As military makes its move, forget about liberal democracy in Egypt
Overnight and into today, the Egyptian military did what it has been threatening to do for more than a month: Surround and violently disburse the main Muslim Brotherhood protest camp at Rabaa in Cairo, leaving scores dead, and touching off all-too-predictable reprisals against government interests and Christians across the country.
udging by the historical behavior of the Egyptian military's top brass, they won't be too upset by the reaction of Brotherhood supporters and may well be delighted by it. From the moment it toppled elected President Mohamed Morsi on July 3, the military has spun a narrative that paints opposition to their actions as terrorism, directed by foreigners interested in destroying the Egyptian state. Who is the hero of moment, the only one who can "save" Egypt?
The military.
And the military today declared a month-long state of emergency, as well as a daily curfew, that gives them nearly unfettered powers of arrest and a free hand to use violence as they see fit, much like the 30-year state of emergency they used after Anwar Sadat was assassinated to bolster the reign of Hosni Mubarak. Mr. Mubarak was abandoned by his military allies after the popular uprising against him in January 2011.
<snip>
Egyptians afraid of the Brothers have lapped all this up. Their fear of the Brothers and their regressive agenda is understandable. The Brotherhood's ultimate goal is for Islamic law to dominate society, and that worries millions of Egyptians, not just the Christians who make up about 10 percent of the country.
But it's also a fact that many millions of Egyptians support the Muslim Brotherhood and are now being spoken of as vermin, as animals that deserve death. Many of them will inevitably fight back, and with the military too strong to attack head on, soft targets and civilians will likely be their targets. Scores of unarmed Brotherhood supporters died today.
<snip>
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2013/0814/As-military-makes-its-move-forget-about-liberal-democracy-in-Egypt