July 30, 2012
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
It’s not just the Department of Homeland Security that is gearing up for the prospect of civil unrest in America. The U.S. Army also recently purchased a stock of riot gear including batons, face masks and body shields.
As we reported last week, the DHS has put out an urgent solicitation for hundreds of items of “riot gear,” in preparation for expected unrest at the upcoming Republican National Convention, Democratic National Convention and next year’s presidential inauguration.
In a previous solicitation, the U.S. Army also put out a contract for riot gear to be delivered to the United States Military Academy at West Point in New York.
The contract, which was eventually awarded to A2Z Supply Corp, included requests to supply riot shields, face shields, batons and body protection.
Fears that the U.S. military would be used to quell domestic unrest in violation of Posse Comitatus have raged over recent years.
A recently leaked US Army Military Police training manual for “Civil Disturbance Operations” outlines how military assets are to be used domestically to quell riots, confiscate firearms and even kill Americans on U.S. soil during mass civil unrest.
On page 20 of the manual, rules regarding the use of “deadly force” in confronting “dissidents” are made disturbingly clear with the directive that a, “Warning shot will not be fired.”
The manual includes lists of weapons to be used against “rioters” or “demonstrators,” including “antiriot grenades.” It also advises troops to carry their guns in the “safe port arms” stance, a psychological tactic aimed at “making a show of force before rioters.” Non-lethal weapons and water cannons are also included.
Preparations for using troops to deal with mass civil unrest on U.S. soil have been in the works for years.
Back in 2008, U.S. troops returning from Iraq were earmarked for “homeland patrols” with one of their roles including helping with “civil unrest and crowd control”.
In December 2008, the Washington Post reported on plans to station 20,000 more U.S. troops inside America for purposes of “domestic security” from September 2011 onwards, an expansion of Northcom’s militarization of the country in preparation for potential civil unrest following a total economic collapse or a mass terror attack.
A report produced that same year by the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Institute warned that the United States may experience massive civil unrest in the wake of a series of crises which it termed “strategic shock.”
“Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security,” stated the report, authored by [Ret.] Lt. Col. Nathan Freir, adding that the military may be needed to quell “purposeful domestic resistance”.
*********************
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show and Infowars Nightly News.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Jewish settlers enter Al-Aqsa Mosque under protection of security forces
26 July 2012
Source: Middle East Monitor
More than 120 Jewish settlers entered Al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday morning. Al-Aqsa Foundation for Islamic Endowments and Heritage said that several groups of illegal settlers entered the Noble Sanctuary from Al-Magharebeh Gate and spread around the compound in several places. There, it is reported, they established religious study circles and performed a number of prayers.
Witnesses who took video and still photographs of this latest incursion at Al-Aqsa Mosque said that the settlers were protected by heavily armed Israeli security officers. The settlers nearly came to blows with Muslims attending the midday prayers at the mosque.
Al-Aqsa Foundation warned of "the increasing Israeli aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque, including incursions and profanities by Jewish groups and Israeli soldiers in the run-up to this weekend's alleged anniversary of the destruction of the Jewish temple.
Stressing the importance of popular resistance to such incursions by extremist Jewish groups, Al-Aqsa Foundation called on Palestinians "to attend as early as possible and stay in Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to protect it".
Source: Middle East Monitor
More than 120 Jewish settlers entered Al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday morning. Al-Aqsa Foundation for Islamic Endowments and Heritage said that several groups of illegal settlers entered the Noble Sanctuary from Al-Magharebeh Gate and spread around the compound in several places. There, it is reported, they established religious study circles and performed a number of prayers.
Witnesses who took video and still photographs of this latest incursion at Al-Aqsa Mosque said that the settlers were protected by heavily armed Israeli security officers. The settlers nearly came to blows with Muslims attending the midday prayers at the mosque.
Al-Aqsa Foundation warned of "the increasing Israeli aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque, including incursions and profanities by Jewish groups and Israeli soldiers in the run-up to this weekend's alleged anniversary of the destruction of the Jewish temple.
Stressing the importance of popular resistance to such incursions by extremist Jewish groups, Al-Aqsa Foundation called on Palestinians "to attend as early as possible and stay in Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to protect it".
