In February of this year, I warned that the Egyptian military might simply   
   be playing a shrewd game of deception with the people of Egypt. It now seems   
   that my suspicions and concerns were well-founded. As you have probably   
   already heard, violence has once again erupted in Cairo's Tahrir Square in   
   Egypt; this time by the hand of the Egyptian military, who many Egyptians   
   erroneously assumed was siding with the youthful protesters of the January   
   25th Revolution.   
      
   This past Friday, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square   
   to protest against some of the actions which have been taken by the military   
   since it took over the country following the departure of Hosni Mubarak two   
   months ago. They named this latest protest the "Friday of Warning".   
      
   According to online news sources, while the military claims to be slowly   
   working towards an open, free, democratic society in Egypt, at the same   
   time, thousands of Egyptians have been arrested and tried before military   
   courts over the past two months. Furthermore, some protesters have been   
   tortured, and there are claims that some of the female protesters have been   
   abused by means of so-called "virginity tests".   
      
   The latest protests were orchestrated in large part by the Muslim   
   Brotherhood, which at this current time happens to be Egypt's most organized   
   political organization, in the wake of the downfall of former Egyptian   
   dictator Hosni Mubarak. As you will recall, I mentioned in previous posts   
   that while the revolution was initially organized by Egypt's secular youth,   
   since then, it has in large part been taken over by the Muslim Brotherhood.   
   Personally, I don't trust the Muslim Brotherhood, and I have begun to wonder   
   if they haven't made some kind of back-room power-sharing arrangement with   
   the Egyptian military.   
      
   When Friday's protests began, the Muslim Brotherhood claimed that the   
   military was "one hand" with the people; however, by early Saturday morning,   
   that perception had changed drastically. During the wee hours of the night,   
   as the protesters rested in Tahrir Square, for a period of about two hours,   
   several thousand Egyptian riot police, uniformed soldiers and military   
   police officers stormed the square. When it was all over, at least one   
   protester was dead, and dozens more were wounded.   
      
   In an article entitled "Hero of Egypt's Revolution, Military Now Faces   
   Critics", the New York Times noted in part:   
      
   ----- Begin Quote -----   
      
   Since the military assumed direct control after Mr. Mubarak was forced from   
   power, it has seen its standing as defender of the revolution called into   
   question by actions that reflect the authoritarian tactics of the past   
   rather than a blueprint for a democratic future, many here said.   
      
   Even the new protest was met with violence. Around 3 a.m. on Saturday,   
   soldiers swept into Tahrir Square, beating hundreds of protesters with clubs   
   and firing heavy volleys of gunfire to break up the demonstration, The   
   Associated Press reported. The Health Ministry said that one person had been   
   killed, according to the news agency.   
      
   The troops dragged an unknown number of protesters away, throwing them into   
   police trucks, witnesses told The A.P.   
      
   ----- End quote -----   
      
   So much for the Egyptian military being "one hand" with the people. These   
   authoritarian military dictatorships of the Middle East -- which is what the   
   Mubarak regime was -- simply don't seem to know how to deal with situations   
   other than through violence. We have seen this in Egypt, in Libya, in Syria,   
   in Bahrain, in Yemen, and elsewhere.   
      
   Not surprisingly, as a result of the early morning violence, the protesters   
   are now accusing the leader of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces --   
   Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi -- of being Egypt's new military   
   dictator. Considering that Field Marshal Tantawi has been a long-time friend   
   and ally of Hosni Mubarak, and that the Egyptian military supported   
   Mubarak's regime for the past thirty years, should we have expected any   
   better from Tantawi?   
      
   As one jailed blogger -- Michael Nabil -- noted, "The revolution has so far   
   managed to get rid of the dictator, but the dictatorship still exists."   
      
   It would seem then that the protesters of the January 25th Revolution in   
   Egypt have had a rude awakening, and now realize that their only true   
   friends and supporters are those who sit in, or march along, beside them. No   
   one else can be trusted.   
      
   And the Muslim Brotherhood?   
      
   Good question.   
      
      
      
   Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23   
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