I have heard the Lame Stream Media cry over the deaths to Muslim Brotherhood supporters by the Egyptian Military for the last few days. Crocodile tears from the liberal elites towards a people who from the first moment they took control of Egypt, until today have systematically murdered, raped, looted and destroyed the Coptic Church and its members. You can read their latest destruction of these churches in one day here. I am sure that the Muslim Brotherhood would have attacked the Jews of Egypt but there are only 19 old women left in the whole nation.
Right before the Egyptian Military retook control of the nation, the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies went on a 2 week rampage against the Coptic Church. Not a word about that from the world.
The Egyptian defense minister has ordered the repair and reconstruction of all churches that suffered damage in the country’s violent demonstrations since the Egyptian military removed President Mohamed Morsi from power last month.
Defense minister Col. Gen. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi intends to fix the damage to Coptic churches at Rabaa Adaweya and Nahda squares, according to a report by the Mid-East Christian News.
Dozens of churches were attacked and burned in riots after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities to demand the end of what they call military rule, following the removal of Morsi on July 3. Many of Morsi's supporters have voiced criticism at Egypt's Christian minority for largely supporting the military's decision to oust him from office.
“The Egyptian defense minister ordered the engineering department of the armed forces to swiftly repair all the affected churches, in recognition of the historical and national role played by our Coptic brothers,” read a statement that aired on Egyptian television.
Bishop Mousa thanked Sisi for his efforts to repair the damaged churches.
“We thank Col. Gen. Sisi for commissioning the brave Egyptian armed forces to rebuild the places of worship damaged during the recent events,” Bishop Mousa said on Twitter.
17 deaths were reported Friday after several days of violence that caused more than 638 deaths and 4,000 injuries in clashes between Morsi supporters and Egyptian military forces.
The Maspero Youth Union, a Coptic Christian youth movement, says there’s a "retaliation war" against the religious minority, which makes up around 10 percent of Egypt's population, according to a report by AFP.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), an Egyptian NGO, says at least 25 churches were torched this week, and attackers also targeted Christian schools, shops and homes across all 27 provinces.
I had to double check the date on the calendar. It feels as if it was 1952 all over again and the Egyptian Military had just overturned the regime of King Farouk. One dictator replaced by another. And so history has come full cycle with today's events.
An all-out power struggle has broken out in Egypt, with President Mohammed Morsi's national security adviser saying Wednesday a military coup was underway.
However, there were no immediate reports of any mass military takeovers -- although troops, including commandos in full combat gear, were deployed across much of Cairo, including at key facilities, on bridges over the Nile River and at major intersections.
The military has vowed to defend its people "against any terrorist, radical or fool.” Top military officials and opposition leaders held talks for most of the day and a statement was expected at the conclusion.
"For the sake of Egypt and for historical accuracy, let’s call what is happening by its real name: Military coup," the Morsi adviser, Essam al-Haddad, said on his Facebook page.
An aide told Reuters that Morsi had spent the day working at a presidential office in a compound of the Republican Guard in Cairo, but it was unclear if he would be able to return later to his palace.
Witnesses told Reuters that the army was erecting barbed wire and barriers around the compound, and moving in vehicles and troops to prevent supporters from getting to his palace.
A travel ban was put on Morsi and the head of his Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, as well as Badie's deputy Khairat el-Shater, officials told the Associated Press.
The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) -- the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood -- has denied that Morsi was placed under house arrest.
Minutes before the military’s deadline for Morsi to resolve the nation’s political crisis passed Wednesday afternoon, the embattled leader called for "national reconciliation," but vowed he would never step down.
Millions were in the main squares of major cities nationwide, demanding Morsi's removal, in the fourth day of the biggest anti-government rallies the country has seen, surpassing even those in the uprising that ousted against his autocratic predecessor Hosni Mubarak. Critics say Morsi has set the nation on a path toward Islamic rule.
