The Washington Post yesterday described moves being made by traditional American allies in the Gulf designed to bolster the Egyptian military as it moves to quell unrest in the country. Over 1,000 Egyptians have in recent days been killed in clashes between the army and supporters of former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, as well as in attacks by Islamists on Christians and security officials. Riyadh yesterday pledged to replace any aid that Egypt might lose if Western governments restrict assistance to Cairo in the wake of the army’s actions against the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists.
“Concerning those who announced stopping their assistance to Egypt or threatening to stop them, the Arab and Islamic nation is rich with its people and capabilities and will provide a helping hand to Egypt,” Faisal told the official Saudi news agency while on a visit to France.
The Daily Beast Monday passed on statements from the office of Sen. Patrick Leahy to the effect that the Obama administration had already secretly suspended military aid to Egypt, a characterization that the administration yesterday denied. Yesterday Egyptian forces arrested Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie on charges of inciting murder, after violence on July 8 resulted in the deaths of at least 55 people outside Cairo’s Republican Guard headquarters. Egyptian media hailed the arrest, with several television network presenters congratulating Egyptians on the development, and one calling the arrest “joyful news.”
Commenting on the footage, the presenter said: “Congratulations, the leaders of terrorism are falling. They were planning terrorism within our homeland.” The co-presenter said viewers had tweeted to tell him that women were “trilling” at homes across Egypt, which is a traditional sign of jubilation in the country.
Cairo’s main stock index responded to the arrest by jumping 1.1 percent. Morsi’s one-year tenure was marked by systematic economic mismanagement, which brought the country’s economy to the brink of collapse and which was so severe that Morsi may face criminal charges over his policies.
[Photo: BFMTV / YouTube]