Former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Frank Wisner, On Why The Situation In Egypt Is Not A Coup

“In this case in Egypt I think it’s wise, and the President is wise, to go slowly and consider very carefully both what happened in Egypt and what is at stake. For, in Egypt, it wasn’t a military that flooded [inaudible] seizure of the the government and grabbed it. It was a massive public uprising that left unchecked it would’ve produced great violence. It would’ve left the military in the miserable position of having to control that, those demonstrations by force.

The cry from the crowd was they wanted new elections and they wanted a broader political dispensation that brought many of Egypt’s groups together to help decide the country’s future which has been so troubled. That wasn’t forthcoming from the Muslim Brothers. Morsi gave a defiant speech and the military was faced with genuinely an overheated situation that could’ve been violent.

It isn’t a coup in any classic sense, and yet the military played a role in upsetting the government. We have to ask ourselves, then, finally, what are the interests of the United States. And, here, I  think the president wisely has waivered authority and has to make a judgment. Egypt is the largest and most influential country in the Middle East. Egypt is central to peace with Israel. Egypt’s fate will influence the course of politics elsewhere in the region. So we want to be very, very careful before we go out and condemn an event that has by the most recent polling of Egypt’s best pollsters 80 percent support of the population.” – Former U.S. ambassador to Egypt Frank G. Wisner. “Ambassador Wisner spent four decades in the highest echelons of the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense” (Source). 

Former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Frank Wisner, On Why The Situation In Egypt Is Not A Coup. Source: NewsmaxTV. Date