US not surprised by Egypt army reshuffle, Pentagon

Washington, 14 Aug – (ANA) - The US had expected Egypt to reshuffle the military, the Pentagon has said, a day after President Mohammed Mursi dismissed the head of the army. Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, who had worked closely with US army chiefs for decades, was ordered to retire  on Sunday. The move came after weeks of tension between Mr Mursi and the military. The Pentagon, a large aid donor to Eygpt's army, said it expected to maintain close ties with the military. The generals had assumed presidential powers after the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak last year. As the US gives more than $1bn in aid to the Egyptian military, it would expect some degree of consultation or warning, observers say. The new Egyptian defence team is made of up officials who have trained in the US and are known to the Pentagon. Field Marshal Tantawi has been replaced as both armed forces chief and defence minister by head of military intelligence Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. Egypt has been a key US ally since the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace deal. However, since the election of Islamist Mr Mursi as Egypt's first democratically elected president, there have been fears that he might try to renegotiate the treaty. So far the Egyptian military has shown no sign of challenging Field Marshal Tantawi's replacement. Also on Sunday, Mr Mursi annulled a key constitutional declaration issued in June which gave the military legislative powers and budgetary controls as well as the right to oversee the process of drawing up a new permanent constitution. It is not clear how the Supreme Constitutional Court will react to Mr Mursi's move to nullify the decree. The military council has in the past appeared to be at odds with the Muslim Brotherhood which now dominates parliament with its Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). Mr Mursi resigned from his leadership positions within the Brotherhood, including his role as chairman of the FJP, when he won the presidential election in June. (ANA)

FA/ANA/14 August 2012-------