Egypt: News/updates

[tamouh]

Report on the CTV News network "ticker" running under the main program of Egyptian tanks and helicopter gunships being used in the Northern Sinai against MB strongholds. We now have a secular war against Islamic extremeists running in Egypt, while the Sunni/Shia civil wars grow in strength in Syria (and threaten to spill out to surrounding countries).

The Saudis are in an interesting position. On the one hand they back the secular authorities in Egypt against the Muslim Brotherhoods, yet at the same time they are supplying financial support (along with many of the Gulf States) to similar radical groups in their fight against Syria, Hezbollah and Iran. There is a danger in trying to play too many sides against each other.

I wouldn't jump on this wagon yet. Until now, no one knows exactly what is happening in Sinai. In fact, I've never heard of MB, tribes wars or anything else there until about 6 months ago. Some speculate this is tribal wars, others say it is because of Palestinian tunnels. Some say it is about drug lords, others its about weapons shipped from Libya to Syria through Sinai.

What I know, that certain areas in Sinai are very difficult terrains and tribal relations are common. Thus, any army picking a war with that regime is likely to face a very stiff opposition and huge personnel losses.

I'd like to wait and see what is going to come out of Sinai. I doubt the MB or extremists have anything to do with it, but perhaps it may develop into that stage.

This is perhaps the only article I found that tried to make sense of the situation in Sinai:

http://www.politicalanalysis.co.za/2013/09/09/egyptian-military-activity-in-the-sinai-targeting-bedouin-militants-hamas-and-muslim-brotherhood/

The Bedouin of Sinai have long complained of neglect and discrimination by the state, and as a result many have turned to smuggling into Gaza and Israel to stimulate economic activity in the region. The illegal activity has been exacerbated by Israel’s blockade on Gaza after Hamas’s 2006 electoral victory. Under the blockade, which was also enforced by Egypt aboveground, Gaza has depended on smuggled Egyptian commodities, particularly fuel and building supplies, to keep the Strip’s infrastructure running. It is unambiguous that Hamas has relied heavily on the revenues generated from these tunnels to keep its administration afloat. .....................................

 

[CougarKing]

Apaches for the Egyptian Army's campaign against Muslim brotherhood fighters in the Sinai?

Defense News

US Eases Restrictions on Egypt Military Aid
Apr. 23, 2014 - 03:45AM  |  By AWAD MUSTAFA and ZACHARY FRYER-BIGGS

DUBAI and WASHINGTON – The US government is moving forward with $650 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Egypt’s military, part of an easing of restrictions that were put in place following the coup that removed former President Mohamed Morsi from power in 2013.

The announcement of the unfreezing of funds coincides with a separate delivery that had also been held up of 10 AH-64D Block II Apache Longbow helicopters, according to Egyptian military sources.

The Pentagon stated that delivery would only be made within 30 days after the payments are made.

“The State Department must also notify Congress that funds are being apportioned that will allow the US military departments to continue making payments on existing contracts,” a Pentagon spokesperson told Defense News.

(...EDITED)

 

[CougarKing]

Egypt's former army chief is now the president-elect:

Agence-France-Presse via the Economic Times of India

Sisi declared Egypt president-elect with 96.9% of vote
By: Agence France-Presse
June 4, 2014 3:15 AM

CAIRO - Ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi won 96.9 percent of votes in Egypt's presidential election, the electoral commission announced Tuesday, almost a year after he overthrew elected Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi.

Turnout in last week's election, hastily extended to three days amid fears of low turnout, was 47.45 percent, said commission chief Anwar Rashad al-Asi.

Sisi's rival Hamdeen Sabbahi won just three percent of the vote, excluding spoiled ballots.

(...EDITED)

 

[Infanteer]

Just goes to show that democracy doesn't work properly without a liberal foundation.  Oh well, "strongman" worked for Nasser and Mubarak - we may as well get used to Sissi so that tourists can head back to Giza....

 

[Edward Campbell]

Just goes to show that democracy doesn't work properly without a liberal foundation.  Oh well, "strongman" worked for Nasser and Mubarak - we may as well get used to Sissi so that tourists can head back to Giza....

I'm going to disagree very slightly: "democracy doesn't work without a liberal foundation of respect for the rule of law and the fundamental rights of all." There are a couple of successful democracies that still have very to fairly conservative foundations: Singapore, Taiwan and Japan to name three. They are, I suggest, at least as democratic as the several illiberal democracies - those with the trappings of free and fair elections but without much respect for fundamental rights when they become inconvenient.

 

[CougarKing]

But yet the Saudis haven't disowned certain rebel factions in Syria...

Reuters

Saudi shouts support for Egypt's new anti-Islamist leader
Reuters

By Yara Bayoumy
DUBAI (Reuters) - As new Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi prepares for his inauguration on Sunday, his most powerful Arab ally is deploying both threats and promises to ensure the Arab Spring cannot upset a new anti-Islamist front in the Middle East.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia urged Egyptians this week to embrace Sisi, the military man who drove Islamists from power in Cairo a year ago, and said they should to disown the "strange chaos" of the Arab uprisings.

It was Riyadh's starkest message of support yet for Sisi, who won an election last month thanks to support from Egyptians hoping that a strong, military-backed government will bring an end to three years of political instability in the most populous Arab country.

    Sisi's win was undoubtedly a boost for Saudi Arabia, which had watched with horror as the Arab revolts toppled authoritarian leaders and brought President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt.

    For Saudi Arabia, Sisi's win sealed the end, for now, of the rise of the Brotherhood, the international standard-bearer of mainstream Sunni political Islam since it was founded in Egypt in 1928.
   
