The new Egyptian president is trying to carve out a niche for himself independent of his own Muslim Brotherhood. For this he needs to make terms with the Supreme Military Council. It is too early to determine his chances of success.

Field Marshal Tantawi and presidential contestant Ahmed Shafiq both made tracks to Riyadh this week for succor and support against the Muslim Brotherhood takeover of power in Cairo. Both were also going against US plans for supporting that takeover.

With no clear winner, Egypt is falling into two ...

Egypt’s transitional military government assumes legislative powers after the constitutional court Thursday, June 14, dissolved parliament because one-third of its seats were gained illegally in an election which handed two Islamist parties a majority. Egyptians found they face a new general election two days before they vote in the presidential runoff.  The court also ruled that Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak’s last prime minister, would stay in the presidential race.

The Brotherhood's Islamist militias, which first put in an appearance in Egypt's presidential election campaign last month to disrupt Ahmed Shafiq's rallies, quickly took on a national character. They then formed into hierarchical structures on the lines of the paramilitary militias which surfaced in the early years of Iran’s Shiite revolution in the early 1980s and evolved into Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Instead of democracy, Egypt is sinking into violence, widespread disorder, sectarian clashes and crime as the military rulers stand aside and wait for a new ruler to take over.