Claudia Rosett explains to non-Rantburg readers why Mohamed ElBaradei is a dangerous opportunist and Iran's man at the IAEA. We know this, but it's great to see Ms. Rosett lay it out.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/08/2013 00:00 ||
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Reasonable hypothesis: Morsi wasn't very well known or liked personally either within the Brøderbünd or outside it, so when Egypt began to flounder his many flaws became evident to all. He had to keep giving the Brøderbünd what it wanted so that it wouldn't turn on him, and that meant progressively alienating the Salafists at one end and the liberals, army and Copts at the other. When the latter set rose up he had no natural constituency to support him as the Salafists sat on their hands. The Brøderbünd is protesting now not for him but for their own loss of power.
When historians review Mohamed Morsi's brief presidency, the now-deposed Egyptian leader's most iconic moment will likely have come one day before he was formally inaugurated.
Addressing a raucous Tahrir Square crowd, Morsi unbuttoned his blazer to reveal that he was not wearing a bulletproof vest and declared, "I have nothing to fear, I only fear God, I'm here among you."
For many Egyptians, the gesture reflected the new era of more representative, post-Hosni Mubarak politics, in which the president's popular legitimacy served as his first line of physical protection.
But it will now go down as Morsi's "Mission Accomplished" moment, because his insular, often autocratic governing style earned him so many enemies that even his basic electoral legitimacy couldn't save him.
So how did Morsi go from the face of Egypt's democratic future to the target of a mass uprising within barely 12 months?
Part of the reason has to do with the way in which Morsi won the presidency.
Until April 2012, when Morsi became the Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate following the disqualification of the organization's initial nominee, Morsi was a political unknown: he was member of Egypt's barely-followed parliament under Hosni Mubarak, and kept a low profile as chairman of the Brotherhood's political party following the 2011 revolution. His campaign trail appearances didn't boost his image either. His speeches often ran for two hours, and he exuded gruffness in television interviews.
The Muslim Brotherhood's unparalleled mobilizing capabilities, however, enabled Morsi to overcome these otherwise fatal shortcomings.
This made Morsi's unpopularity irrelevant, since the Brotherhood's vast, nationwide network of members could get out the vote with unmatched efficiency. Morsi thus won the presidency without having to be liked - thereby making it easy for people to start hating him as soon as his many flaws became apparent.
Morsi's total reliance on the Brotherhood for his political success had another damaging effect: it made pleasing his Brotherhood colleagues a top priority, even though he campaigned promising to govern inclusively. Morsi thus continually expanded the number of Brotherhood ministers and governors with each round of appointments, further alienating non-Islamists.
His most damaging move in this regard, however, came on Nov. 22, when he issued a constitutional declaration asserting total executive authority, and then used this as a pretext for ramming an Islamist constitution through to ratification.
As the Brotherhood successfully mobilized to pass the constitution by referendum, a once disparate coalition of non-Islamist forces took to the streets by the hundreds of thousands, and a wave of smaller, increasingly violent demonstrations simmered for months.
Meanwhile, as critics accused Morsi of "Brotherhoodizing" the government, state institutions became unresponsive to his administration.
By the time of Wednesday's coup, Egypt was on the verge of state failure - and it still is.
In other words, the source of Morsi's initial political strength - the Brotherhood's unique organizational prowess - was also the source of his downfall, because it obviated his need for working with others.
And by the end, they refused to work with him, too.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/08/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
This story reminds me of Jimmy Carter, except he was swept in by anti-government disgust, rather than a formal "party".
I suppose this is an argument for electing president by popularity. Unless the popular guy turns out to be a narcissist.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/08/2013 6:12 Comments ||
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#3
Does anyone feel sorry for Egypt ? They have always been such good friends and really decent people to us? And they are moderate Moslems. Moderate Islam, an interesting idea.
That liked our money. And their culture, however old was still well, Egyptian . The Romans used to call them Gyppos".
#5
They're waiting for the Taliban + LeT to setup shop in Egypt as per Hezbollah + Al-Qaeda???
* E.G. WORLD NEWS > [Reuters]SYRIAN CONFLICT PUTTING AL-QAEDA MILITANTS CLOSER TO EUROPE: UK.
[MIGHTY HOMER SIMPSONIAN "DOH"! HERE].
What will POTUS Bammer do? Iff one believes that the US is the driver, or in alterante is being driven toward [anti-US?] OWG-NWO, what will the Bammer's Globalist POTUS successor do come Jan 2017???
GLOBALIST "MULTI-POLAR WORLD' = OWG/GLOBAL NUCLEAR CALIPHATE, among other.
#3
Using your EBT card to purchase nice deli lunches at Whole Foods, then sitting on the veranda picnic tables just outside the door to enjoy it with your friends. Truly the Obama-Life.
#5
Lie and sign up. Get free goodies. Then when the system goes bankrupt - say 18 months or so - they come after you for fines, interest and penalties. Remember the IRS is administering this program, and they are publicizing the lack of controls.
[Ynet] Assad's use of Paleostinian groups to attack IDF positions does not bode well for Golan residents
Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... is acting on his threats against Israel, but cautiously so as not to stretch the rope too hard. Netanyahu, Ya'alon and Gantz, for their part, are firing rhetorical warning messages in Assad's direction as of late, but are actually conducting themselves with added restraint and caution, without giving up on substance. The result is a tense and fragile calm in the Golan Heights.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/08/2013 00:00 ||
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#5
Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized
Old women condemned him, said he should apologize.
Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad
The bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel bad
Hes the neighborhood bully
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
07/08/2013 21:19 Comments ||
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#6
Heard the US M1 got about 95% first-round hits in Gulf I. So it's possible to get close. In fact, thirty hits for seventy rounds sounds pretty bad, considering a number of the targets were probably immovable fighting positions.
Note the report refers to 60mm arty. Not that it's funny to call it that, but what is the 60mm doing at tank school? Is it the smoke canisters?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
07/08/2013 21:22 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
When historians review Mohamed Morsi's brief presidency, the now-deposed Egyptian leader's most iconic moment will likely have come one day before he was formally inaugurated.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
