Egypt on the brink.

[Workingman]

Could today be the day?

Calls to prayer have just been made and after they finish there will be a "march in anger" by Morsi supporters. Then what?

I do not want an Islamist Egypt on Europe's doorstep, which we might have had had Morsi been allowed to tread his path. But he was elected democratically and could have been removed the same way. What we now have could lead to something much, much worse.

The US is being very twitchy in avoiding calling it a "coup" as that would mean, by law, a stopping of aid = no influence.

It is probably as well that Iran has a new and, apparently, more pragmatic leader.

[cromwell]

I read in the paper something that seems very true - how will the Egyptians ever trust "Democracy" again? One day the whole story of how the West has behaved in the middle east will come out, and I doubt whether the story will do us any credit.

[KateLMead]

Hits of B'Liars supposed fight in these countries for so called democracy.. B'Liar started this and the whole scene now taking place in the Middle East is the result of his creation, destroying a nation Iraq on a filthy lie.

[pederito1]

Democracy is a myth. but how can the yanks keep so quiet about the overthrow of a democratically elected president by a military coup?

[cromwell]

I read that if the USA acknowledge that it is a military coup, they have to stop sending aid. So they pretend that it is not a military coup.

[Suff]

Actually in this case the people decided to rise up and demand that the government stand down.

Any truly "democratic" government would have taken their issues on board and worked with them. Morsi was only interested in ignoring them as his "agenda" would have been scuppered.

I don't call that democracy and the Army agreed with the people.

Notably the Moslem Brotherhood decided to turn it into violence.

Personally I think the Egyptian people made a good call. We will see violence escalate as the hardliners don't get what they want. The reason they are fighting and not talking? Because if an election was called today, the Moslem brotherhood would come nowhere. Because they have proved they can't be trusted. So they try to rule by fear.

This is actually how democracy works. We just haven't seen it for a very long time. The French should understand this. In may 1958 200,000 descended on Paris and demanded that the government be dissolved and the powers invested in one man, a general in the Army. This French "democratic" "Republic" had only been in existence since 1946, but had already proved that it was not representing the people, only itself.

Our own western history is not so far away from what has happened in Egypt. Yet we take some ivory tower approach to the growing pains of other countries.

My take is that the majority of the country voted with their feet and the minority hardliners are now starting to kill people to try and bring them to subservience. More power to the Army....