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Egypt president seeks talks over parliament crisis
20 hrs ago
By Edmund Blair and Marwa Awad | Reuters
Source: Yahoo News
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Islamist president said on Wednesday he wanted talks with the judiciary and political powers to defuse a crisis over him trying reinstate parliament in defiance of generals who dissolved it last month based on a court ruling.
Mohamed Mursi's statement appeared to be a call for a truce to prevent the crisis, less than two weeks into his presidency, from boiling over into open confrontation with the military council or the judges in his battle to wrest power.
It was the latest twist in a legal wrangle that masks a broader struggle for control of the Arab world's biggest nation that pits Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood against a military that was in charge for six decades and an establishment still filled with officials from the era of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
"There will be consultations among all political forces, institutions and the supreme council of judicial authorities to find the best way out of this situation in order to overcome this stage together," Mursi's statement said.
The saga began when the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled on June 14, shortly before Mursi was elected, that the Islamist-led lower house was void and the then-ruling army dissolved it. The president recalled parliament this week but was slapped down in another court ruling hours after it convened on Tuesday.
Mursi's move had risked a showdown with the army, long used to having their man in charge. Previous presidents had all been drawn from military ranks and had for most of the time since the king was ousted in 1952 repressed the 84-year-old Brotherhood.
The United States, which hands Egypt's army a $1.3 billion subsidy each year, had urged dialogue to end the row.
According to his statement, Mursi said he was "committed to the rulings of Egyptian judges and very keen to manage state powers and prevent any confrontation".
For many Egyptians, though, the stand-off threatens further uncertainty that has plagued the nation since Mubarak was toppled by mass protests in February 2011, sending the economy into a slump and tipping many deeper into poverty.
The Brotherhood also faces anger from liberals and others, frustrated by what they see as a power grab by Islamists, the biggest political beneficiaries of the uprising against Mubarak. They have accused Mursi of riding roughshod over the judiciary.
Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali, in a comment on the statement, said Mursi wanted to "find a way out of the legislative vacuum caused by the dissolution of parliament".
He said the "problem was not bringing back this (existing) parliament" but added it did not make sense, from a constitutional point of view, to hand legislative power to the military. Mursi, when he recalled parliament, also said new elections would be held once a constitution was in place.
BOXED IN
After parliament was dissolved, the army awarded itself the legislative role, a move that analysts said would have boxed Mursi in and hampered his policy program.
Although liberals criticized the Brotherhood for reconvening parliament, many opposed the army for taking lawmaking powers. They could be placated, in part, with a deal to shift that role to an independent body instead of the existing parliament, declared void by the court over flaws in the way it was elected.
Leftist Hamdeen Sabahy, a losing presidential contender, had urged Mursi to respect the constitutional court ruling to help "exit the current crisis" but also called for legislative authority to be passed from the army to a separate body.
Taking legislative powers was one way for the military to keep its hand on the tiller after handing executive office to Mursi, helping it defend its privileges and status.
But diplomats say it could also depend on a judiciary, which has a streak of anti-Islamist sentiment.
Senior Brotherhood official Mahmoud Ghozlan, speaking on Tuesday, accused the army of using the Supreme Constitutional Court against the country's first freely elected leader.
"It is part of a power struggle between the military council and the president who represents the people and in which the military council is using the law and the judiciary to impose its will," he said.
Although many were surprised at how swiftly Mursi acted to defy the military, few are in doubt that Islamists have a long war of attrition on their hands to push back the army and reform an establishment packed with Mubarak-era officials.
More battles lie ahead, such as a debate over the writing of a new constitution. The army, in its decree last month, gave itself the right to form a new constitution-writing body if the one picked by parliament hits an obstacle. An earlier constituent assembly was dissolved by a court.
Turkey is the closest regional example where such a struggle has taken years. The powerful army there has gradually been rolled back by the AK Party, which has Islamist roots.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Egypt's military council was "ignoring the power of the people and by not accepting the current parliament, it is a real affront to the power of the people.
"We believe in our hearts that President Mursi will overcome this difficult and arduous period through consultation, dialogue and calm."
State media reported Mursi began a two day trip to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Saudi and other Gulf states have been wary of the rise of Islamists in Egypt and across the region for fear they could unsettle their own populations.
