The Death Of Egyptian Democracy

If Egypt ever really did have democracy it was born and died with the election of Mohamed Morsi in June.  The election was free and fair according to international observers, but that appears to have been both the beginning and end of the experiment. Protesters who took to the streets to demand the ouster of Hosni Mubarak are back and demanding his Islamist successor go as well. They’re saying Morsi is Mubarak with a beard.

Since taking office Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party have taken control of the presidency, the military, the parliament and are sidelining the judiciary. Morsi even followed Mubarak’s example and tried to arrest his losing opponent, but Ahmed Shafiq saw that coming and quickly fled the country.

A new report by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy has some good ideas on how the United States should respond to the situation in Egypt.  Read about it in my latest column.