Ali, who ruled in the 19th century, is considered the founder of modern Egypt and its dominant military tradition. American ties to Cairo have run deep ever since Sadat evicted Soviet advisers and attached his star to … “There is first of all the …
- Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other supporters of ousted President Mohammed … more >
Follow @washtimes
Will your opinion of Edward Snowden change if he takes asylum in Boliva or Venezuela?
In ousting Muslim Brotherhood rule, the Egyptian army did what it has been taught to do for decades, analysts say: Keep Cairo out of the hands of Islamists.
It is a creed imbued by its former secular presidents who first served as military officers and molded the armed forces into a pro-Western bulwark against Islamic extremism.
It is an esprit de corps nurtured by America. The U.S. has played host to hundreds of Egyptian officers at the Pentagon’s elite educational institutions such as the Army War College and the Naval Postgraduate School. The U.S. educates and trains about 1,000 Egyptian military personnel each year.
Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s supreme armed forces commander who engineered the ouster Wednesday of President Mohammed Morsi, attended the war college in Carlisle, Pa., in 2006. In the 1990s, he was a student at Britain’s prestigious Joint Services Command and Staff College.
Robert Springborg, who has taught Egyptian officers at the naval school in Monterey, Calif., calls the Egyptian military’s culture “the creation of a sense of superiority above civilians, reinforced by privilege.”
Egypt’s two, pre-Brotherhood presidents — Anwar Sadat and the now-imprisoned Hosni Mubarak — were products of military education. Sadat joined Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser’s Free Officer Movement, which staged a coup 1952 against King Farouk. Mubarak led the air force under Sadat.
After the 1981 assassination of Sadat by Islamists inside the military, Mubarak worked to rid the ranks of such ideologues.
“I would thank Mubarak and, indeed before him, Sadat, Nasser and the British, to say nothing of Muhammad Ali,” Mr. Springborg said. “The tradition of the military at the core of the state is 200 years old.”
Ali, who ruled in the 19th century, is considered the founder of modern Egypt and its dominant military tradition.
American ties to Cairo have run deep ever since Sadat evicted Soviet advisers and attached his star to Washington and its military-industrial complex.
The alliance has brought to the Egyptian military some of the most powerful U.S. weapons, such as the F-16 Falcon fighter jet and the M1A1 Abrams tank — thanks to American taxpayers.
“There is first of all the fact that we provided them $1.5 billion a year, the majority of it in U.S. weapons and equipment,” said Ken Allard, a retired Army colonel who has lectured on Egyptian military’s role in society. “But there is also the fact that both its current leaders are U.S. Army War College grads. They are only the most obvious ties between military establishments that have lived, trained and worked together ever since Sadat.
“As I used to tell my students at the National War College, the instruction was vital, but the friendships formed were what shapes lives and careers.”
James Phillips, a Middle East analyst at the Heritage Foundation, said the coup underscores a fact of life in Cairo.
“The army essentially has run Egypt since Nasser’s coup in 1952, and it will be reluctant to give up its role as the ultimate arbiter of Egyptian politics,” Mr. Phillips said. “But it will be willing to step back from direct rule and operate behind the scenes.”
Red Pill, Blue Pill
Al Maurer provides a common sense, conservatarian, Constitutional conservative perspective from the battleground state of Colorado
- Egyptians exhibit a Spirit of ‘76
- Lest we revolt: A Declaration of Independence for the 21st Century
TV Den
Television commentary, reviews, news and nonstop DVR catch-up by Lisa King Dolloff and friends.
- TV tonight: Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls rounds up NBC reality night
- TV tonight: Pay cable delivers with ‘True Blood’ and ‘Ray Donovan’
The Business of Living
- DIEDRICH: Political Twix: Are Left and Right really different?
- Hemp in Wisconsin; a perfect climate and soil for growing marijuana
Leading Edge Legal Advice for Everyday Matters
Life happens and the Law either protects you or foils you. Here you will learn how to stay ahead of the game.
For more details, visit www.washingtontimes.com
a42dc08c4cfea09406b9dc4034ab7306 bc106dac224dc04a660f9a9434b799c2