(Additional reporting by Shaimaa Fayed and Dina Zayed; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Alison Williams)
By Edmund Blair and Marwa Awad | Reuters
Source: Yahoo News
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Islamist president said on Wednesday he wanted talks with the judiciary and political powers to defuse a crisis over him trying reinstate parliament in defiance of generals who dissolved it last month based on a court ruling.
Mohamed Mursi's statement appeared to be a call for a truce to prevent the crisis, less than two weeks into his presidency, from boiling over into open confrontation with the military council or the judges in his battle to wrest power.
It was the latest twist in a legal wrangle that masks a broader struggle for control of the Arab world's biggest nation that pits Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood against a military that was in charge for six decades and an establishment still filled with officials from the era of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
"There will be consultations among all political forces, institutions and the supreme council of judicial authorities to find the best way out of this situation in order to overcome this stage together," Mursi's statement said.
The saga began when the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled on June 14, shortly before Mursi was elected, that the Islamist-led lower house was void and the then-ruling army dissolved it. The president recalled parliament this week but was slapped down in another court ruling hours after it convened on Tuesday.
Mursi's move had risked a showdown with the army, long used to having their man in charge. Previous presidents had all been drawn from military ranks and had for most of the time since the king was ousted in 1952 repressed the 84-year-old Brotherhood.
The United States, which hands Egypt's army a $1.3 billion subsidy each year, had urged dialogue to end the row.
According to his statement, Mursi said he was "committed to the rulings of Egyptian judges and very keen to manage state powers and prevent any confrontation".
For many Egyptians, though, the stand-off threatens further uncertainty that has plagued the nation since Mubarak was toppled by mass protests in February 2011, sending the economy into a slump and tipping many deeper into poverty.
The Brotherhood also faces anger from liberals and others, frustrated by what they see as a power grab by Islamists, the biggest political beneficiaries of the uprising against Mubarak. They have accused Mursi of riding roughshod over the judiciary.
Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali, in a comment on the statement, said Mursi wanted to "find a way out of the legislative vacuum caused by the dissolution of parliament".
He said the "problem was not bringing back this (existing) parliament" but added it did not make sense, from a constitutional point of view, to hand legislative power to the military. Mursi, when he recalled parliament, also said new elections would be held once a constitution was in place.
BOXED IN
After parliament was dissolved, the army awarded itself the legislative role, a move that analysts said would have boxed Mursi in and hampered his policy program.
Although liberals criticized the Brotherhood for reconvening parliament, many opposed the army for taking lawmaking powers. They could be placated, in part, with a deal to shift that role to an independent body instead of the existing parliament, declared void by the court over flaws in the way it was elected.
Leftist Hamdeen Sabahy, a losing presidential contender, had urged Mursi to respect the constitutional court ruling to help "exit the current crisis" but also called for legislative authority to be passed from the army to a separate body.
Taking legislative powers was one way for the military to keep its hand on the tiller after handing executive office to Mursi, helping it defend its privileges and status.
But diplomats say it could also depend on a judiciary, which has a streak of anti-Islamist sentiment.
Senior Brotherhood official Mahmoud Ghozlan, speaking on Tuesday, accused the army of using the Supreme Constitutional Court against the country's first freely elected leader.
"It is part of a power struggle between the military council and the president who represents the people and in which the military council is using the law and the judiciary to impose its will," he said.
Although many were surprised at how swiftly Mursi acted to defy the military, few are in doubt that Islamists have a long war of attrition on their hands to push back the army and reform an establishment packed with Mubarak-era officials.
More battles lie ahead, such as a debate over the writing of a new constitution. The army, in its decree last month, gave itself the right to form a new constitution-writing body if the one picked by parliament hits an obstacle. An earlier constituent assembly was dissolved by a court.
Turkey is the closest regional example where such a struggle has taken years. The powerful army there has gradually been rolled back by the AK Party, which has Islamist roots.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Egypt's military council was "ignoring the power of the people and by not accepting the current parliament, it is a real affront to the power of the people.
"We believe in our hearts that President Mursi will overcome this difficult and arduous period through consultation, dialogue and calm."
State media reported Mursi began a two day trip to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Saudi and other Gulf states have been wary of the rise of Islamists in Egypt and across the region for fear they could unsettle their own populations.
