Special to WorldTribune.com

JERUSALEM — Despite a purge of its senior command, President
Mohammed Morsi has failed to gain control over Egypt’s U.S.-financed
military, a report said.

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs said Egypt’s first Islamist
president, a year after he took office, continues to face opposition from
the powerful military. In a report, the center said the lion’s share of
Egyptians have rejected Morsi and want the military to return to power.

“Today, Egypt is on the verge of chaos,” the report, titled “Is Egypt Heading toward a Military Regime?” said. “Amid a sudden popular wave of affection and longing for the [President Hosni] Mubarak days, there is renewed talk of the Army retaking power.”

Author Jacques Neriah, a former adviser to then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, asserted that the military has largely resisted the purge directed by Morsi in 2012. In August 2012, Morsi, two months after his election, replaced virtually the entire military and security command, all of them holdovers from the Mubarak regime.

The purge included Egypt’s longtime defense minister, military chief of staff, intelligence commander and head of the Republican Guard. The security
command under the auspices of the Interior Ministry was also replaced, with
what the opposition asserted were supporters of the ruling Muslim
Brotherhood.

But the military rebounded as anti-government unrest intensified
throughout Egypt and the police were unable to respond. The report said
Morsi appeared passive as militias, including the Brotherhood, took over the
streets of major cities and the economy plunged into recession.

“As Morsi’s government fails to achieve true democracy, respect human
rights, restore security, or improve economic welfare, an increasing number
of people are calling on the Army to return to the political scene as
Morsi’s only possible replacement,” the report, dated May 21, said. “A
recent poll found 82 percent supporting such a move.”

The report said the main question was whether Morsi would ask the
military to assume power before Egypt slides into anarchy. Neriah said Morsi
failed to control the key centers of power, including the judiciary,
while angering many with his initiatives to reconcile with Iran and the
Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.

Morsi’s biggest challenge has been the economy, the report said. The
report cited Egypt’s failure to acquire major loans or investments,
including from China.

“At this point, Morsi’s economy is surviving on Saudi and Qatari money
deposited in Egyptian banks,” the report said. “This exacts a definite
political price that is not in line with Morsi’s policies.”

The report said Morsi and the Brotherhood have been seen as incapable of
governing Egypt. One example was Morsi’s failure to protect the U.S. embassy
in Cairo from an Islamist mob in September 2012.

For its part, the military withheld cooperation in helping quell the
anti-government violence. In January 2013, the Army refused to stop
anti-Morsi protests or enforce a curfew ordered in many Egyptian cities.

“The display of contempt had features of an outright rebellion,” the
report said.

Instead, the military, led by Defense Minister Abdul Fatah Sisi has
repeatedly warned of intervention. In some cases, the military sought to
defuse major unrest by supplying diesel fuel amid a growing shortage.

Neriah envisioned the Brotherhood hanging on to power regardless of the
chaos. Citing the 18-day revolt against Mubarak, the retired Israeli colonel
said the military would not rush to seize power and then blamed for
the nation’s woes.

“The question that remains is to what extent Morsi will allow Egypt to
drift into anarchy and chaos before he asks the Army to take the reins,” the
report said. “The Muslim Brotherhood waited almost eight decades to become
the rulers of Egypt. Certainly they are in no hurry to give back what the
2011 revolution gave them almost on a silver platter.”

  Abdul Fatah Sisi, Hosni Mubarak, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Muslim Brotherhood, poll finds 82 percent favor coup, Report: Morsi fail to win over Army