Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0121/01217.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 35KB | 562 lines

$Unique_ID{COW01217}
$Pretitle{243}
$Title{Egypt
Chapter 5A.   National Security}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Eugene K. Keefe}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{war
military
forces
egyptian
armed
british
egypt
service
sadat
egyptians}
$Date{1982}
$Log{Hypostyle Hall*0121701.scf
Figure 9.*0121703.scf
}
Country:     Egypt
Book:        Egypt, A Country Study
Author:      Eugene K. Keefe
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1982

Chapter 5A.   National Security

[See Hypostyle Hall: Hawk at entrance to the hypostyle hall of the Temple of
Idfu]

     As President Husni Mubarak completed his first nine months in office in
early summer 1982, the groups of Islamic religious fanatics that posed the
most serious threat to internal security and public order remained relatively
quiet. There had been no serious disturbances since the days immediately after
the assassination of Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar al Sadat, on October 6,
1981. A state of emergency had been in effect since the assassination, in
addition to which a roundup of known extremists had resulted in the detention
of as many as 2,500 potential troublemakers. The new president demonstrated
that it was his intention to be tough in situations demanding toughness, an
attitude that perhaps chilled the ardor of fanatics who had been intent on
converting Egypt into an Islamic republic along the lines of that existing in
Iran.

     During eleven years as president, Sadat had lifted some of the tight
controls that had previously been exercised by the pervasive police and
security forces, but just before his death he had clamped down on opposition
groups that he considered responsible for crimes of violence connected with
political dissent and religious fanaticism. Egyptians had in general favored
Sadat's actions, but when in September 1981 he took action against antiregime
activists by ordering the arrest of more than 1,500 opponents, he was roundly
criticized at home and abroad. His critics accused him of jailing people for
disagreeing with him politically; he argued that the arrestees had threatened
state security. One month later, bullets from the guns of religious militants
ended the Sadat era, but they did not end the opposing views on Egypt's
position in the Arab world and the world at large. In mid-1982 it remained to
be seen how the new president would deal with his ideological and political
inheritance.

     Even before he officially became president, Mubarak was designated
supreme commander of the armed forces, one of the president's more important
duties. In mid-1982 the armed forces that he constitutionally commanded
totaled about 367,000 personnel in four services: army, navy, air force, and
air defense force. Servicemen are both volunteers and conscripts, although the
latter predominate in number. Servicewomen, of whom there were only a small
number in 1982, were all volunteers, women not being subject to the draft.

     Arms and equipment, which from the mid-1950s to 1974 had been supplied
almost exclusively by the Soviet Union, were in the late 1970s and early 1980s
being procured from the West. Sadat had decided to diversify the sources of
supplies, and his successor vowed to continue the same policy. Egyptians in
1982 were using arms and equipment from a half-dozen different countries; in
addition, some Egyptian factories were also producing armaments. The
inventories of all services were therefore extremely varied. Even though no
new armaments had been received from the Soviet Union for several years,
Soviet items still made up the bulk of the inventories.

     Since 1978 the former Ministry of War has been known as the Ministry of
Defense. The change of title was intended to demonstrate the new emphasis
on peace, which Sadat had personally initiated. Four wars with Israel and the
constantly increasing costs of maintaining modern armed forces had convinced
Sadat that an extended period of peace was an absolute requisite for rescuing
the economy from disaster and for establishing a basis for ending the extreme
poverty of most of Egypt's people.

Armed Forces

     The prestige and reputation of the armed forces were greatly enhanced by
their successes in the October 1973 War against Israel. In the words of
President Sadat, "We the Egyptian people have recovered our pride and
self-confidence after the October 1973 battle, just as our armed forces did."
The stain of military defeat, rout, and humiliation in the June 1967 War was
cleansed by the partial victory of 1973, and nine years later the return of
the Sinai Peninsula seemed to confirm the correctness of the war and peace
moves made by Sadat before his assassination. Mubarak continued in mid-1982
to subscribe to Sadat's foreign and military policies.

Position in Government and Society

Constitutional Basis

     The purpose and role of the armed forces are set forth in several
articles of the Constitution, particularly in Chapter VII, "The Armed
Forces and the National Defense Council." Armed forces can be formed only
by the state, and they are designated as belonging "to the people." The
formation of paramilitary forces by private organizations or groups is
forbidden. The purpose of the armed forces is "to defend the country, its
territorial safety and security, and protect the socialist gains of the
people's struggle." The section of the Constitution dealing with citizen's
rights and obligations refers to defense of the homeland as a "sacred duty"
and establishes compulsory conscription.

     The president of the republic is designated supreme commander of the
armed forces and is empowered to declare war or a state of emergency, both
of which require the concurrence of the People's Assembly. The four
presidents who have held the office since the revolution in 1952-Muhammad
Naguib, Gamal Abdul Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak-have been military officers.
Nasser and Sadat, both members of the Free Officers group that overthrew
King Faruk in the 1952 Revolution, paid close attention to military affairs
during their tenures (see 1952 Revolution, ch. 1). Early assessments of
Mubarak's administration predicted that he would follow the lead of his
predecessors in dealing with the military, not only because of his own air
force background but also because of the dominant position of the military
in national politics (see The Military as Political Actor, ch. 4).

     The National Defense Council, the formation of which is mandated by the
Constitution, is directed to consider all "matters related to insuring the
country's security." The Constitution does not designate the membership of
the council other than the president, who is named chairman. In practice the
membership of the council, in addition to the president, has included the
prime minister and certain other prominent ministers, e.g., defense and
war production, interior, foreign affairs, economy and foreign trade, and
others, as well as the chief of staff of the armed forces, the commanders
of the separate services, and the director of intelligence. Other articles
of the Constitution direct that laws will be enacted to govern mobilization,
terms of service for military personnel, and the jurisdictions of military
courts.

Military Traditions

     At the end of the age of the pharaohs, some five or six centuries before
the time of Christ, Egypt was conquered by foreign armies and then remained
under foreign domination until 1952, that is, for about 2,500 years (see
table A). The only armed forces in the land were the armies of occupation of
the various powers that dominated the country one after another, developing in
the Egyptian people the idea that military service was alien to their own
culture. Successively conquered and occupied by Persian, Greek, Roman, Arab,
Turkish, French, and British forces, the Egyptians also became contemptuous
of military personnel, particularly officers, and that opinion continued to
be prevalent until the mid-twentieth century. Military service was described
by a prom