(Additional reporting by Shaimaa Fayed and Dina Zayed; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Alison Williams)
Defector lashes Assad, troops raid Damascus suburb
1 hr 36 mins ago
By Mariam Karouny and Erika Solomon | Reuters
Source: Yahoo News
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The first ambassador to abandon Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has called on the army to "turn your guns on the criminals" of the government, as troops swarmed into a suburb of the capital on Thursday to flush out rebels.
Nawaf al-Fares, who has close ties to the security services, was Syria's ambassador to its neighbor Iraq, one of its few friends in the region.
Coming just days after the desertion of Manaf Tlas, a brigadier general in the elite Republican Guard who grew up with the president, Fares's defection gave the anti-Assad uprising one of its biggest boosts in 16 months of bloodshed.
Tlas, the son of a veteran former Syrian defense minister, has made no public comment since fleeing to Paris. But Fares posted a video statement on Facebook on Wednesday that repeatedly said government forces had been killing civilians.
"I declare that I have joined, from this moment, the ranks of the revolution of the Syrian people," he said.
"I ask ... the members of the military to join the revolution and to defend the country and the citizens. Turn your guns on the criminals from this regime ...
"Every Syrian man has to join the revolution to remove this nightmare and this gang," he said, accusing the Assad family and its allies of corruption and "destroying society" for 40 years.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said Fares was now in Qatar, one of the Gulf states overtly supporting the rebels and calling for Assad to go.
"He is a man of strong military and security background," Zebari told reporters in Paris. "We were surprised by his defection because he was a loyal member of the regime."
Assad's crackdown on what began as a broad, peaceful pro-democracy movement helped turn it into an armed rebellion, but the insurgents know they must erode the loyalty and conviction of his establishment to loosen its hold on power.
The defection was seized on by Assad's opponents and by Western and Sunni Arab powers who insist that Assad must leave power in any political settlement for Syria.
"RELIEVED OF HIS DUTIES"
In Damascus, a terse government statement said: "The Syrian Foreign Ministry declares that Nawaf al-Fares has been relieved of his duties and he no longer has any link to our embassy in Baghdad or the foreign ministry. They embassy in Iraq will continue carrying out its normal duties."
While the insurgents cannot match the army's firepower, they have managed to establish footholds in towns, cities and villages across Syria, often prompting Assad's forces to respond with helicopter gunships and artillery.
On Thursday, residents reported the first bombardment of the capital as security forces used mortars, then tanks and infantry to try to flush rebels out of Kfar Souseh, a southern suburb.
The al-Lawan and Basateen districts of Kfar Souseh are a semi-residential area of olive and fruit groves lying astride an interchange on the capital's Hafez al-Assad southern bypass.
Activists said tanks were firing from the big Hadi Mosque to the east of the fields, and from the al-Mazzeh military airport immediately to the west.
"I woke up this morning and saw helicopters flying over the area. Then I started hearing the mortars. There were about six or seven of them in the past half hour. And now I just heard another one hit. We can see fire and smoke coming from one of the fields nearby," said anti-government activist Hazem al-Aqad.
"People are terrified, families are getting in their cars and rushing away as fast as they can."
The official news agency SANA said Syrian forces had killed a number of rebels who had been transporting arms and ammunition in two boats on Lake Qotaina, near Homs.
Assad's opponents say just under 13,000 armed and unarmed opponents of Assad, and around 4,300 members of security forces loyal to Damascus, have been killed since the uprising began 16 months ago.
DIPLOMACY
With events on the ground outrunning diplomacy, Britain circulated a draft resolution, backed by the United States, France and Germany, at the United Nations on Wednesday to make compliance with a transition plan drafted by international envoy Kofi Annan enforceable under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter.
This would allow the council to authorize actions ranging from diplomatic and economic sanctions to military intervention.
Annan himself asked the 15-member council to agree on "clear consequences" if the Syrian government or opposition failed to comply with his plan, which has produced neither a ceasefire nor political dialogue since it was agreed in April.
The draft in particular threatens the Syrian government with sanctions if it does not stop using heavy weapons and withdraw its troops from towns and cities within 10 days.
But Russia, Assad's chief backer on the U.N. Security Council, remained firmly in the Syrian leader's camp, having submitted its own draft resolution on Tuesday that made no mention of sanctions.
Russia's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Alexander Pankin told reporters after Annan briefed the council in New York on Wednesday that Moscow believed sanctions were a "last resort".
