Egypt’s Liberals Join Islamists to Reject Transition Plan

The National Salvation Front, which Nobel Peace Prize-winner Mohamed ElBaradei was leading until he was named Egypt’s new deputy president, has joined the Muslim Brotherhood and the anti-Brotherhood Tamarod movement in rejecting President Adli Mansour’s transition decree.

According to a report on the BBC, both the Tamarod movement (which pushed for and won the ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi) and the NSF have essentially the same complaint: Both say they were not sufficiently consulted on the decree.

The Brotherhood, meanwhile, has rejected any overtures from the new government, which was hastily assembled by Egypt’s military leaders following a coup.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the administration was “cautiously encouraged by the announcement by the interim government that it has a potential plan for moving forward with a democratic process and elections, both parliamentary and presidential, and we think that’s a good thing.” He added, “We call on all parties to engage in a dialogue about that process and not to refuse to participate, because we believe (that) the best hope for resolving this crisis is through a process that is inclusive and in which everyone participates.”

Unfortunately most of the parties referred to have now officially rejected the plan. So what’s plan B?

— Posted by Peter Z. Scheer