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| Egypt's revolution and diplomacy: when a coup is a 'military intervention' | Egypt's revolution and diplomacy: when a coup is a 'military intervention' |
| (3 months later) | |
| Foreign governments reacting to the Egyptian military's move against Mohamed Morsi have been getting into semantic knots about the difference between a "coup" and a "military intervention" – though no-one disputes that a democratically elected president, albeit an unpopular one, has been overthrown. | Foreign governments reacting to the Egyptian military's move against Mohamed Morsi have been getting into semantic knots about the difference between a "coup" and a "military intervention" – though no-one disputes that a democratically elected president, albeit an unpopular one, has been overthrown. |
| Statements from Washington, London and elsewhere reflected the awkwardness of the issue, with President Barack Obama avoiding use of the C-word to stave off the risk that US financial aid to a strategically important Middle Eastern ally might be cut off by Congress. | Statements from Washington, London and elsewhere reflected the awkwardness of the issue, with President Barack Obama avoiding use of the C-word to stave off the risk that US financial aid to a strategically important Middle Eastern ally might be cut off by Congress. |
| Egypt's crisis has been testing for its western friends. Anne Patterson, the US ambassador to Cairo, has become a hate figure for the anti-Morsi opposition. Britain's envoy, James Watt, has also been vilified by liberal and secular Egyptians for being too close to the Muslim Brotherhood since its political fortunes rose after Hosni Mubarak's demise in February 2011. | Egypt's crisis has been testing for its western friends. Anne Patterson, the US ambassador to Cairo, has become a hate figure for the anti-Morsi opposition. Britain's envoy, James Watt, has also been vilified by liberal and secular Egyptians for being too close to the Muslim Brotherhood since its political fortunes rose after Hosni Mubarak's demise in February 2011. |
| William Hague, the foreign secretary, came up with a formula that decried military "intervention" while pragmatically urging that the transition be fast and inclusive. But it was, Hague added, a "popular" move. "We have to recognise the enormous dissatisfaction in Egypt with what the president had done and the conduct of the government over the past year." | William Hague, the foreign secretary, came up with a formula that decried military "intervention" while pragmatically urging that the transition be fast and inclusive. But it was, Hague added, a "popular" move. "We have to recognise the enormous dissatisfaction in Egypt with what the president had done and the conduct of the government over the past year." |
| US officials signalled that they want to use $1.3bn (£860m) in annual aid as a carrot to encourage the army to ensure a smooth return to civilian rule – symbolised by the swearing-in on Thursday of Adli Mansour, head of the constitutional court, as interim president. Ties between the Pentagon and the Egyptian military are already close. | US officials signalled that they want to use $1.3bn (£860m) in annual aid as a carrot to encourage the army to ensure a smooth return to civilian rule – symbolised by the swearing-in on Thursday of Adli Mansour, head of the constitutional court, as interim president. Ties between the Pentagon and the Egyptian military are already close. |
| Closer to Cairo, reactions were less nuanced. Formal congratulations from Saudi Arabia could barely disguise what must be delight at the blow to the Brotherhood – a bogeyman for the conservative Gulf monarchies. Saudi and Emirati cash will be vital to help the interim government keep the rickety Egyptian economy afloat. The UAE, obsessed by Islamist subversion, is also home to the exiled Ahmed Shafiq, the Mubarak-era air force commander who Morsi narrowly defeated last year. | Closer to Cairo, reactions were less nuanced. Formal congratulations from Saudi Arabia could barely disguise what must be delight at the blow to the Brotherhood – a bogeyman for the conservative Gulf monarchies. Saudi and Emirati cash will be vital to help the interim government keep the rickety Egyptian economy afloat. The UAE, obsessed by Islamist subversion, is also home to the exiled Ahmed Shafiq, the Mubarak-era air force commander who Morsi narrowly defeated last year. |
