@ardee
The army leadership was trained at the U.S. Army War College.
They have now established themselves as THE AUTHORITY, view the
crackdown going on in the U.S., and are following their leader.

And where is the CIA/Google employee who helped initiate this
mess, that some naive folk called “Arab Spring”?  Has Hillary sent him to the bowels of Iran to “initiate democracy”?

@gerard, I also recommend Reed’s account of the Mexican Revolution, “Insurgent Mexico,” very memorable eyewitness journalism on the uprising of the Mexican peasantry in 1910.

Robespierre, I finally turned to Reed and read that extremely lucid and well-written account. It has been some 60 years ago since it was pointed out to me, and I have been unforgivably late in giving it attention!  I understand fully why you seem committed to the inevitability of violent revolution, but I still resist it with all my power. I want to promote the end to murder for any cause, no matter how noble, because I believe it more humane to discipline the emotional urge to kill and maim, and by discipline discover and invent ways to reach noble ends by merciful means. I also believe it is fully possible to do just that. The first step, it seems obvious, is to resist and “cure” the insanity of war—a large part of that “cure” probably being to develop and promote empathy, mutuality, allowing the realization of what it would be like to be the “other,” no matter how heinous the behavior of that “other” is. In addition is the historical fact that violence has never achieved more than temporary reform, though writers like Reed certainly make clear the noble aspects of violent struggle against socio-political repression.

Egypt looking more and more like Russia 1917! Long live the glorious Egyptian masses! They are giving the world an example of a REAL Revolution! Smash the old state! Riot, fight back and tear down the old order!

Typical prejudicial headline (NYT) “MILITARY MOVES IN AS VIOLENCE RAGES IN STREETS OF CAIRO”.  Fact is:
military moves in AND (as a result) violence rages.
This kind of media lying makes me sick, literally. The oligarchy tries to support the oligarchies worldwide. Main tactic:  Lying by blaming the people for “violence” then military coming in with weapons that introduce violence.

The history of Egypt’s military support for the people is in strange contrast to these current events. During the initial phases of the Arab Spring the army took great pains to eliminate weapons from Tahir Square, ousting thugs and government infiltrators alike, even refusing orders to shoot or otherwise harm protestors.

Now that they have assumed power in the absence of the Mubarak government we suddenly find them to be against the interests and wishes of the people. I am tempted to believe that we are missing something here.