Within the framework of security cooperation between Egypt and Israel, Egyptian security officials reported that Israel had agreed to allow seven Egyptian battalions to deploy in northern Sinai in an attempt to root out the terror infrastructure that has taken hold there. The big question is how much longer Israel will have this luxury provided by the peace agreement between Israel and its southern neighbor. Sunday is the last day to submit candidacy for the Egyptian presidential race. In May and June Egypt will hold two rounds of its first post-Mubarak presidential elections. The military and the Islamists are waging a clash of Titans after having edged the young Tahrir Square revolutionaries out of the equation, at least for now. The Egyptian army has realized that, in this new democratic era, it could lose the battle for power sooner than it expected. On Friday, Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman announced his bid for the presidency. The army does not really believe that Suleiman - who represents the Mubarak era more than anyone else has a chance of winning the public's trust. But on the other hand, Suleiman may be able to strengthen the candidacy of former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa. In the meantime, the Islamists are laughing all the way to the ballot box. Even as we speak, the Islamist delegation to Washington is being welcomed with open arms. Who would have thought that a movement that nominates Khayrat el-Shater a man who has vowed to impose Shariah law (Islamic religious law) on his country - would find a sympathetic ear in the American administration- The Muslim Brotherhood had promised they would not seek a majority in parliament. They promised, and they lied. The Muslim Brotherhood promised not to nominate a candidate for president, and yet again they did not stay true to their word. Since the onset of the Tahrir revolution the brotherhood protested alongside the youths in the square while negotiating with the military in order to gain legitimacy to govern. In Washington, on Saturday, they promised not to put the peace treaty with Israel to a referendum, but why should we believe them- Egypt has become significantly radicalized in recent years. The 47 percent of the seats won in parliament by the brotherhood, and another 25% won by the Salafis (a stringent branch of Islam), point exactly to whom the next president will be. Even the fringe Salafi movement, founded in Egypt in 1926 even before the Muslim Brotherhood (1928), has aspirations to rule, as indicated by its presidential candidate Sheikh Hazim Salah Abu Ismail. As far as the army is concerned, this clash of Titans cannot be decided through elections - it has no chance in the voting booths. All of a sudden, the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, el-Shater, may not be eligible to run because he was in prison (only two weeks ago the army exonerated him so that he could run). Meanwhile, the Salafi candidate, Abu Ismail, was disqualified despite his popularity because his mother is allegedly an American citizen. Only the military currently has the power to undemocratically prevent the Islamists from completing a takeover of government in Egypt. It's true, the Tahrir youth could return to the square. But the bigger question is what is preferable to them today: the military or the Islamists? As far as the liberals are concerned, well, they were pushed out of the equation a long time ago.
