Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Offically Mubarak has stepped down and handed over control to Defence Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.
So its a coup in all but name.

So what does Dakka think?

Will they turn around and draft and new constitution and hold elections?

Or has Egypt simply traded a civilian dictator for a military one?


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12433045

Heres a copy/paste of the article


Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down as president of Egypt.
In an announcement on state TV, Vice-President Omar Suleiman said Mr Mubarak had handed power to the military.
It came as thousands massed in Cairo and other Egyptian cities for an 18th day of protest to demand Mr Mubarak's resignation.
Protesters responded by cheering, waving flags, embracing and sounding car horns. "The people have brought down the regime," they chanted.
Mr Suleiman said Mr Mubarak had handed power to the high command of the armed forces.
"In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country," he said.
lick to pl"May God help everybody."
The military high command is headed by Defence Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.
Mr Mubarak has already left Cairo and is in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where he has a residence, officials say.
Constitution breached
In Cairo, thousands of people are gathered outside the presidential palace, in Tahrir Square and at state TV.
Analysis
Yolande Knell BBC News, Cairo
________________________________________
The news is spreading fast through car horns. There is a deafening din as people in the gridlocked traffic shout: "Egypt! Egypt!" and: "The people have won - it's over".
Fireworks can be heard in central Cairo. Huge crowds are heading to Tahrir Square for the victory party.
The square itself is a sea of flags. "We are happy: this is freedom for Egypt," says one man. "This is a celebration for all Egyptians," adds another.
But there are concerns about what comes next. "We want a civilian state, not a military one," comments Taher, who has been camping out for the last few weeks.
They came out in anger following an address by Mr Mubarak on Thursday. He had been expected to announce his resignation but instead stopped short of stepping down, transferring most powers to Mr Suleiman.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo said the announcement caught everyone by surprise, and all over the city drivers honked their horns and people fired guns into the air.
But the army takeover looks very much like a military coup, our correspondent adds.
The constitution has been breached, he says, because officially it should be the speaker of parliament who takes over, not the army leadership.
'Historic change'
European Union leaders reacted positively to the news of Mr Mubarak's resignation.
Foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton said the EU "respected" the decision.
Mohamed Hussein Tantawi
• Head of higher council of Egyptian armed forces
• Minister of defence since 1991
• Commander-in-chief armed forces since 1991
• Appointed deputy prime minister 31 Jan 2011
• Born 31 Oct 1935
"It is important now that the dialogue is accelerated leading to a broad-based government which will respect the aspirations of, and deliver stability for, the Egyptian people," she said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the "historic change" in Egypt.
Meanwhile Iran described the recent events as a "great victory".
A senior Israeli official expressed the hope that Mr Mubarak's departure would "bring no change to its peaceful relations with Cairo".
The anti-government protests that began on 25 January were triggered by widespread unrest in Egypt over unemployment, poverty and corruption.
They followed a popular uprising in Tunisia which brought about the downfall of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

Hopefully elections can be constructed with haste, it's going to be the center of the conversation now and I doubt the military could effect a leadership role forever under international pressure.

Well the us Covers half of what the military budget over there so We win either way

Exactly. If the US tells the military to get their act together and set up democratic elections, they won't have a lot of choice.

Kilkrazy wrote:Exactly. If the US tells the military to get their act together and set up democratic elections, they won't have a lot of choice.

This was probably the plan all along.

Ya right, the plan was probably to get Egypt to attack some other country on behalf of America. But that was probably under the warmonger Bush. No offense to any Americans, but I hated that guy

Thaanos wrote:Ya right, the plan was probably to get Egypt to attack some other country on behalf of America. But that was probably under the warmonger Bush. No offense to any Americans, but I hated that guy

It's okay. Just going off his approval ratings, I think most Americans hated him too (I didn't think he was that bad, but oh well)

Democracy will come. Hopefully it'll work out this time. Military coups followed by the reestablishment of civilian authority are common in the developing world. This has happened, like, four or five times in the past two decades in one of the West African states if I'm not mistaken.

Thaanos wrote:Ya right, the plan was probably to get Egypt to attack some other country on behalf of America. But that was probably under the warmonger Bush. No offense to any Americans, but I hated that guy

I am American and I hate that guy. I am going to vote for the Independent Party again in 2012...

LordofHats wrote:
It's okay. Just going off his approval ratings, I think most Americans hated him too (I didn't think he was that bad, but oh well)

I liked him in Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.

Awesome!

I love military coups, they always get super awesome guys take over!

Lost my comment to the internet...

Basically what I had was... "Military has been cool so far hopefully they continue to be cool.”

Keep in mind that this is the Egyptian military. They're viewed as being an arm of "the people" and are highly respected.