"The presidency renews its own roadmap and invites all national forces for dialogue," Morsi said in a statement on his Facebook page, adding that his vision is to hold a coalition government that will run upcoming parliamentary elections. Morsi also said he was looking to "form an independent committee for constitutional amendments to be presented to the coming parliament."
He described electoral legitimacy as the only safeguard against violence and instability.
Khaled Daoud, spokesman of the main opposition National Salvation Front, which pro-reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei leads, said that ElBaradei, Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar mosque, and Pope Tawadros II, patriarch of Egypt's Coptic Christian minority, were part of the meeting with military leaders.
Political sources told Reuters that two members of a rebel youth group that is leading the anti-Morsi protests and members of the hardline Muslim fundamentalist al-Nour Party also were attending.
State news agency MENA said the group will jointly announce a short period of transitional rule to be followed by presidential and parliamentary elections, according to Reuters.
A Defense Ministry official said Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also held an emergency meeting earlier in the day with his top commanders, hours before the deadline expired. The official, who gave no further details, spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, the Associated Press reports.
The army also asked the FJP to meet with el-Sissi, but the invite was rejected.
"We have a president and that is it," Waleed al-Haddad, a senior leader of the party, told Reuters.
The state-run Al-Ahram newspaper -- which also seemed to be following a military line -- reported that the military had placed several leaders of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood under surveillance.
Before the deadline expired at 5 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET), employees at Egypt's state TV station said military officers were present in the newsroom monitoring its output, but not interfering with their work.
The military also beefed up the presence of troops inside the building, the employees told the Associated Press, though they were not visible outside. Even before the crisis, a small army contingent usually guards the state TV headquarters.
Earlier Wednesday, Egypt’s military vowed to defend the country’s people.
"We swear to God that we will sacrifice even our blood for Egypt and its people, to defend them against any terrorist, radical or fool,” read a post on the official Facebook page of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
A military source told Reuters that the statement — issued after Morsi appeared on state TV late Tuesday to once again reject an ultimatum from Sissi that he share power with opponents or face military action — reiterated that the armed forces would not abandon their demands.
In his emotional 46-minute speech, Morsi vowed not to step down and pledged to defend his legitimacy with his life in the face of three days of massive street demonstrations calling for his ouster. The Islamist leader accused loyalists of his ousted autocratic predecessor Hosni Mubarak of exploiting the wave of protests to topple his regime and thwart democracy.
"There is no substitute for legitimacy," said Morsi, at times angrily raising his voice, thrusting his fist in the air and pounding the podium. He warned that electoral and constitutional legitimacy "is the only guarantee against violence."
The statements showed that Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood are prepared to run the risk of challenging the army. It also entrenches the lines of confrontation between his Islamist supporters and Egyptians angry over what they see as his efforts to impose control through the Brotherhood and his failures to deal with the country's multiple problems.
At the main pro-Morsi rally in Cairo, thousands of his Islamist supporters chanted, "Wake up el-Sissi, Morsi is my president."
"We will not bring back the military rule," they chanted outside the Rabia al-Adawiya Mosque. "Will not happen, will not happen," they shouted.
After the army's deadline passed, a military helicopter circled over the crowds in Tahrir Square, which was transformed into a sea of furiously waving Egyptian flags. "Leave, leave," they chanted to Morsi, electrified as they waited to hear of an army move. After nightfall, fireworks went off and green lasers flashed over the crowd.
The current showdown follows a night of deadly clashes in Cairo and elsewhere in the country that left at least 23 people dead, most in a single incident near the main Cairo University campus. The latest deaths take to 39 the number of people killed since Sunday in violence between opponents and supporters of Morsi, who took office in June last year as Egypt's first freely elected leader.
The bloodshed, coupled with Morsi's defiant speeches, contributed the sense that both sides are ready to fight to the end.
