One thing
worth noting, the Egyptian military is everything but a defense body
preoccupied with the nations’ security and protection. The Supreme council of
the armed forces is operating not only as a nation’s arms bearer, but indulges
in day to day operations related to real estate, tourism, business transactions
and political follies.
"It's
a business conglomerate, like General Electric," said Robert Springborg, professor
of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in
Monterey, referring to the Egyptian military. "It's represented in virtually every
sector of the economy."[1]
In a
country where a transition from military to civilian rule has just taken place,
the nostalgia for power remains a driving force for decrees, actions and
conspiracies led by the SCAF generals. What one ought to understand is that
non-confrontational diplomacy is not enough in the case of Egypt, alienating
the SCAF the way the Turkish Islamists alienated the Ataturk military officials
is the only way to regain control over state affairs and domestic legislations.
It is
important and crucial for president Mursi to realize the necessity to station
the military back into their right position, and failing to do so will have
deep impacts on the national security of the nation and on its economic
performances. On one hand, the military in Egypt, as asserted by the Global
Research Center for Research on Globalization, have been a staunch adversary of
free market and liberal transactions. With a tight grip on different industrial
sectors, the Scaf advocate and advance state ownership over the private sector
in order to secure the privileges and interests they cultivate through state
owned corporations. It goes without mentioning that without liberal policies
and a more market oriented economic strategy, the Egyptian economy will
suffocate under the pressure of foreign competitiveness and services.
On the
other hand, the current conditions of the military are worrying. The weaponry
and logistical acquisitions are in a poor condition, and the readiness of the
Egyptian troops is far from meeting the necessary requirements in case of
conflict escalation. The recent incidents spanning along the Egyptian border
have pinpointed to a lack of management of the territorial security, and
recurrent breaches by smugglers, fighters or immigrants could jeopardize the
safety of Egypt, especially in instances of attacks against Zionist troops or
rocket firings which would ultimately lead to a retaliation Egypt is far from
being able to support and legitimize.
Looking
back at a neighboring country, Turkey, one can draw lessons on how to assert
civilian state leadership and overturn military arrogance and inference in
domestic legislations: Sledgehammer!
Sledgehammer
conspiracy was the widely mediatized set of trials that involved top Turkish military,
with the majority of the chief secular generals convicted for attempts to lead a
military coup and seize power from the AK civilian government. Whether real or
simply an Islamist masterminded scheme to get rid of the trouble makers who
opposed the non-secular civilian leadership, the AK party managed to drag top
officials to the courts and induced many to resign promptly from their
functions.
A similar Sledgehammer
scenario could easily be implemented in the current conditions, and a quick
look at the charges held against the Turkish military allows us to draw clear
similarities:
“It reportedly
involved plans to bomb mosques and provoke tensions with Greece, in order to
spark political chaos and justify a military takeover“[2]
In a
country where the shadowy decades of military rule still resonates in people’s
minds, and where the Supreme Council of Armed Forces is widely pointed as
culpable and accomplice in the mass unrest unraveling in Egypt, holding formal accusations
against the military will not only prove to be legally founded, but will as
well secure the approval of the public opinion.
The
military establishment in Egypt is corrupt on different levels, and a massive
rehabilitation of the institutions is a prerogative the new Egyptian government
ought to prioritize. A top down cleansing of the military should set the
priorities of the presidential agenda since the political motives in the military
are comprised to the leading elite.
It is time
to ensure the safety of the nation both domestically and abroad through a
strong military institution, independent and non-aligned with national political
currents, a military transparent and sophisticated with high levels of
alertness and readiness at all times. Partnerships ought to be explored with
regional allies, and Turkey is a well-developed nation with highly skilled and
well equipped army contingents.
An important
notion in the military institution is armament. Armament sets forth two important
aspects: technology advance and price competitiveness. These two attributes are
well covered by the Turkish state. As a leading arm exporter (leading armament
manufacturers corporations ASELSAN, Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation
MKEK, Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI), a world top military spender (15th),a
NATO member and a roaming economy with budget surpluses, Turkey is the perfect
ally to seek in Egypt’s military restructuration. It goes without saying that
the political and ideological likeliness of the two governments will
furthermore facilitate any potential alliance and military collaboration between
the two states.
To be continued...
Next: Political and Religious course of action
[2] Turkey: Military chiefs
resign en masse, BBC website, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14346325
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