(Ha'aretz) Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi - The most likely outcome in Egypt is that the military will entrust to itself management of foreign policy, while granting the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi considerable autonomy in domestic affairs, even as the military has assumed control over the drafting of the constitution. With the military managing foreign policy, the chances of a full-blown war between Egypt and Israel are slim, despite bellicose rhetoric emanating from some quarters of the Muslim Brotherhood calling for the liberation of Jerusalem and establishment of a "United Arab States." Egypt's population (83 million as of October 2011) could reach 100 million by 2020, with more than 99% living in an area near the Nile River only 2.5 times the size of Israel. Even assuming Egypt can escape from its current economic crisis, there is no sign its economy can keep up with the pace of population growth. The writer is an adjunct fellow at the Middle East Forum.
2012-06-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive