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| Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi |
The formidable challenge
facing the “two Egypts” today is to rescue politics from the street as the
first step towards national reconciliation.
The man central for
finding the way to achieve this is Gen. Abdel-Fattah
el-Sisi, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, long regarded as the sole
political arbiter in Egypt.
Following days of mass
protests against President Mohamed Morsi at June’s end, the military warned it
was prepared to step in “to stop Egypt from plunging into a dark tunnel of
conflict and infighting.”
The army issued an
ultimatum to Morsi on June 30, instructing him to respond to people's demands
or step down within 48 hours. When he failed to do so, it removed him from
office on July 3, appointed an interim civilian
administration and issued a roadmap leading to fresh elections.
The Muslim Brotherhood and
its supporters have been protesting since. They insist that protests will
continue until the military-backed administration steps down and the
democratically elected one is returned to power.
Egged on by anti-Morsi
protesters as the savior of democracy, the Sisi-led military shows no signs of
backing down.
In this catch 22 setting, Egypt’s brilliant columnist and talk show host Imad
Adeeb wrote this profile
of Sisi in Arabic for the country's al-Watan daily:
One question incessantly and markedly posed by all
foreign intelligence agencies in Cairo since last June 30 is this: What is Gen.
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi after?
Is he power-hungry? Is he leading a military coup?
Does he want to ride to the presidency on the back of a Military Establishment
tank?
The question puzzling everyone is: What does this man
want exactly?
Some in Egypt portray him as a revolutionary inspired
by Nasserite thought who rallied the military.
Others who support the Islamic current depict Sisi as
a putschist who rode the revolution’s second wave on June 30.
So is he a putschist who rode the revolution wave or
a revolutionary who exploited the Military Establishment?
In truth, or at least in my personal humble opinion,
the man is simpler than this and that.
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is an Egyptian who comes from an
above-average class, loves Egypt and is extremely loyal to the Military
Establishment.
Sisi is a prototype of the professional Egyptian army
general who strives to uphold the clout, repute and role of the Egyptian Military
Establishment, which has entrenched traditions dating back to 1805 and the launch
of Muhammad Ali
Pasha’s era.
Sisi personifies a set of national and nationalist thoughts
shared by the overwhelming majority of the soldiers and officers in the
Egyptian Army.
Sisi attended the U.S. Army
War College, but he is neither America’s lackey nor her traditional enemy.
Sisi is an Egyptian nationalist committed to Egypt’s
full sovereignty over every handspan of its national territory.
Sisi is an Arab nationalist who believes in Egypt’s
pan-Arab role but is not prepared to apportion Egypt’s security and
independence to any Arab sisterly country, whichever it may be.
Sisi’s moderation is epicentral in its political
grasp of the nation’s territorial integrity and independence – this, without
extremism or exaggeration and in the accompanying absence of laxity or
dereliction.
The second wave of the January 2011 revolution is
what won the hearts of Sisi’s generation, which is the first generation to be
in command of Egypt’s Military Establishment after replacing leaders of the
1973 October War.
This is an exceptional and rare fusion in Egypt’s
political life.
So what does Sisi want specifically?
You may not believe me if I told you that – other
than seeing Egypt safe, secure and stable in a modern civil state where the
army plays its constitutional role in safeguarding security and stability – the
general wants to retire early.
Sisi is not after power, money or fame.
He is folksy in his love of Egypt and a Sufi in the matter of power.
All this makes his profiles in foreign embassy
reports totally inaccurate because it is difficult for a pragmatic and
utilitarian mind to imagine a general who reached the helm on the strength of
the street and the backing of a tank continue to yearn for nothing.