Mahmoud Badr, spokesman for the youth movement behind the latest wave of protests, called on anti-Morsi protesters to demonstrate Wednesday outside three presidential palaces as well as the Cairo headquarters of the Republican Guard, an army branch tasked with protecting the president, his family and presidential palaces. Morsi is thought to have been working at the Republican Guard headquarters since the start of the protests.
Badr also called on the army to place Morsi under arrest for his alleged incitement to civil war.
"Today is the day of decisiveness," Badr said at a news conference.
On Tuesday, millions of jubilant, chanting Morsi opponents again filled Tahrir Square, as well as avenues adjacent to two presidential palaces in the capital, and main squares in cities nationwide.
The president's supporters also moved out in increased marches in Cairo and other cities, and stepped up warnings that it will take bloodshed to dislodge him.
On Monday, the military gave Morsi the ultimatum to meet the protesters' demands within 48 hours. If not, the generals' plan would suspend the Islamist-backed constitution, dissolve the Islamist-dominated legislature and set up an interim administration headed by the country's chief justice, the state news agency reported.
The leaking of the military's so-called political "road map" appeared aimed at adding pressure on Morsi by showing the public and the international community that the military has a plan that does not involve a coup.
Fearing that Washington's most important Arab ally would descend into chaos, U.S. officials said they are urging Morsi to take immediate steps to address opposition grievances, telling the protesters to remain peaceful and reminding the army that a coup could have consequences for the massive American military aid package it receives. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
At the U.S. State Department media briefing Wednesday, spokeswoman Jen Psaki restated the administration's priority on the democratic process.
"It's never been about one individual," she told reporters. "It's been about hearing and allowing the voices of the Egyptian people to be heard."
Pentagon Spokesman George Little says there has been no change in terms of the U.S. military prepositioning assets in and around Egypt in the event they are called upon to assist the U.S. embassy in Cairo.
Morsi is out. I wonder if he will be put on trial. Elections are scheduled to happen in a few weeks. Will another Morsi fronted by the Muslim Brotherhood be elected or will true freedom finally reign?
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. The war began when the coalition launched a joint surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, which coincided with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Egyptian and Syrian forces crossed ceasefire lines to enter the Israeli-held Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights respectively, which had been captured and occupied since the 1967 Six-Day War. The conflict led to a near-confrontation between the two nuclear superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, both of whom initiated massive resupply efforts to their allies during the war.
The war began with a massive and successful Egyptian crossing of the Suez Canal during the first three days, after which they dug in, settling into a stalemate. The Syrians coordinated their attack on the Golan Heights to coincide with the Egyptian offensive and initially made threatening gains against the greatly outnumbered Israelis. Within a week, Israel recovered and launched a four-day counter-offensive, driving deep into Syria. To relieve this pressure, the Egyptians went back on the offensive, but were decisively defeated; the Israelis then counterattacked at the seam between two Egyptian armies, crossed the Suez Canal, and advanced southward and westward in over a week of heavy fighting. An October 22 United Nations-brokered ceasefire quickly unraveled, with each side blaming the other for the breach. By 24 October, the Israelis had improved their positions considerably and completed their encirclement of Egypt's Third Army. This development led to tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. As a result, a second ceasefire was imposed cooperatively on October 25 to end the war. At the conclusion of hostilities, Israeli forces were 40 kilometers (25 mi) from Damascus and 101 kilometers (63 mi) from Cairo.
The war had far-reaching implications. The Arab World, which had been humiliated by the lopsided rout of the Egyptian-Syrian-Jordanian alliance in the Six-Day War, felt psychologically vindicated by early successes in the conflict. In Israel, despite impressive operational and tactical achievements on the battlefield, the war effectively ended its sense of invincibility and complacency. The war also challenged many American assumptions; the United States initiated new efforts at mediation and peacemaking. These changes paved the way for the subsequent peace process. The Camp David Accords that followed led to the return of the Sinai to Egypt and normalized relations—the first peaceful recognition of Israel by an Arab country. Egypt continued its drift away from the Soviet Union and left the Soviet sphere of influence entirely.
