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Subscribe to RSSCAIRO -- Egypt's government has temporarily given the military the authority to arrest civilians to help safeguard a constitutional referendum planned for Saturday, the official military gazette said.
The order, issued late Sunday, said the military would support police and liaise with them to protect "vital institutions" until the referendum result is declared.
The decree gave army officers the right to make arrests and transfer detainees to prosecutors.
Echoes of Mubarak era?
Despite its limited nature, the edict will revive memories of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's emergency law, also introduced as a temporary expedient, under which military or state security courts tried thousands of political dissidents and Islamist militants.
But a military source stressed that the measure, introduced by a civilian government, would have a short shelf-life.
"The latest law giving the armed forces the right to arrest anyone involved in illegal actions such as burning buildings or damaging public sites is to ensure security during the referendum only," the military source told Reuters.
PhotoBlog: Protests in Egypt continue despite Morsi's concession
"The armed forces secured polling stations during previous elections when it was in charge of the country," the source told Reuters, referring to 16 months of army rule after Mubarak fell.
"Now the president is in charge. In order for the armed forces to be involved in securing the referendum, a law had to be issued saying so," the source added.
Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said the committee overseeing the vote had requested the army's assistance.
Despite President Morsi rescinding much of the decree he issued last month giving him near absolute authority, Egypt's opposition want the Islamist leader to cancel a referendum on a disputed draft of a new constitution. TODAY's Natalie Morales reports.
"The armed forces will work within a legal framework to secure the referendum and will return (to barracks) as soon as the referendum is over," Ali said.
Egypt's journalists struggle under Mubarak-era laws
On Saturday, the military urged rival political forces to solve their disputes via dialogue and said the opposite would drag the country into a "dark tunnel," which it would not allow.
A statement issued by the military spokesman and read on state radio and television made no mention of President Mohammed Morsi, but said a solution to the political crisis should not contradict "legitimacy and the rules of democracy."
'Men don't have to worry about being caught': Sex mobs target Egypt's women
A military source close to top officers told Reuters that the statement "does not indicate any future intervention in politics."
A military council took over after a popular revolt ended Mubarak's 30 years of army-backed rule last year. It then handed power to Morsi, who became Egypt's first freely elected leader in June. The military has not intervened in the latest crisis.
Must-Read Op-Eds: The Washington Post's David Ignatius joins Morning Joe to discuss the highly controversial Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi who angered many Egyptians for giving himself unlimited powers as president.
'Dark tunnel'
The army statement said the military's duty was to protect national interests and secure vital state institutions.
ANALYSIS: Egyptians warn Morsi is no friend of US
"The armed forces affirm that dialogue is the best and only way to reach consensus," it added. "The opposite of that will bring us to a dark tunnel that will result in catastrophe and that is something we will not allow."
Hassan Abu Taleb of the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies said Saturday's army statement suggested the military wanted both sides to talk out their differences, but discounted the chance of direct military intervention.
"They realize that interfering again in a situation of civil combat will squeeze them between two rocks," he said.
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The Egyptian military will tell Morsi to pound sand if he thinks they will get violent with the civilians. If he gives them an order they don't like...they won't follow it.
Hell, I'm kind of hoping it gets so bad they seize the country and start over....try again....no more muslim brotherhood in the political arena...
This world would be a much more peaceful place if people would keep their relationship with God seperate from that with their fellow man.
I totally agree Troy.
The whole world would be a much better place if we keep religion and government separate. Now the Muslim population worldwide is growing at a fast pace and would be a nightmare unless they decide to keep their governments secular.
I honestly doubt it.
Troy I second your thoughts about this.
The Egyptian people got a chance to see what the Muslim Brotherhood is really about and they still want democracy, not an Islamic "Republic." This might be a good thing for the people and when true democracy replaces this fool and his 11th century "thinking" Brotherhood party of males, Egypt will be a model for other Muslim countries waging their way into democracy.
And to the people of Egypt, stay the course and keep religion out of government. That is the way to democracy.
This is really a case of "New dictator, same as the old dicator".
So has President Morsi lost legitamacy to rule as Mubarki did? Will there be a world outrage for the same actions being repeated with leaders of the west making their thoughts public on CNN?
Oh yeah, Morsi, a real pig head. Not any better than the previous jerk.
Egyptian politics is not the real danger to the Egyptian people.
The simple fact that that entire nation of 90 million people shares with one another only a single water supply source is more frightening than their politics.
I wonder what would happen to that nation if the Nile changed course...anyway, that's what I would be worried about.
While I agree with Troy, giving power to the people with all the guns only works if they willingly give it back. Who do you send in to police your own army?
Nice of the government to give the military a power they already have.
Todd: I believe Egypt's Army is a conscription one. So even if the high brass might want to go one way...the rank & file may go another.
