ability into prejudice models.

    • Arf

      The “Tea Party fundamentalists” are Constitutionalists. That is why the left hates them. The Tea Partiers want the rule of law, the left wants to dispense with it and create a totalitarian state like Sharia law. Obama has completely ignored law in the U.S. and has created a thugocracy much like the Muslim Brotherhood. Currently, he uses the IRS, the NSA and the media to destroy most of his enemies, although rumor has it, he has murdered his ex-lovers in Chicago. Be careful, okokok, leftists have a history of turning on their own and eating them.

      • okokok

        Conservatives are such cowards: they are afraid of gay people getting married or serving in the military; they are afraid of bringing terrorists to super max prisons in the US from which no one has ever escaped;they are afraid of the boy scouts letting gay kids in; they are afraid of everyone voting and are constantly suppressing the vote under some bogus voter fraud theory; they are afraid of letting students vote at their universities; they are afraid of women having the right to choose; they even are afraid of women getting contraception [the real issue actually is a women’s agency and control over their bodies]; they are afraid of immigration reform leading to citizenship because they are afraid of– name whatever reason; they are afraid of mandating gun purchasers to undergo background checks for crazy people and terrorists; they are afraid of people smoking pot; they are afraid of climate change being real and contradicting their beloved Bible; they are afraid of legitimate campaign reform; they are afraid of Muslims; they are afraid of blacks; they are afraid of atheists; they are afraid of hippies; they are afraid of socialists; they are probably still afraid of monsters under their beds; they are just rank cowards and keep making things up to be afraid of

  • Jonathan Mitchell

    What a stupid army do they
    have? The democracy in Egypt is in chaotic. The stupid General Abdel Fattah
    Al-Sisi must be beheaded. He who causes the chaos must bear the whole
    negativity outcomes. Al-Baradei has to be beheaded too. He is the culprit initiating
    the seditious and subversive all over Egypt.
    The time has come for all of us the people of egypt to rise up and
    struggle (jihad) again, to uphold our right, the right of Islam. Now the people
    of egypt want the Muslim Brotherhood to step aside and not to get involve,
    directly. Let the people of Egypt take care of those culprits and secularist.
    This time let us make sure all of them be buried dead or alive.

  • Sharifah Aminah Ahmed

    What a stupid army do they have? The democracy in Egypt is in chaotic. The stupid General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi must be beheaded. He who causes the chaos must bear the whole negativity outcomes. Al-Baradei has to be beheaded too. He is the culprit initiating the seditious and subversive all over Egypt. The time has come for all of us the people of egypt to rise up and struggle (jihad) again, to uphold our right, the right of Islam. Now the people of egypt want the Muslim Brotherhood to step aside and not to get involve, directly. Let the people of Egypt take care of those culprits and secularist. This time let us make sure all of them be buried dead or alive.