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Egypt’s Military Shows No Restraint

Egypt’s political factions may soon regret their deal with the military as a pact with the devil in unseating deposed President Mohammed Morsi.
Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi react near bloodstains from protesters killed during late night clashes at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, near Rabaa Adawiya Square where they are camping, in Nasr city area, east of Cairo July 28, 2013. Thousands of supporters of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood stood their ground in Cairo on Sunday, saying they would not leave the streets despite "massacres" by security forces who shot dozens of them dead. Egypt's amb

Fireworks booming, military helicopters circling overhead and posters of “lion-hearted” Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at every turn continue to mark the celebratory mood in Tahrir Square. The irony weighs heavily when remembering the ardent anti-military protests camped out in the square less than two years ago under the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the brutality with which security forces repeatedly crushed them.

Days before Egypt’s first democratic parliamentary elections in November 2011, the Muslim Brotherhood, which anticipated a strong performance, refused to support demonstrations against the SCAF after initially being anti-SCAF, not wanting to upset the military establishment.

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