Egypt: SCAF Power Grab

To nobody’s surprise, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), the military junta running Egypt in the post-Mubarak era, is seeking to curtail the power of the presidency in Egypt while simultaneously enhancing its own power by controlling its own budget and refusing the president to serve as the commander-in-chief. The Obama administration has “urged” the council “to cede” power, but make no mistake about it, the SCAF is in charge because it wants to be and because it has American backing. If the US was serious about the SCAF ceding power, it would threaten to cut off its nearly $2 billion in US military aid that goes directly to, you guessed it, the SCAF. The Obama administration, like its predecessors, prioritizes Israeli interests over democracy in the region, which effectively means subverting democracy in the region, except for in Iran. Democracy in Egypt, for example, runs counter to Israeli interests since a democratic government in Egypt will be beholden to the will of an overwhelmingly anti-Zionist population which wants the siege of Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip terminated indefinitely, and a re-evaluation of the peace treaty. Thus, democracy, according to the Washington and Tel Aviv, must be subverted in Egypt by any means necessary, even if it means real power is vested in a military junta that rules directly or indirectly. Welcome to phase 2 of the revolution.