Egypt now has over 20 desalination plants to convert sea water to fresh water, so though it is highly doubtful the Nile will change course the ocean would have to go completely away, and that is really not likely to happen.
Morsi is counting on the military to help keep the protesters away while the Muslim Brotherhood goes about their business of rigging the referendum to ensure that it passes. God forbid anyone should get in the way of the MB making sure that the referendum goes through granting the Islamists total control over the country. I can not believe that the Egyptian army is allowing itself to be used in this way. he MB will make sure the referendum passes the same way they made sure that Morsi won the election, by intimidating people and stuffing ballot boxes. Now that they have control they are not about to let go of it. The only way Egypt will ever see another leader who is not an Islamists is if the military turns on the MB and throws them out.
what was left out of this article was that the U.S. is delivering 20 F-16's to Egypt in January as part of a aid package..
I dont think we need to be giving fighter jets, ammo, missile and any military equipment till the U.S. knows what is going to happen there or in Libya and Syria typical nonsense we keep arming the very countries that want to wipe us off the map....
So why is the U.S. sending over more F-16's? Who's paying for those -- oh yeah us!
try and now find this story on msnbc website... when a article puts the chosen one into a bad light the story gets shuffled to back pages and other stories get left off completely...
and today AP reported video showing Assad's military using chemical bombs and which I watched and you see people running and crying and choking and then convulsing on the ground and what is the world doing watching and doing NOTHING !!! only empty threats..North Korea is next launching there missile as we tell them not to and even bribing them with food aid !!!!
The Muslim Bro- hood have set up torture chambers for those who oppose Morisi,And the WH came out this weekend finally admitting that Obama and his cronies have been running Weapons to Syria!! And Stevens "probably" knew about it"...Hmm ya think,some of us have been saying that since the day after Sept 11th,But nothing to see here,They must have been found out and are now playing it off like WHAT so What,wonder if we gave them the chemical weapons,Obama goes on a 4mill Vay-Cay and takes off the cap for donations from those that want to give to his Coronation...Let them Eat Cake says Obama,Arrogant POS.
Ster, to be fair, it's not really Obama's fault... the same thing would have happened if there was a right-wing #republicrat. The United States is owned by international bankers who are extremely invested in Israel and desperately want to take over the Iranian central bank as well as resources throughout the middle east and Africa... US policies are always going to be based on what is most profitable for these banksters, and nothing's as profitable as war.
Our only hope (The whole world's only hope) is global revolution and an end to the technocrat system.
Ster 2, instead of bile, your liver produces urine, and your brain feces. Never knew the President's triumph over bigotry, injustice, xenophobia and corporate greed could produce such miracle. Where do you gt your ideas from (outside Fox News of course)
Using the Military to arrest civilians? Sounds like America to me.... Egypt must have their own #NDAA plan that involves silencing dissent any way possible... I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I'm locked up for sharing truth on teh interwebz.
Try seeking some mental health help. There is a medical name for your delusions
jack meibaum
You may want to read the NDAA.
NDAA is the US version. Jack needs to read it. ALL GOP senators voted for it with only 5 DEMS voting against it.
Well, this certainly is a big improvement...
I pray to God that the Mayans were right!
Watch some clown here blame Obama, Susan Rice, Hillary, and their mother. Procede Republicans
Or better yet, watch some clown bury their head deeper to ignore the truth.
On this blog, that's a given.
Seems like the Repubs are coming to MSNBC in droves these days. Sign of the Apocalypse?
So you do not believe that the President of the United States when making public news conferences announcing that the leader of an ally country should step down and "has lost legitimacy to lead" has any affect on the world stage? Does not cause things to change in other countries? Has no power to affect the world?
@RichardWalking
What "leader" are you referring to? Surely not Mubarak, right?
Systematic torture of his own people, human rights abuses, suppression of speech and expression, killings and "disappearances" of opponents to the regime, etc.
Hardly a leader of a nation.
And that is different then what is presently going on with the current "democratically" elected administration in Egypt in what way? Secondly, it should be noted many of those very accusations that you place against Mubarak have been put forward by other leaders of other countries against President Obama. I believe that at one point, many of the civilians in Egypt itself stated the same thing about our President.
But that is all a deflection on your part. It is a statement of truth that before last years "Arab Spring" that Mubarak and Egypt were considered at least in favorable terms with the United States, if not an all out ally.
Further, it was my point that while the events in Egypt may not have been a direct command of the President of the United States, it is a known fact that the "official" words of a President of the United States, especially one that obtain the office with the election numbers he had in 2008, tend to affect political situation in other countries around the world. That is something that this original thread line posting was attempting to deign. President Obama came out in support of Egypt and called for the resignation of Mubarak. His statements did influence the outcome for good or bad. That influence is being seen in events today and will be for decades to come.
