CAIRO: The U.S. daily Washington Post today published an editorial lambasting the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the Egyptian military for its brutal crackdown on Coptic protestors at the Radio and Television Headquarters (Maspiro) on Sunday evening. The harshly worded condemnation of the siege on the Copts also suggested that the military's veracity in its commitment to transitioning to democracy is suspect. Military trials for civilians, erratic economic policies and the promotion of xenophobia (Essam Sharaf's speech laid the responsibility for the incident on a “foreign conspiracy”) continue to hamper the country's fragile transitional government. “There's little doubt that the transition to democracy is in danger,” the editors write. “But the fault lies not with the protesting Copts, Islamic fundamentalists or others who have been organizing and agitating for change in Cairo, but with the military regime.” The editorial further argues that the U.S., what with its immense influence over the Egyptian military, press for speedy democratic elections and help secure foreign loans to stabilize the flagging Egyptian economy.
