The Egyptian government has issued a one month state of emergency after heavy clashes between pro-Morsi supporters and police and army forces.
The Ministry of Health has reported more than 500 casualties and about 3,000 injured since yesterday. With the current repression on the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters, echoes of a distant past now seem ever present.Â
Almost 60 years ago, in October 1954, after an attempted assassination, Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered a crackdown against the Brotherhood, putting the then president under house arrest and declaring executive rule for himself.Â
President Nasser was a hugely popular yet controversial figure. His rule expanded the powers of the military and served as the symbol of tyranny, which survived until Hosni Mubarak’s regime.Â
With General Sisi, there are some comparisons from history, which can be drawn as he is increasingly entertaining the idea of pursuing the path to the presidency. Since last month’s coup, he has made himself Deputy Prime Minister as well as Defense Minister.Â
There is no doubt that the military will directly affect the path of progress Egypt is to take in the near future–the question that remains, however, is where that path will lead. We are joined today by Jon Alterman, director and senior fellow of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who discusses the role of the military and how the future may unfold in Egypt.Â
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