US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Morsi in historic first

July 14th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Her two-day visit – during which she will also meet Field Marshal Hussein
Tantawi, the country’s interim military ruler after the Mubarak regime was
ousted in last year’s revolution – comes at a crucial moment for Egypt’s new
Islamist president.

Pressure is growing on him to begin rooting out powerful old regime figures,
after the first act in a confrontation with the army in Cairo last week.

Both the secular revolutionaries who crowded into Tahrir Square last year and
younger members of the Muslim Brotherhood want him to embark quickly on
ousting the so-called “feloul”, the civilian and military
officials “left over” from three decades of Mubarak’s rule.

Their demands threaten a new round of turmoil, 18 months after the uprising
that drove the disgraced former president from power.

“President Morsi has been elected and now he is on his way to take power
from the military, and we are behind him,” said Assem Farag, 32, a
driver, at a Muslim Brotherhood-organised rally in Tahrir Square on Friday
night.

“All the obstacles in Morsi’s way are figures from the old regime trying
to stop him. We will gradually push them out.”

The generals of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) who have run
Egypt since Mubarak’s downfall in February 2011 are now in an uneasy
power-sharing arrangement with the newly elected president.

The relationship has rapidly changed since he accepted office. Only two weeks
ago Muslim Brotherhood stewards stopped their brethren from chanting slogans
against the army at demonstrations. But on Friday speakers openly condemned
Field Marshal Tantawi, the powerful head of the armed forces, as thousands
crowded into Tahrir Square.

The atmosphere in the square has changed markedly from the days after the
revolution. Now, men with beards predominate; the few women present are all
in headscarves; and stalls sell pictures of the new Muslim Brotherhood
president alongside nooses for hanging manikins of Mubarak.

The angrier new mood follows the first act in what looks like a battle for
Egypt’s soul, a long-expected confrontation between the army and Muslim
Brotherhood – the two most powerful forces in post-revolution Egypt.

Just a week after his inauguration Mr Morsi threw down a gauntlet to the army
and recalled parliament – against the wishes of SCAF. But after he was
overruled by judges of the Supreme Constitutional Court – mostly leftovers
from Mubarak days – he appeared to blink first and backed down, postponing
the power struggle for now at least.

But it was significant that the first act of the new president had been to
express his defiance of the army, signalling what his supporters hope will
be a campaign of attrition against the informal networks of old regime
appointees.

Generals, judges, top civil servants and businessmen appointed or made rich by
Mubarak still control real power. Many are wealthy, and nearly all are
deeply opposed to changing the corrupt system which has suited them well.

Through SCAF, the army is by far the strongest element of the old regime still
in power: it controls the budget and has the power to declare war and set
foreign policy. It will continue to do so at least until new parliamentary
elections are held, expected in about six months, and a new constitution is
drawn up. Drafting that, and setting limits on the power of the army, is
likely to prove the major battlefield for the two.

Radical young Muslim Brotherhood members who took part in last year’s
revolution have shown a surprising willingness to force the pace of change. “Thousands
of people were in the street supporting Dr Morsi last week when he
challenged the army. He is a true revolutionary”, said Dr Ahmed Akeel,
34, a prominent member of the Brotherhood.

“He will finish the goals of the revolution and help us achieve a full
democracy. I believe Mohammed Morsi is determined, and has the support of
the people that he needs, to get this job done.”

Dr Akeel said an estimated 1,500 powerful figures from the former regime
remain in place, including soldiers, ex-members of Mubarak’s National
Democratic Party, and businessmen, still supported by thousands more
policemen and thugs.

“There were institutions which were corrupt under the former regime and
there is now a demand from the people to purify them,” he said.

Now some Egyptians fear elements who fear an Islamic takeover may rally to the
side of the army, with the potential for new clashes.

Across Cairo from Tahrir Square, by the memorial to the former President Anwar
Sadat who was assassinated by Islamic terrorists in 1981, daily rallies are
now held in support of SCAF.

Waving national flags, and with martial music blaring out, demonstrators
castigate the Brotherhood and praise the army, which for all its wealth and
privilege still enjoys wide support among Egyptians. Thousands of
demonstrators attend nightly, including well-dressed families and many who
thronged Tahrir Square last year during the revolution.

“We hate the Muslim Brotherhood, they are liars and hypocrites, and they
don’t know anything about democracy,” said Abdul Salem, 50, a lawyer,
on Friday evening. Another demonstrator, Noura Mohammed, wearing a
traditional black head-dress, said: “Morsi is too extremist for
Egyptians. We support the army – they are faithful to the people. We are
behind our army.”

Opponents of the Brotherhood fear that it will use its networks of grassroots
supporters to try to change Egyptian culture, slowly reshaping society in
its own image.

Already gangs of devout young men in villages and slums have taken on a more
active self-appointed role in policing their communities.

Customers at shops selling alcohol are being abused, and in one horrifying
case last week a man bled to death after he was stabbed in the groin as he
promenaded with his fiancée. His attackers, self-appointed religious police,
were arrested; they were not Muslim Brothers, but extremists who seem to
have taken heart from Morsi’s success in the polls.

“Before Morsi was elected we were used to sexual harassment, but now we
get a lot of verbal harassment if we go outside without a headscarf,”
said Theresa Samir, 24. “There is real fear among some unveiled women,
I even know a few who hardly leave their homes.”