Russia and China, both veto-wielding permanent council members, have for months blocked attempts to increase the pressure on Assad, endorsing his argument that he is defending his country against armed groups bent on toppling him with the backing of the West and Sunni Arab Gulf monarchies.
By Mariam Karouny and Erika Solomon | Reuters
Source: Yahoo News
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The first ambassador to abandon Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has called on the army to "turn your guns on the criminals" of the government, as troops swarmed into a suburb of the capital on Thursday to flush out rebels.
Nawaf al-Fares, who has close ties to the security services, was Syria's ambassador to its neighbor Iraq, one of its few friends in the region.
Coming just days after the desertion of Manaf Tlas, a brigadier general in the elite Republican Guard who grew up with the president, Fares's defection gave the anti-Assad uprising one of its biggest boosts in 16 months of bloodshed.
Tlas, the son of a veteran former Syrian defense minister, has made no public comment since fleeing to Paris. But Fares posted a video statement on Facebook on Wednesday that repeatedly said government forces had been killing civilians.
"I declare that I have joined, from this moment, the ranks of the revolution of the Syrian people," he said.
"I ask ... the members of the military to join the revolution and to defend the country and the citizens. Turn your guns on the criminals from this regime ...
"Every Syrian man has to join the revolution to remove this nightmare and this gang," he said, accusing the Assad family and its allies of corruption and "destroying society" for 40 years.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said Fares was now in Qatar, one of the Gulf states overtly supporting the rebels and calling for Assad to go.
"He is a man of strong military and security background," Zebari told reporters in Paris. "We were surprised by his defection because he was a loyal member of the regime."
Assad's crackdown on what began as a broad, peaceful pro-democracy movement helped turn it into an armed rebellion, but the insurgents know they must erode the loyalty and conviction of his establishment to loosen its hold on power.
The defection was seized on by Assad's opponents and by Western and Sunni Arab powers who insist that Assad must leave power in any political settlement for Syria.
"RELIEVED OF HIS DUTIES"
In Damascus, a terse government statement said: "The Syrian Foreign Ministry declares that Nawaf al-Fares has been relieved of his duties and he no longer has any link to our embassy in Baghdad or the foreign ministry. They embassy in Iraq will continue carrying out its normal duties."
While the insurgents cannot match the army's firepower, they have managed to establish footholds in towns, cities and villages across Syria, often prompting Assad's forces to respond with helicopter gunships and artillery.
On Thursday, residents reported the first bombardment of the capital as security forces used mortars, then tanks and infantry to try to flush rebels out of Kfar Souseh, a southern suburb.
The al-Lawan and Basateen districts of Kfar Souseh are a semi-residential area of olive and fruit groves lying astride an interchange on the capital's Hafez al-Assad southern bypass.
Activists said tanks were firing from the big Hadi Mosque to the east of the fields, and from the al-Mazzeh military airport immediately to the west.
"I woke up this morning and saw helicopters flying over the area. Then I started hearing the mortars. There were about six or seven of them in the past half hour. And now I just heard another one hit. We can see fire and smoke coming from one of the fields nearby," said anti-government activist Hazem al-Aqad.
"People are terrified, families are getting in their cars and rushing away as fast as they can."
The official news agency SANA said Syrian forces had killed a number of rebels who had been transporting arms and ammunition in two boats on Lake Qotaina, near Homs.
Assad's opponents say just under 13,000 armed and unarmed opponents of Assad, and around 4,300 members of security forces loyal to Damascus, have been killed since the uprising began 16 months ago.
DIPLOMACY
With events on the ground outrunning diplomacy, Britain circulated a draft resolution, backed by the United States, France and Germany, at the United Nations on Wednesday to make compliance with a transition plan drafted by international envoy Kofi Annan enforceable under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter.
This would allow the council to authorize actions ranging from diplomatic and economic sanctions to military intervention.
Annan himself asked the 15-member council to agree on "clear consequences" if the Syrian government or opposition failed to comply with his plan, which has produced neither a ceasefire nor political dialogue since it was agreed in April.
The draft in particular threatens the Syrian government with sanctions if it does not stop using heavy weapons and withdraw its troops from towns and cities within 10 days.
But Russia, Assad's chief backer on the U.N. Security Council, remained firmly in the Syrian leader's camp, having submitted its own draft resolution on Tuesday that made no mention of sanctions.