Since the movement has a following in every Arab and Muslim society, the example set by the Egyptian Brotherhood's embrace of the ballot box poses a threat to the hereditary dynasties that hold sway in wealthy Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The movement enjoys substantial support from Islamist-friendly countries like Qatar and Turkey and its influence appears to have grown in countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and Libya since 2011


(...EDITED)

 

[tomahawk6]

Talk about painting a bullseye on your back.I give President al Sisi a BZ for stating a truth.

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/egypts-sisi-islamic-thinking-is-antagonizing-the-entire-world/

I am referring here to the religious clerics. We have to think hard about what we are facing—and I have, in fact, addressed this topic a couple of times before. It’s inconceivable that the thinking that we hold most sacred should cause the entire umma [Islamic world] to be a source of anxiety, danger, killing and destruction for the rest of the world. Impossible!

That thinking—I am not saying “religion” but “thinking”—that corpus of texts and ideas that we have sacralized over the years, to the point that departing from them has become almost impossible, is antagonizing the entire world. It’s antagonizing the entire world!

Is it possible that 1.6 billion people [Muslims] should want to kill the rest of the world’s inhabitants—that is 7 billion—so that they themselves may live? Impossible!

I am saying these words here at Al Azhar, before this assembly of scholars and ulema—Allah Almighty be witness to your truth on Judgment Day concerning that which I’m talking about now.

All this that I am telling you, you cannot feel it if you remain trapped within this mindset. You need to step outside of yourselves to be able to observe it and reflect on it from a more enlightened perspective.

I say and repeat again that we are in need of a religious revolution. You, imams, are responsible before Allah. The entire world, I say it again, the entire world is waiting for your next move… because this umma is being torn, it is being destroyed, it is being lost—and it is being lost by our own hands.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Well they intend to kill him anyways, might as well speak truth to the lust for power.

 

[CougarKing]

France is becoming an alternative source of weapons for Egypt after the "Arab Spring" unrest that made the Americans drag their feet on delivering more F16s to Egypt...

Defenseworld.net

Egypt Close To Buying 22 Rafale Fighters, 2 FREMM Frigates Worth Euro 6 Billion

Egypt and France are close to signing a 5 to 6 billion Euro contract for the sale of twenty Rafale and two FREMM multi-mission frigates.

La Tribune newspaper said on its website today that a French delegation of the Treasury visited Cairo earlier this week to assess the security of Egypt in the event of an agreement with the French manufacturers. The Egyptians have responded positively to the questions and especially the expectations of the French delegation, the report said quoting reliable sources.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[CougarKing]

An update on the above: the deal has been finalized.

Defense News

Egypt Agrees to Buy French Rafales

Paris — Egypt has told French President François Hollande of the decision to buy 24 Rafale fighter jets and a multimission frigate, with a contract signing to be held in Cairo on Monday, the Elysée president's office said in a statement Thursday.

"The Egyptian authorities have informed me today of their intention to acquire 24 Rafale combat aircraft and a multimission frigate as well as related equipment," the statement said. "This equipment will allow Egypt to increase its security and play fully its role in promoting regional stability.

"In this way the Rafale combat aircraft wins its first export contract.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[CougarKing]

Seems the embargoed F-16s will be delivered to Egypt after all...

New York Times

Tuesday, March 31, 2015 3:40 PM EDT

Obama Lifts Arms Freeze Against Egypt

Seeking to patch up relations with a longtime regional ally at a time of spreading war and instability in the Middle East, President Obama on Tuesday lifted an arms freeze against Egypt that he first imposed after the 2013 military overthrow of the country’s elected government.

Mr. Obama removed his holds on the delivery of F-16 aircraft, Harpoon missiles and M1A1 tank kits and in a telephone call assured President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt that he would continue to support $1.3 billion in annual military assistance for the Cairo government, the White House announced.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[CougarKing]

More military aid from France on the way to Egypt, aside from the recent Rafale and Mistral LHD deals.

Defense News

Egypt OKs Plan for €3B Military Gear Loan From France
Oscar Nkala, Defense News 10:05 p.m. EDT March 13, 2016

GABORONE, Botswana — The Egyptian parliament has approved government plans to secure a €3.37 billion (US $3.76 billion) loan to fund the acquisition of weapons and military equipment, including Navy vessels and fighter jets, as part of the country's ongoing force modernization program, a new parliamentary report has said..

(...SNIPPED)

The Egyptian defense forces have been battling several local jihadist groups and Al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliate militias in the Sinai Peninsula since 2013. In addition, the country faces enhanced security threats from dozens of trans-national terrorist groups — including IS — which have taken advantage of the political and security chaos to set up in neighboring Libya.

Like Russia, France has cashed in on the spike in Egyptian defense spending since 2013 to sell navy vessels, fighter jets and aerial defense systems. In 2014, Egypt ordered four Go-Wind corvettes and 45 MM-40-3 Exocet missiles to arm the vessels.

Delivery is set to start later this year and be completed by the end of 2017. Egypt has also ordered 24 Rafale jets and 500 AASMs and 150 MICA air-air missiles to arm the aircraft. In 2015, the Egyptian Navy acquired two French-made Mistraal Class helicopter carriers and ended the year with a giant order of 46 Russian-made Kamov - Ka-52 attack helicopters for the vessels.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

More military aid from France on the way to Egypt, aside from the recent Rafale and Mistral LHD deals.

Defense News

Sounds like they want to borrow enough that they can buy one or two F-35s ;D