| Morsi Power Grab Draws Reaction On Capitol Hill |
| Nov-26-2012 |
| Keywords: morsi, power grab, power, eqypt |
Less than a week after praising Egyptian President Morsi's brokered cease-fire between Hamas back militants and Israel, the White House is concerned about the newly elected president's power grab.
One day after Arizona Sen. John McCain called on Obama to renounce the decree by Morsi putting himself above the law, White House spokesman Jay Carney repeated the State Department's call for Egyptians to work out their "internal" problems.
"We call for calm and for all parties to work together to resolve their differences peacefully," Carney said.
"We've raised concerns about it," Carney added later. "We are constantly monitoring developments in Egypt and working with the Egyptians, with whom we have a very close relationship."
But asked point blank if the White House "condemned" Morsi's move, Carney stopped short.
"We are concerned about it and have raised those concerns." Carney added, "Our interest in the development and transition to democracy in Egypt is one that reflects what the people of Egypt demanded and continue to demand."
Morsi's power grab puts him above any kind of oversight, including that of the courts. The judiciary council is in charge of the courts.
The opposition denounced the decrees as dictatorial, some saying Morsi's trying to make himself out to be pharoh, and vowed to maintain protests until Morsi rescinds them.
On Sunday, Arizona Sen. John McCain called on President Obama to renounce Morsi's move to seize full control of the country.
"First we must condemn it," the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee told "Fox News Sunday." "Then we can outline what actions might be taken."
Morsi announced his package of decrees last week, just one day after helping to broker a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas backed militants in the Gaza strip.
"This kind of power is not acceptable to the United States," McCain said. "Renounce the statement and the move that [Morsi] just made."
The Obama administration on Friday asked Egypt to adopt a constitution complete with checks and balances, a request that Morsi is seemingly ignoring on the heels of his rising stature among the Middle East power brokers.
"We call for calm and encourage all parties to work together and call for all Egyptians to resolve their differences over these important issues peacefully and through democratic dialogue," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
The move by the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Morsi sparked violent street protests, largely in Cairo.
The protests are expected to continue; unraveling the stability achieved after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and the ascendance of Morsi this past summer.
Get the latest developments on this unfolding story on FoxNews.com. |
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Posted by Lou Dobbs Staff at 8:00 PM Email to a friend |
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