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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Meanwhile, in Egypt...

Besides Mubarak's seemingly imminent death, which some Egyptians are saying is not such a big deal, we have....

According to an Egypt state television report, some 100 surface-to-surface missiles were captured in the Baheira governorate on Tuesday by security personnel. It is unclear how the missiles made their way into Egypt, but the state TV report said those responsible have been detained.

The state television report said Egypt’s Anti-Drug General Administration discovered the missiles, a launching pad, and dozens of hand guns loaded in two cars.
Beheira is in the center-north of Egypt where the Nile Delta is.

And:
Witnesses confirmed the spread of large forces belonging to the Egyptian Third Army at the entrances of the [Rafah] tunnels; searching (in cooperation with the police) at the tunnel entrances for those coming from North and South Sinai, in search of Hamas members.... They are checking all the identities of departures and arrivals in the Sinai Peninsula, whether Egyptians or otherwise, and are also checking their passports to acertain their true identity, whether they belong to Hamas or not.

And:
Four armed men seized a car containing the weapons and personal belongings of five police officers who were driving from North Sinai to Cairo.

The incident took place five kilometers from a toll station on the Cairo-Ismailia Desert Road. The four armed men, who were riding in a truck without license plates coming from the opposite direction, reportedly forced the police to get out of the car.
And:
Five Egyptian political parties have jointly called for the establishment of a pro-civil-state political force to stand against "repression" by the military and Islamist groups.
In a statement released Sunday, the parties said attempts by the ruling military council to rehabilitate the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak is "state despotism."

They also condemned what they said were plans by Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to establish a religious dictatorship through the control of state institutions and by excluding other political factions from power.

The statement was signed by the Free Egyptians Party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Egypt Freedom Party - three parties established after the 2011 uprising - as well as the older Democratic Front Party and Nasserist Karama Party.
And:
Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson Mohamed Ghozlan warned of a "dangerous faceoff" between the people and the army if Ahmed Shafiq, described by opponents as the "military's man," is declared Egypt's new president.

A Shafiq victory would be "a direct military coup by the military council," Ghozlan added.
The official presidential election results are due tomorrow. And no matter who is declared the winner, all hell may very well break loose.