I write the above to remind the world of what happened the last time Egypt attacked Israel. The Egyptian men who fought that war are old men now, they are not being listened to or they want revenge. But the nation of Egypt is Hellbent on attacking Israel in the hopes of destroying that nation.
CAIRO – Protesters broke into the Israeli Embassy in Cairo Friday and dumped documents out of the windows as hundreds more demonstrated outside, prompting the ambassador and his family to leave the country. The unrest was a further worsening of already deteriorating ties between Israel and post-Hosni Mubarak Egypt.
Egyptian police made no attempt to intervene during the day as crowds of hundreds tore down an embassy security wall with sledgehammers and their bare hands or after nightfall when about 30 protesters stormed into the Nile-side high-rise building where the embassy is located.
Just before midnight, the group of protesters reached a room on one of the embassy's lower floors at the top of the building and began dumping Hebrew-language documents from the windows, said an Egyptian security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
In Jerusalem, an Israeli official confirmed the embassy had been broken into, saying it appeared the group reached a waiting room on the lower floor. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to release the information.
Israel's ambassador, Yitzhak Levanon, his family and other embassy staff rushed to Cairo airport and left on a military plane for Israel, said airport officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Israeli officials refused to comment on the ambassador's departure. No one answered the phone at the embassy late Friday.
Since the fall of Mubarak -- who worked closely with the Israelis -- in February, ties have steadily worsened between the two countries. Anger increased last month after Israeli forces responding to a cross-border militant attack mistakenly killed five Egyptian police officers near the border. Egypt nearly withdrew its ambassador from Israel, and protesters demanded the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. Calls have grown in Egypt for ending the historic 1979 peace treaty with Israel, a pact that has never had the support of ordinary Egyptians.
Several large protests have taken place outside the embassy in recent months without serious incident.
On Friday, Egyptians held their first significant demonstrations in a month against the country's military rulers, with thousands gathering in Cairo and other cities. Alongside those gatherings, a crowd massed outside the Israeli Embassy's building.
It quickly escalated with crowds pummeling the graffiti-covered security wall with sledgehammers and tearing away large sections of the cement and metal barrier, which was recently put up by Egyptian authorities to better protect the site from protests.
For the second time in less than a month, protesters were able to get to the top of the building and pull down the Israeli flag. They replaced it with the Egyptian flag.
Crowds outside the building photographed documents that drifted to the ground and posted some of them online.
Mustafa Sayid said he was among the group of protesters who broke into the embassy. He showed a reporter cell phone video footage he said he recorded inside of young men ransacking the room.
The group got into the building through a third-floor window and climbed the stairs to the embassy. They worked for hours to break through three doors to enter the embassy, said the 28-year-old man. They encountered three Israelis and beat one of them.
Several Egyptian military policemen appeared and escorted the Israelis to safety but did not attempt to arrest any of the protesters, who then set about dumping files out the windows, he said.
"They have papers on us, they collect information on us, so it's only fair that we share information on them," he said.
It was not until several hours later that Egyptian police and military forces firing tear gas moved in to try to disperse the protesters from around the embassy. By that time, the crowds of youths had swelled to several thousand. Protesters were cleared from inside the building but held their ground outside, lobbing firebombs at the forces and setting fire to several police vehicles.
The military moved about 20 tanks and troop transport trucks into the area. State radio reported that one person died of a heart attack. About 450 people were injured, including 200 who had to be hospitalized, the Health Ministry said.
In Washington, President Barack Obama assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. was acting "at all levels" to resolve the situation.
Obama expressed "great concern" about the situation, the White House said.
Senior Israeli officials were holding discussions on the embassy breach. Israeli Defense Minster Ehud Barak said in a statement that he also spoke with his American counterpart, Leon Panetta, and appealed to him to do what he could to protect the embassy.
