This doesn't paint an accurate picture. On that note I practically beg you to listen to this podcast: http://tinyurl.com/4g4727g
Or at very least listen to the 15 minutes between 2:03 and 17:07. Yes it's a talk radio show and Yes talk radio hosts usually aren't the most informed. But this guy is (he helped rebuild Iraq, was in the first Gulf War, Bosnia, etc...)
If you don't have time the gist is that the Egyptian Army is a capitalist enterprise. They run factories, tour buses, own hotels and so on. Beyond that they have more exposure to America than most because their officers train here in the U.S. To understand the military's role in all that you have to understand those two facts and their implications
(Long story short: the Military was willing to put up with Mubarak but they weren't ever willing to kill Egyptians for him and were willing to toss him out on his a$$ once his craziness started to disrupt tourism and goods distribution)
That... Almost sounds like a sane, rational way to run an army. Provide an external motivation that doesn't include rabid parochialism and tie it to the wellbeing of the country.
Singapore has maintained an odd tradition, inherited from the British. They keep a regiment of Gurkhas around, professional soldiers from Nepal. They form an independent group within the Singapore Police, and are not allowed to form deep social connections within Singapore. This, in theory, keeps them a disinterested third party.
Frightening if true, but the story is not exactly corroborated. Fisk himself (a rather controversial, and politically active reporter) only devotes one phrase to the allegation, with no support whatsoever ("it is now clear ..."). Repetition of the same claim does not add to its veracity, and the "corroborating" source is an Iranian website that cites no source whatsoever for the claim. I'd take this claim with a grain of salt, at least until it acquires more substantive support.
From what I understand, the army stationed at Beijing also refused to fire on the demonstrators in 1989. However they obeyed the order to leave the city, not expecting what would happen next. That is, the politburo mobilized into Beijing an undereducated army from a remote area in a different province to do the deed.
The Egyptians have learned it seems. From what I understand the army did not just refused to fire but is also actively being disobedient.
Or at very least listen to the 15 minutes between 2:03 and 17:07. Yes it's a talk radio show and Yes talk radio hosts usually aren't the most informed. But this guy is (he helped rebuild Iraq, was in the first Gulf War, Bosnia, etc...)
If you don't have time the gist is that the Egyptian Army is a capitalist enterprise. They run factories, tour buses, own hotels and so on. Beyond that they have more exposure to America than most because their officers train here in the U.S. To understand the military's role in all that you have to understand those two facts and their implications
(Long story short: the Military was willing to put up with Mubarak but they weren't ever willing to kill Egyptians for him and were willing to toss him out on his a$$ once his craziness started to disrupt tourism and goods distribution)