@RichardWalking
Wrong and Wrong
We have been following the events in Egypt for the past days and even when the country has been in chaos since the writing of that "constitution" , the accusations you're making are unfounded. The only problem the Egyptians have seen (and reason for the protests) are the suppression of other groups, nothing else. In fact, offices of the MB (party in power) have been burned down and still no tortures, systematic killings or people disappearing.
These were known and documented facts under Mubarak, not suppositions.
Really?? I'm sure Muslim countries would've said that under the Bush administration, but under Obama?? Would love to see your sources of reference.
I'm not deflecting. This article is about Egypt, not about the U.S. or the dictators our government supported in the past. You can't keep friendly dictators who are ruthless with their own people forever, ya know?? It's not that we're gaining fans that way.
Wow, this is one time, and my sister called me, I told her EXACTLY what would go down. Yeah, temprarily permanent! Oh, give me a little power, now more, now more, etc......... Great idea!! Love the mid east!! Great job backing this guy Obama!! oohhh, let's shift focus to Syria, WMD..sound familiar?? yeah, sadam didn't have 'em any more than this guy does. I guess that's how sadam murdered over 100k Kurds after the first gulf war, right? oh yeah, according to the libs, that never happened. Whatever!! We need to stay outta mid east politics and throw the UN over to France where it belongs!!or better yet, relo the UN to Palestine, that peace loving people(you remember, the ones dancing in the street after the WTC fell?)
One has to remember they are new to this "democracy" thing so it's going to be a learning curve for a few years.
I am in the camp that the Egyptian people will not allow another dictator to rule anytime soon so Morsi better learn fast or get killed trying to take them back to the bad old days.
Funny thing about "democracy" is that it has a chance of creating a state where the majority can suppress the rights of the minority. The placing of democracy on a pedestal without realizing that this is possible is really naive.
I have no clue about what it is you are trying to say. Let me remind you that several Republicans before, during and even after the campaign are asking the POTUS to resign and where did it get them? A crushing defeat for the GOP in th election.
Interesting that you took my post to be about Republicans and this country. And use it to pant them in a bad light.
My post was actually about Egypt. Egypt has "democratically" elected a member of an extreme party into power, and some are presently supporting that party. The extremist party have stated, prior to all of this, their fundamental beliefs and have put forward someone to advance those beliefs at a governmental level. Things like the fact that women should have no rights, that infidels should be outlawed, that it is punishable by death the to speak ill of Muhammad, etc. All of this was clearly foreseeable by many prior to the President of the United State giving support to this process by stating that "Mubarak must go."
Democracy, by its nature, is the rule of the majority over the minority, hence the coliquilism "Majority rules."
PS> Presently, the Democratic part is in the majority. The people have spoken. The possessions of the people now belonging to the state. Majority Rules.
Republican idealogues will be no match to Hillary's intellect and bright mind. She could also beat their prissy asses like she did in the Senate. Can't wait to see her push them against the wall in the upcoming hearins
Thank you, Mr. Axlerod.
How is it that righties are mum about the steep drop in oil prices. They sure as hell were up in arms blaming ther President for the rise in prices (Justice Dept. investigating California refineries for lying to raise their prices). Why Moses Gingrich himself claimed he would get the price down to $2 in 3 months. And who can forget Myth Romney's stellar comments about the $4+ a gallon gift from President Obama to America
Yhbua, don't go blowing your horn too loud, I heard crow taste read bed. In four years when unemployment is back at 10 % and all the middle class taxes ,that are built within Obama care, take effect, the people will throw out the Democrats even worse than they did in 2010. Companies are already folding up and laying off thousands and it will only get worse. So don't get too excited because when the love affair between MSNBC, CBS and ABC and Obama, runs out, so will the American peoples votes.
Don't worry, the American Army was recently granted arrest powers as well (and no trial is required). Egypt is now as free as we. Exactly what the Arab Spring was all about.
No the American Army wasn't. The NDAA allows law enforcement to take you into custody (different than arrest), without charges, hold you indefinitely without trial, charges or representation. That was approved by the DEMOCRAT-Controlled Senate and approved by the Dictator, obama.
navyvet98
Sounds about right. Sign of things to come? We must have Government control of EVERYTHING in our lives. For our own good. There is no way the American People could get by without being told when, how & what to do. The Government knows what is best. I am suprised that we have made it this far. Who would have thought?
navyvet98
Let me give you a civics lesson. To over ride a presidential veto requires a 2/3 majority in both houses. If you spend the time to do a little research instead of spewing your "Dictator" crap you'd see that Congress clearly had the votes to override the Presidents veto. Also, NDAA is not something new, it's a bill that gets renewed every year. The 2013 version severely curtains the power of the government to detain U.S. citizens without cause.
Dictator my a**!
The Republicans voted for NDAA as well. Americans need to realize it does not matter who is in the White House, the Patriot and NDAA are nothing new.
