Egyptian president’s replacement of top military generals goes smoothly
Experts have commended Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on his political reorganization of the military.
The changeover is being portrayed as mutually agreed upon by Morsi and the military officials he sacked, but retired Egyptian army general Hossam Sweilam thinks otherwise. In a Huffington Post report, he says, Former Field Marshall “Tantawi and the council couldn’t object because it would have meant a civil war, a military and political confrontation with the Brotherhood and their militias.”
Until this week, the military had essentially ruled Egypt for over a half-century. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) ruled Egypt for the 17 months between the removal of ex-President Hosni Mubarak to the inauguration of Morsi.
According to the Associated Press, before Morsi was inaugurated, the SCAF drafted amendments to the constitution that gave them legislative powers and oversight of the national budget. Morsi nullified the constitutional amendments and removed these powers.
On August 5, an attack by militants killed 16 Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula and gave Morsi a way to justify his removal of the longstanding military generals.
