Yezid Sayigh on the Egyptian Military and Morsi

In case you missed it, I wanted to call to your attention Yezid Sayigh's piece at Al-Monitor (originally for the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut), "Morsi and Egypt's Military." The exact role of the Army vis-a-vis Morsi has been something of a puzzle since the wave of retirements last August, and Sayigh sees that arrangement, and the powers accorded the military on the new constitution, as solidifying the autonomous power and perquisites of the Armed Forces, even to a greater degree than in the Sadat and Mubarak years. But he does not assume, as some have tended to do, that the Army does not pose a potential challenge to Morsi's consolidation of power. Not everyone will agree with Sayigh's read on this, but it's an important contribution that sheds light on one of the least transparent, but most powerful, players in the Egyptian arena.