Egyptians revolt for a freely elected government. Then they elect in the muslim brotherhood. They get what they deserve.
Apparently, NBC couldn't find the "Torture Chambers This Way" signs 0bama's pal Morsi and his muslim brotherhood gang, apparently have make-shift 'interrogation cells' up and running.
The Egyptian Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, with the help of a Brotherhood-owned television station, was given a rare tour of the torture chambers by the Muslim Brotherhood, which does not allow anyone to access the compound without its own permission. The report was translated and published by the Al Monitor website.
the newspaper’s reporter revealed, “Protesters suspected of working against the Muslim Brotherhood are tortured and beaten with the knowledge of the police before being handed over for formal detention at a site just outside the presidential palace in Heliopolis.”
We're paying Morsi US tax dollars to run torture chambers?
Is this not newsworthy NBC? I can't find mention of it anywhere on NBC.
albawaba.com/editorchoice/torture-egypt-protest-455162
NBC doesn't care about anything like that. Just as long as those EVIL 2% pay more taxes, the World will be a much better place.
It's all for the greater good of Islam, and we know the President considers the call to morning prayers the most beautiful thing he ever heard.
My own personal beliefs are exchange one dictator for another
they should have the power to arrest Morsi and the Bro'hood...then everything would quiet down. No problem.
Arrest civilians? What? That nice military under the control/payola of that nice Morsi friend of Hillary and our President. Ya don't say. Wonder why this is? So many confusing questions, but who are we to wonder. As both Hill and Obama pointed out in their statements while chuckling... regular people just wouldn't understand. Sure.
Traded one dictator for another, sharia law will be implemented---Egypt gets a good portion of its income from tourism, can kiss that good bye, civil rights only according to the Imam's, hopefully US aid will cease. I truly hope I am wrong and democracy will prevail, but I think not.
Egypt needs an Ataturk.
Coming soon to a country near you!
Egyptians revolted against Mubarak and then voted for Morsi -- well, they've gone from one fire to another.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Perhaps a new boss, worse than the old boss.
"Temporary" is the Arabic word for "Forever."
Kind of like the words "black" and "slave" or "servant" are the same word in Arabic.
And Obama trumpeted the "Arab Spring" when it began with Libya, where they round up and beat sub-Saharan blacks looking for a better life. And Somalis caught in Egypt--on their way to Israel to try and get sanctuary--are killed.
Israelis do not want Somalis in their(and Palestinian) land
Ah, another antisemite. Here are the facts: Israel doesn't kill these refugees but the Arabs do. Israel helps them. Israel took in Ethiopian blacks. Arabs enslave them.
Israel is a tiny country of 7,000,000 only -- the major cities of the world are larger. Much bigger Jordan and Lebanon keep "Palestinians" in camps. Arabs enslave blacks BOTH Christian and Muslim in the Sudan.
Israel and, in fact, the rest of "Palestine" was always Jewish. In fact pictures of the area were taken in the 1850s and '60s showing how underpopulated it was until the Zionists drained the malarial swamps and brought in industry--causing an influx of local Arabs from other countries. Our own Secretary of State under Lincoln--Seward--said that when he visited in the second half of the 19th Century, Jews outnumbered Muslims 2:1. They weren't European Jews, either.
The pictures:
http://www.israeldailypicture.com/
How about calling Arab Muslims "racist?" Hmmm, wouldn't that be accurate?
Rachel, are you a Russian Jew? Inplant in Israeli/Palestinian land and claiming every inch of the territory? Your settlements will be the end of Israel as you know it. Remember you are rapidly becoming a minority among millions of Arabs, sort of a Sunni head of State like Iraq once was, with a majority of the population Shiite
Sounding more and more like the development of Nazi Germany circa 1934. Let's expect marches thru the Coptic Christian area and assigning unique symbols for the copts to wear which will be taken away if they agree to fight against Israel making it a bipartisan war against Israel.
Funny you should mention that, Al Banna (founder of the Muslim Brotherhood) was a "devout admirer" of Hitler. Also, the M.B's. "Project",( if you have not read it, you really should) cornerstone is uniting the Muslim world behind a cause and that stated cause is Palestine.
I still think Hillary needs to comb her hair and go ask for a refund from that Hamas thing. We must have kept the receipt somewhere.
every person in the usa needs to read the NDAA. it will open your eyes to things .
How are a bunch of used car prices going to open my eyes to things?
...
This is exactly what we need here in this country.
No one should be speaking out against the president.
But, oh no, we hide behind " freedom of speech ".
.
Joe Biden in 2016.
...
I remember that line. Funny, but it got buried in the media immediately. I think he said it right after the Pres gave himself athority to toss anyone in jail for any reason, as long as he said it was for security reasons. Yikes!
That's the Muslim way! Biden is just a "useful idiot," as Stalin used to say.