Egypt's Military Takes Charge Facing Demands for Democratiza

The military is now in charge in Egypt after the so-called Supreme¹ Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces took power Friday, ending the three-decade rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Analysts² say it remains³ to be seen whether the military leaders will carry out the transition to democracy protestors have been demanding.
A fellow with the Washington-based German Marshall Fund and an Egypt expert, Ian Lesser⁴, said what happened Friday was both a military coup⁵ amid a people power movement, but not a real coup.
"A coup in the sense that obviously there were factions⁶ within the military who might have wanted a slightly different outcome, not a coup in the sense that the military has been in control in Egypt for a very long time," he said. "So yes, I think there was something of a coup within the ranks of the military but not a military takeover in the sense that it replaced a civilian⁷ power."
Members in the Supreme Council include two-decade military chief and Defense⁸ Minister Mohammed Hussein Tantawi and the former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, previously⁹ installed as vice¹⁰ president during the nearly three week protests.
The armed forces chief of staff Sami Hafez Anan, the air force chief Air Marshal Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed, the chief of the navy Vice Admiral Mohab Mamish and the commander of air defense Abd El-Aziz Seif-Eldeein are also on the council.
The military body issued a statement Friday saying it was committed to shepherding the full range of democratic reforms protesters have been calling for.
Paul Beran from the Harvard University Center for Middle Eastern Studies said there appear to have been lots of divergences¹¹ within the military in recent days, which Tantawi will have to settle.
"We know that there have been problems and disturbances¹² in the ranks during this period between the general staff, the officer corps¹³, and the enlisted¹⁴ and we can only assume that those are going to continue," Beran said.
Egypt's military is one of the world's largest recipients¹⁵ of U.S. military aid, and Beran said this has created a close relationship between U.S. and Egyptian military officials.
"They understand that this relationship has certain strengths and weaknesses and certainly they want to keep a strong relationship with the U.S. military and the U.S. political structure," he said. "So, I think we can imagine that some of the ideas in terms that the United States is bringing up, whether it is President Obama or the military, I think it is going to be taken very seriously."
Analysts say threats to stop U.S. military aid may have played a role in recent developments.
Egyptian protesters are demanding lifting long-standing emergency rule, allowing more political parties and ensuring free and fair elections. They also want a reform of Egypt's military itself.
Robert Danin, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs, said it is unclear whether the top echelons¹⁶ of the military, who benefited under former President Mubarak in terms of both power and economic benefits, will be able to change themselves.
"When it actually comes time for there to be a real transparency introduced, and real civilian oversight¹⁷ of the military, how are they going to react? And so they may indeed recognize that they have to go with the new order, but one question is whether or not they really understand what that means," Danin said. "General Tantawi comes from the same school as former General Mubarak, and one thing we saw, have seen, over the last two weeks is that General [President] Mubarak just did not understand what was happening in Tahrir Square."
Danin said it also remains to be seen whether there will be a need for what he calls "a second people power revolution" to ensure the military does go along fully¹⁸ with the democratic aspirations¹⁹ of the protesters.
He said, however, he believes the longer the military transition takes, the better it may be to have a truly civilian-led democratic system emerge.
Elections are scheduled for September, but discussions are currently taking place within Egypt's emerging political class and the military for that date to be moved forward or later.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

5 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

6 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

11 divergences   

n.分叉( divergence的名词复数 )；分歧；背离；离题

参考例句：

• This overall figure conceals wide divergences between the main industrial countries. 这项综合数据掩盖了主要工业国家间的巨大分歧。 来自辞典例句
• Inform Production Planner of any divergences from production plan. 生产计划有任何差异通知生产计划员。 来自互联网

12 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

13 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

14 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 echelons   

n.（机构中的）等级，阶层( echelon的名词复数 )；（军舰、士兵、飞机等的）梯形编队

参考例句：

• Officers were drawn largely from the top echelons of society. 这些官员大都来自社会上层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Except in the higher echelons, extensive classification has no place in the classification of vegetation. 除高阶类级之外，外延分类在植物分类中还是没有地位的。 来自辞典例句

17 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

18 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

19 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。