Egyptian President Under House Arrest As the US Backs Away from Morsi, Coup Over

Well that was quick.

Politico's piece is titled "Military Ousts Morsi in Egypt", but the original (or former) title can still be seen at the browser bar.

It was "US eases away from Egyptian President Morsi". Exactly.

From Politico (7/3/2013):

Military ousts Morsi in Egypt

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was forced out of office Wednesday by the Egyptian military and opposition leaders, just a couple of hours after the Obama Administration voiced its first public doubts about Morsi's handling of the massive street protests that spread across the country in recent days.

...Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Government also panned Morsi's speech, saying the address fell short of detailing the reforms the Egyptian leader needed to promise to quell widespread dissatisfaction with his rule.

State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.S. "felt there was an absence of significant, specific steps" in Morsi's Tuesday night speech. "Unfortunately, that was not a part of what he talked about in his speech.....There's more that he needs to do," she added during a daily briefing for reporters.

The comments expressed a greater degree of U.S. dissatisfaction with Morsi than previously acknowledged by U.S. officials. However, Psaki insisted that the criticism did not reflect a U.S. decision to back the opposition or the military.

"We haven’t taken sides and don’t plan to take sides," Psaki said. She acknowledged that she had no criticism to offer of the Egyptian military, despite a warning from military leaders that they would step in if Morsi's government and protesters did not come to an accomodation.

Psaki declined to outline specific steps the U.S. would like Morsi to take, beyond avoiding violence. However, she disputed claims by many protesters that U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson had sided with the government over the opposition.

In a speech two weeks ago, Patterson said she and the U.S. were "deeply skeptical" that protests would bring about positive change in Egypt. But Psaki said the full text of the ambassador's remarks showed she was not expressing a preference for the government. "We continue to support the right of all people to peaceably assemble and express themselves," Psaki said.

Sure. Tell that to the protesters. "Why don't you read the full text of what she said? You're taking things out of context and that's not right!"

Either she or Politico conveniently omits that the protesters' anger was more toward President Obama himself.

If the US now endorses any candidate, that person will likely become the next target of the public anger.

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(UPDATE) It is just hilarious to read many tweets and snippets of TV programs in Japan about this "coup" in Egypt. They seem to think it is all done by the US government, to make democratically elected president look bad. It's only handful of citizens protested against the president, and that was at the prompting of the US.

The biggest demonstration in history, as per BBC, is a "handful" according to some Japanese. One of my followers reprimanded me for not feeling sorry for this dictatorial president of Egypt, by sending me a clip of a TV show, in which a gaunt-looking woman said it's all because of the US, only a handful of demonstrators, the president did nothing wrong, etc., etc. I was told that person was an expert on Egypt, because she was born in Egypt. Right.

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Muslim Brotherhood Issues Fatwa on Gaddafi, as Egyptian Army Declares Libyan Border Open

From Yahoo!7 (Australia) citing AAP (2/22/2011):

Influential Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi has issued a fatwa that any Libyan soldier who can shoot dead embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi should do so "to rid Libya of him."

"Whoever in the Libyan army is able to shoot a bullet at Mr Gaddafi should do so," Qaradawi, an Egyptian-born cleric who is usually based in Qatar, told Al-Jazeera television.

He also told Libyan soldiers "not to obey orders to strike at your own people," and urged Libyan ambassadors around the world to dissociate themselves from Gaddafi's regime.

Famous in the Middle East for his at times controversial fatwas, or religious edicts, the octogenarian Qaradawi has celebrity status in the Arab world thanks to his religious broadcasts on Al-Jazeera.

He has in the past defended "violence carried out by certain Muslims."

The West accuses the cleric of supporting "terrorism" because he sanctioned Palestinian suicide attacks in Israel. Britain and the United States have refused to grant him entry visas.

The cleric, spiritual leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and longtime resident of Qatar, heads the International Union for Muslim Scholars.

The Egyptian Army says the border between Egypt and Libya is now open, and the Army is setting up camps and field hospitals near the border for Egyptians. From Reuters Africa:

"Members of the Libyan border guard withdrew from (the Libyan side of the border) and it is currently in the control of people's committees," Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said in its Facebook message.

The statement did not make clear whether the groups now in control of the border were loyal to Gaddafi.

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