Russia's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Alexander Pankin told reporters after Annan briefed the council in New York on Wednesday that Moscow believed sanctions were a "last resort".
Russia and China, both veto-wielding permanent council members, have for months blocked attempts to increase the pressure on Assad, endorsing his argument that he is defending his country against armed groups bent on toppling him with the backing of the West and Sunni Arab Gulf monarchies.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Syrian General Flees to Turkey after Defecting to Rebels
4 July 2012
Source: The Journal of Turkish Weekly
A Syrian general from an engineering division defected to the opposition rebels and fled to Turkey today, bringing the number of such top ranking officers given refuge on Turkish soil to 16, Free Syrian Army (FSA) officials said.
Turkey now hosts some 250 officers who have defected to the FSA in its southern Hatay province and helps them with logistical support, though Ankara denies providing them weapons.
The FSA officials, who declined to be named, said the number of officers defecting was rising daily as it became harder for them to avoid involvement in the conflict and due to their reluctance to be involved in the shelling of towns and villages.
Tension has risen between Turkey and Syria since Syrian forces shot down a Turkish reconnaissance jet over the Mediterranean on June 22.
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Hurriyet Daily News
Source: The Journal of Turkish Weekly
A Syrian general from an engineering division defected to the opposition rebels and fled to Turkey today, bringing the number of such top ranking officers given refuge on Turkish soil to 16, Free Syrian Army (FSA) officials said.
Turkey now hosts some 250 officers who have defected to the FSA in its southern Hatay province and helps them with logistical support, though Ankara denies providing them weapons.
The FSA officials, who declined to be named, said the number of officers defecting was rising daily as it became harder for them to avoid involvement in the conflict and due to their reluctance to be involved in the shelling of towns and villages.
Tension has risen between Turkey and Syria since Syrian forces shot down a Turkish reconnaissance jet over the Mediterranean on June 22.
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Hurriyet Daily News
Military vs Morsi: Power clash over parliament
08 July, 2012
Source:rt.com
Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi has ordered the country's parliament to return almost a month after a Supreme Court ruling dismissed it. The military council has called an emergency meeting to discuss the president's move.
Morsi's surprise decision puts him at odds with the top military officials who enforced parliament's dissolution after the Supreme Court found that a third of the parliament's members were illegally elected.
The court declared that the Political Disenfranchisement Law governing elections was unconstitutional. The law concerns some provisions of electoral law regulating how political parties are able to contest parliamentary seats using independent candidates. The high court determined that the law discriminated against truly independent candidates.
The majority of the seats in the dissolved parliament belong to the Muslim Brotherhood. Until recently, Morsi had also been a member of this Islamist party, but he announced his resignation shortly after winning the presidential election.
The power struggle over parliament showcases the recent political dynamics in Egypt, where the military is trying to cling to power since former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in January 2011.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has yet to comment on the newly elected president's decree.
Morsi won the presidency in a runoff that took place on June 16-17. However, it took the election commission another week to announce the election's results.
During the week-long vote count, tens of thousands of Morsi supporters took to Tahrir Square in Cairo to support their candidate and to protest prolonged military rule.
Source:rt.com
Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi has ordered the country's parliament to return almost a month after a Supreme Court ruling dismissed it. The military council has called an emergency meeting to discuss the president's move.
Morsi's surprise decision puts him at odds with the top military officials who enforced parliament's dissolution after the Supreme Court found that a third of the parliament's members were illegally elected.
The court declared that the Political Disenfranchisement Law governing elections was unconstitutional. The law concerns some provisions of electoral law regulating how political parties are able to contest parliamentary seats using independent candidates. The high court determined that the law discriminated against truly independent candidates.
The majority of the seats in the dissolved parliament belong to the Muslim Brotherhood. Until recently, Morsi had also been a member of this Islamist party, but he announced his resignation shortly after winning the presidential election.
The power struggle over parliament showcases the recent political dynamics in Egypt, where the military is trying to cling to power since former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in January 2011.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has yet to comment on the newly elected president's decree.
Morsi won the presidency in a runoff that took place on June 16-17. However, it took the election commission another week to announce the election's results.
During the week-long vote count, tens of thousands of Morsi supporters took to Tahrir Square in Cairo to support their candidate and to protest prolonged military rule.
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