Egypt's Top General And His U.S. Lessons In Democracy
Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the man at the center of the military takeover in Egypt, is the latest in a series of American-trained foreign officers to oust a civilian government.
Just seven years ago, he was a student at the Army War College in rural Pennsylvania. At a recent military graduation ceremony in Alexandria, Egypt, el-Sissi talked about his ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi on July 3.
The army was forced to take that step, the general said, in the wake of mass protests against the elected government.
"Don't think I betrayed the former president," el-Sissi told the audience. "I told him the Egyptian army belongs to all Egyptians."
Half a world away, retired U.S. Army Col. Steve Gerras watched in amazement. Gerras served as the general's faculty adviser at the Army War College in Carlisle, Penn., and helped him write a paper back in 2006.
The name of the paper? "Democracy in the Middle East."
"Pretty relevant," Gerras comments now, laughing.
Trained In The USA