| Qatar, which has championed Islamists in the Arab uprisings while resisting significant change at home, said it would "respect the wishes of the Egyptian people". Still, Morsi's departure is likely to be galling. The fabulously wealthy Gulf state has invested $8bn in Egypt while the Qatari-owned al-Jazeera satellite TV has been openly partisan in favour of the Brotherhood. | Qatar, which has championed Islamists in the Arab uprisings while resisting significant change at home, said it would "respect the wishes of the Egyptian people". Still, Morsi's departure is likely to be galling. The fabulously wealthy Gulf state has invested $8bn in Egypt while the Qatari-owned al-Jazeera satellite TV has been openly partisan in favour of the Brotherhood. |
| Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, fighting rebels he routinely excoriates as Islamic extremists, said on Wednesday that Morsi's ouster represented the "fall of political Islam". State TV also quoted an official as saying: "Syria's people and leadership and army express their deep appreciation for the national, populist movement in Egypt which has yielded a great achievement." | Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, fighting rebels he routinely excoriates as Islamic extremists, said on Wednesday that Morsi's ouster represented the "fall of political Islam". State TV also quoted an official as saying: "Syria's people and leadership and army express their deep appreciation for the national, populist movement in Egypt which has yielded a great achievement." |
| Morsi's recent public support for "jihad" in Syria and sectarian language attacking both Shia Muslims and domestic opponents as "infidels" is said to have been one of the main reasons the army finally moved against him. | Morsi's recent public support for "jihad" in Syria and sectarian language attacking both Shia Muslims and domestic opponents as "infidels" is said to have been one of the main reasons the army finally moved against him. |
| In Tunisia the head of the ruling Islamist an-Nahda party, Rached Ghannouchi, condemned Morsi's removal as "a flagrant coup against democratic legitimacy". | In Tunisia the head of the ruling Islamist an-Nahda party, Rached Ghannouchi, condemned Morsi's removal as "a flagrant coup against democratic legitimacy". |
| Turkey, where rulingIslamist AK party has been challenged by massive street protests, was also openly unhappy at the loss of a valued ally. Ahmet Davutoğlu, the foreign minister, said emphatically that it was "unacceptable" that the Egyptian president had been toppled by a "military coup". Morsi was close to the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and even attended the AK congress last year. | Turkey, where rulingIslamist AK party has been challenged by massive street protests, was also openly unhappy at the loss of a valued ally. Ahmet Davutoğlu, the foreign minister, said emphatically that it was "unacceptable" that the Egyptian president had been toppled by a "military coup". Morsi was close to the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and even attended the AK congress last year. |
| Iran, which tried to forge ties of Islamic solidarity with Egypt, responded cautiously, calling for the people's "legitimate demands" to be fulfilled and warning of "foreign and enemy opportunism". | Iran, which tried to forge ties of Islamic solidarity with Egypt, responded cautiously, calling for the people's "legitimate demands" to be fulfilled and warning of "foreign and enemy opportunism". |
| Muted satisfaction could be discerned in reactions from Israel, which regretted the overthrow of Mubarak – keeper of the 1979 peace treaty with the Jewish state – and has long seen the Arab spring as "an Islamist winter". Its concerns are focused on security in the Sinai peninsula and the border with Gaza. Morsi's departure may mean a cooling of Egypt's relations with Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the coastal enclave. | Muted satisfaction could be discerned in reactions from Israel, which regretted the overthrow of Mubarak – keeper of the 1979 peace treaty with the Jewish state – and has long seen the Arab spring as "an Islamist winter". Its concerns are focused on security in the Sinai peninsula and the border with Gaza. Morsi's departure may mean a cooling of Egypt's relations with Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the coastal enclave. |
| Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, managed to combine two contradictory international responses – noting the "legitimate concerns" of Egyptian protestors" while adding that military interference was always "of concern". | Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, managed to combine two contradictory international responses – noting the "legitimate concerns" of Egyptian protestors" while adding that military interference was always "of concern". |
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