Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (R) walks next to Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, prior to their meeting at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Cairo on May 30, 2011.
About This Project
One year into Egypt’s unfinished revolution, there are many fateful questions that loom here in the most populous nation in the Arab world as it leans forward into a new and uncertain future.
There are questions of how to square a hope for democracy with a history of autocratic rule, of the role of religion in shaping a new constitution and of what the sweeping victory by Islamist parties in recent elections will mean for the rights of the Christian minority, women and so many who put so much on the line in this revolution to make Egypt a more democratic country.
In this 'Special Report,' GlobalPost looks into the deterioration of the relationship between "The army" and "The people" featuring extensive reporting on:
* The vast economic empire controlled by the elites of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) even as the national economy struggles.
* A netherworld faced by more than 12,000 civilians arrested under emergency laws and forced to undergo military trial.
* A small movement of opposition within the military, now only a trickle but one which analysts believe could grow.
* Why the revolutionary who led the chant “The Army, The People …” feels betrayed by the revolution.
* An Egyptian bomber pilot and decorated hero who was among the officers who went to Tahrir Square and was proud that the military supported the revolution. Now he speaks out in a rare interview, saying he is ashamed of the military and that it is only holding on to power because it is unwilling to give up its economic interests.
* The Seif family, a family at the forefront of the revolution, which has fought on the side of human rights and paid a price for it.
* The role of the Egyptian diaspora in America, now beginning to exert influence to try to help shape a new Egypt.
But of all the questions casting a shadow across Egypt, there is one that is most sharply in focus right now as the tumult of the ‘Arab Awakening’ continues to unfold in the region.
That is, what role will the military play in a new Egypt? Though the answer is not yet totally clear, there is no doubt that the relationship between "The army" and "The people" is undergoing a profound transformation.






