The demonstrations against Israel coincide with increasing discontent among Egyptians with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took control of the country when Mubarak was forced out on Feb. 11 after nearly three decades in power.
Several thousand massed Friday in Cairo's Tahrir Square, as well as in the cities of Alexandria, Suez and elsewhere. Demonstrators in Cairo also converged on the state TV building, a central courthouse and the Interior Ministry, a hated symbol of abuses by police and security forces under Mubarak. Protesters covered one of the ministry's gates with graffiti and tore off parts of the large ministry seal.
Seven months after the popular uprising that drove Mubarak from power, Egyptians are still pressing for a list of changes, including more transparent trials of former regime figures accused of corruption and a clear timetable for parliamentary elections.
Activists accuse the council, headed by Mubarak's defense minister, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, of remaining too close to Mubarak's regime and practicing similarly repressive policies, including abusing detainees. The trials of thousands of civilians in military courts has also angered activists.
"In the beginning we were with the military because they claimed to be protectors of the revolution, but month after month nothing has changed," said doctor Ghada Nimr, one of those who gathered in Tahrir Square.
One banner in Cairo read, "Egyptians, come out of your homes, Tantawi is Mubarak."
On Friday President Barack Hussein Obama informed the US Congress that he intended to sell 125 M-1A1 Abrams Tanks to the Egyptian Military.
With the nation of Egypt in turmoil, and the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood is poised to assume total control over Egypt, why would any sane and rational person sell tanks (or any weapon) to a nation bent on not only destroying its neighbor, but who would turn the same weapons on the US to destroy it.
The US signaled last week that it plans to continue business as usual when it comes to arms sales to the Egyptian military, despite the recent revolution in Egypt and continued anti-government demonstrations there.
On Friday, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible sale of 125 M1A1 Abrams tank to Egypt – the first large arms deal since Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power in February – including associated weapons, equipment, parts, training and logistical support at an estimated cost of just over $1.3 billion.
If approved, the deal would increase the number of Abrams tanks in Egypt from around 1,000 to 1,130.
According to the notification to Congress, Egypt would receive 125 tanks, parts of which would be produced in Egypt, as well as M256 Armament Systems, M2 .50 caliber machine guns, 7.62mm machine guns, spare parts, maintenance, support equipment, personnel training and other related elements of logistics and program support.
The Pentagon told Congress – which has 30 days to object to the deal – that the sale of the tanks would “contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that has been and continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East.”
The sale would “provide Egypt with a modern tank fleet, enhancing its capability to meet current and future threats,” the Pentagon further stated.
News of the deal raised eyebrows in Israel, which has carefully watched arms sales to Egypt ever since Cairo began to receive annual military aid of some $1.3b. from the United States following the peace treaty the two neighbors signed in 1979.
Israel has in the past lobbied Congress against specific arms deals to Egypt. In the past few years, Egypt has purchased 24 F-16 fighter jets, Hellfire missiles, Harpoon antiship missiles, TOW anti-tank missiles, Chinook transport helicopters and Apache attack helicopters.
Israel is concerned that Egypt might take a radical shift in elections expected to be held in the fall and might once again turn into an enemy state, depending on the identity of the new president and the number of seats the Muslim Brotherhood wins in parliament.
The IDF has taken a cautious approach to the developments in Egypt, with Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz choosing a long-term plan formulated by the Planning Directorate, under which the army would grow over a number of years and not launch an immediate procurement plan to counter the possible threat evolving in the South.
Gantz’s thinking is based on the assumption that any war with Egypt would not take place any time soon, and that an immediate procurement plan announced by the IDF could be detrimental and increase tension between the countries.
The signs point to Egypt attacking Israel within the next 6 months (sooner if they can). The addition of more M-1A1 Abrams tanks will only increase the livelihood of this happening.
Contact your Congressman and let them know that you do not support this idea and demand that they vote against this deal.
