Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood

Many folks are getting bad vibes from Egypt. The kind of sentences the present powers-that-be in Egypt are handing down to the Muslim Brotherhood members are far too harsh and not justified.  My instincts tell me that Egypt will either explode in yet another revolution or we will keep hearing of terrorist attacks more often than ever before.  The extremism coming from the interim govt smells to high heaven.

From BBC:
....Egypt interim prime minister: 'Elections will be fair'.  
Egyptians are due to vote in a presidential election next week, in the first vote since the military deposed President Mohammed Morsi last summer.


The former Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to win - and assume the leadership of a country where the economy is stagnant, public debt is mounting and unemployment is soaring.
The BBC's Shaimaa Khalil spoke to interim Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab. She began by asking him about security ahead of the vote.

Jesse Rosenfeld writing at DailyBeast:
....Egypt Prepares to Anoint a Dictator and Call it an Election
General Sisi has put on a business suit, but there’s no question who’s in charge as he imprisons critics, kills protestors, and prepares to assume the mantle of president.
CAIRO, Egypt – As Egyptians get ready to head to the polls next week opposition groups from across the political spectrum are being jailed, banned or shot in the streets. There’s no doubt that former army head, Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who led last year’s July 3 coup, will win the vote, so  this election is more about legitimizing authoritarianism than it is about establishing a democratic process.....

Jon B Alterman writing at Center for Strategic & Intl.Studies:
...As Egypt faces presidential elections this weekend, the future looks less bright and less new than any would have predicted three years ago. The military is clearly back, the economy is in shambles, and political space is constricting.
On a recent trip to Egypt, I met old friends who were triumphant that the Islamists had been set back. Yet I also saw palpable despair, not only among Islamists, but among liberals too. “I need to take stock this summer and decide if I have a future here,” said a friend, who had served in an interim government. “I just need a break from Egypt,” one political activist told me, gaunt-faced and weary......

From Middle East Institute:
Special Feature: Terrorism in Sinai. 
A History of Terrorism in Egypt's Sinai......
.....Escalating Instability in Sinai
Egyptian authorities have lost control of large swathes of Sinai since the overthrow of former president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. A security vacuum has allowed for increased organizational and operational capacity of terrorist groups in the area. Additionally, extremism has been on the rise since Mohamed Morsi’s ouster in July 2013 and the subsequent crackdown on political Islam and Islamist parties. Terrorist groups tend to target state infrastructure and security forces, coordinating with local Bedouin who have long harbored grievances against Cairo due to years of marginalization and mistreatment. Attacks often target police stations, checkpoints, government offices, and the Arab Gas Pipeline between Egypt and Israel in north Sinai. Profiting from the region’s general lawlessness, some Bedouin populations engage in human, arms, and drug trafficking...........