They've also done a great job of keeping out of the demonstrations and haven't participated in any of the oppressive actions of the government.

So, although it may be a coup, it's not one that will result in a dictatorship, IMO. I think this is a major step forward for freedom and democracy.

Grakmar wrote:Keep in mind that this is the Egyptian military. They're viewed as being an arm of "the people" and are highly respected.

They've also done a great job of keeping out of the demonstrations and haven't participated in any of the oppressive actions of the government.

So, although it may be a coup, it's not one that will result in a dictatorship, IMO. I think this is a major step forward for freedom and democracy.

I work for a vacation company. We had to cancel all of our tours for february and march. Egypt is one of our biggest sellers too, so hopefully they get their act together.

I think its all to chaotic to see any sort of outcome at the moment. I think that, however, we are going to get a democratic government step up to the plate. whether it will be corrupt or not, I cannot tell. Or this may all be wishful thinking on my part.

The Egyptian military is highly respected and concerned about the people it is to protect. Hopefully it will stay that way.

Sadly enough Plenty of Americans are sad to see the 82 year old dictator go, for fear of the Muslim Brother Hood. It reminds me of the fear of "new black panters."

I can see why the Egyptian army are respected, they fought like lions in the 6 day war.

Well, the military is well respected in Egypt, so hopefully the people listen to the military government while things settle down. They wanted elections, and no doubt they'll get elections. Hopefully the Muslim Brotherhood doesn't get into power though....

ChrisWWII wrote:Well, the military is well respected in Egypt, so hopefully the people listen to the military government while things settle down. They wanted elections, and no doubt they'll get elections. Hopefully the Muslim Brotherhood doesn't get into power though....

They're on record as stating that they do not plan to run for the presidents office. They're likely to be a strong force in the political system though. They're very popular though more as an alternative to mubarak then as a party in their own right.

They won't, notice the people didn't really care over the years they were banned. they like their secular government. Much like Turkey. Most of the protesters were young college Kids, joined by doctors and so forth. Non of the protesters demands involved Islam in any way. It's just fear mongering by the west.

sexiest_hero wrote:They won't, notice the people didn't really care over the years they were banned. they like their secular government. Much like Turkey. Most of the protesters were young college Kids, joined by doctors and so forth. Non of the protesters demands involved Islam in any way. It's just fear mongering by the west.

Nooooot entirely... The group could take considerable power if it wished, but its attempting to avoid the obvious repricussions of such an action. They're playing it pretty low key to avoid international condemnation and fear.

sexiest_hero wrote:They won't, notice the people didn't really care over the years they were banned. they like their secular government. Much like Turkey. Most of the protesters were young college Kids, joined by doctors and so forth. Non of the protesters demands involved Islam in any way. It's just fear mongering by the west.

We can hope you are right, that Egypt path turns more towards Atarak and less towards Omar.

I thought that Mubarak lead the last military coup (Airforce General), so technically this is still the same military coup isn't it?

Either way the dictator is dead, long live the dictator or whatever puppet the US chooses. Huzzah! Turkish delight and sheeshas all round!

Frazzled wrote:

sexiest_hero wrote:They won't, notice the people didn't really care over the years they were banned. they like their secular government. Much like Turkey. Most of the protesters were young college Kids, joined by doctors and so forth. Non of the protesters demands involved Islam in any way. It's just fear mongering by the west.

We can hope you are right, that Egypt path turns more towards Atarak and less towards Omar.

Do you mean Ataturk?

Probably, I couldn't be arsed to look it up.

Frazzled wrote:Probably, I couldn't be arsed to look it up.

It's important to know those arab names, helps you avoid bad news articles. But kudos for the reference, that puts you in the 90th percentile of your voting base!

notprop wrote:I thought that Mubarak lead the last military coup (Airforce General), so technically this is still the same military coup isn't it?

Nasser lead the original military coup, and its been military government ever since.

Still, military governments tend to be pretty good about handing over power when people want it, or at least better than most other dictatorships. Shooting people is expensive, and tends to damage trade; which means less of an opportunity to get wealthy.

mattyrm wrote:Awesome!

I love military coups, they always get super awesome guys take over!

Hotel Rwanda?

halonachos wrote:

mattyrm wrote:Awesome!

I love military coups, they always get super awesome guys take over!

*snip large pic*

Hotel Rwanda?

Last King of Scotland.

Forrest Whitaker should be in all movies, and those produced without him should have him inserted into them.

Ackbar: Its a Trap!
Ghost Dog: According to what one of the elders said, taking an enemy on the battlefield is like a hawk taking a bird. Even though it enters into the midst of a thousand of them, it gives no attention to any bird than the one it first marked.