That Egypt has a new strongman is no longer in doubt. Since the Egyptian military ousted the democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi last month following protests across the country, posters of Egypt’s de facto leader, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, have become more ubiquitous on Cairo streets than Sphinx souvenirs. The head of the Army stares out from café walls and the windows of government buildings, the red and the gold of his uniform remaining bright, even as the features of his face fade under the relentless sun. “He is the one we can trust,” read some of the posters. Others call him “the eagle of the Arabs.”
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In his view, Egypt got little support from the U.S. when Morsi turned autocratic and the Brotherhood subverted the popular will. As he bluntly told The Washington Post in a rare recent interview: “You turned your back on the Egyptians, and they won’t forget that.” It seemed a clear message to the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, and perhaps his old friends in the American military: Egypt is a country that leads—not one that will be led.
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In May, old-guard elites, including intellectuals and journalists, met with al-Sisi at a military event and encouraged him to act. “Don’t rush,” he said, in a way that suggested, according to one of those present, “all in good time.” As the date approached for planned demonstrations at the end of June, activists were encouraged by intermediaries speaking on behalf of the military to build pressure on the street, according to protest leaders and one retired general who acted as a go-between. In the background, al-Sisi silently waited for the right moment, giving Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood more and more rope with which to hang themselves. Then finally, like his father in his workshop, he stepped out into the light to reveal what he had carefully constructed.