'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Earlier this year, most analysts in Egypt assessed Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi to be the key figure in that country's politics and President Mohamed Morsi to be a lightweight. Mr. Morsi fired Field Marshal Tantawi on Aug. 12.
The State Department on Tuesday denied having played an inside role in the appointment of Egypt's new defense minister, a former military intelligence chief who has long-standing ties to the U.S.
Egypt's military signaled its acquiescence Monday to the president's surprise decision to retire the defense minister and chief of staff and seize back powers that the nation's top generals grabbed from his office.
Egypt's Islamist president ordered the retirement of the defense minister and chief of staff on Sunday and canceled the military-declared constitutional amendments that granted the top generals wide powers previously reserved for the head of state.
Egypt's Islamist president ordered the retirement of the defense minister and chief of staff on Sunday and canceled the military-declared constitutional amendments that granted the top generals wide powers previously reserved for the head of state.
Egypt's army on Wednesday launched helicopter missile attacks in the Sinai Peninsula, killing as many as 20 suspected terrorists in a lawless region where a military crackdown on smuggling routes into the Gaza Strip is worsening an energy crisis and heightening violence in the area.
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi fired his intelligence chief and the governor of Northern Sinai on Wednesday following a weekend attack by suspected militants in Sinai who killed 16 soldiers.
Egypt held a military funeral on Tuesday for 16 soldiers killed in an attack over the weekend by suspected Islamist militants in Sinai near the borders with Gaza and Israel.
Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi on Friday gave a lengthy speech to the army in praise of its role during the run-up to his election, proclaiming that he, his government and the powerful generals will cooperate for the future.
Egypt's new prime minister pledged Thursday that his new 35-member Cabinet would be a "people's government," and called on Egyptians to rally behind it and the nation's newly elected president in the face of "grave challenges."
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Tuesday that Egypt's new president and its military chief have reassured him that they will steer the country to full democracy.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday urged Egypt to commit to "a strong, durable democracy" that protects the rights of all citizens, hoping to appeal both to supporters of the popularly elected Islamist president and to minorities fearful of being repressed by their new government.
Egypt's top general on Sunday raised the stakes in the military's political standoff with the Muslim Brotherhood, saying the armed forces will not allow a "certain group" to dominate the country.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hoped to use her first meeting with Egypt's new Islamist president on Saturday to steer Mohammed Morsi toward opening a dialogue with the military that could end the country's political crisis.
What does it mean that Mohammed Morsi is the president of Egypt? The American consensus is that Egypt has been lost. However, the election was not just symbolic, but illusory. Egypt's future remains very much in play.
Marshal Tantawi announced that the emergency law would be lifted for Wednesday's commemoration, except in cases of what he called "thuggery."
