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July 15, 2013

U.S. Deputy Sec. of State Visits Egypt for First Post-Morsi Talks 
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Thousands of people on both sides of Egypt's political divide are
rallying today amidst a visit from a top U.S. official. Deputy Secretary
of State William Burns is in Cairo for the first high-level
U.S.-Egyptian talks since the ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed
Morsi. On Sunday, a Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson mocked the U.S. for
refusing to brand Morsi's ouster as a coup, which would in turn
jeopardize $1.3 billion in U.S. military aid.

Gehad El-Haddad: "This is not about President Morsi being released, this
is not even about his personal safety. This is about protecting the
democratic choice of the Egyptian people and the ballot box choice that
they have gone and stood for hours in the sun for five times across the
past two years. This is about protecting the will of the people and not
allowing the military to take on a political role and sanctioning a
military coup while the U.S. is afraid to use the 'C' word still."

In a speech on Sunday, the head of Egypt's armed forces, General Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi, defended Morsi's ouster, saying the military was
enforcing popular will. The interim Egyptian government continues to
form a new cabinet. On Sunday, the veteran diplomat Mohamed El Baradei
was sworn in as Egypt's interim vice president for international
relations.

 

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