we have the supreme council of the armed forces.ded by the military in the have put in an interim cabinet. they have called for parliamentary elections in september. but the country is certainly unsettled. there is a great deal of political activity with different political parties forming, alliance is made, security issues. security is not fully back to what it was. there has not been reform within the security apparatus. the economy is faltering. so the transitional moment isn't settled. host: talk about the elections that you mentioned. in the last decades, we sought elections in which mr. mumbai won. what is different in terms of the process and the way that this might be played out? guest: as you know the january 25 revolution was against this authoritarianism and electoral fraud. i have some faith that elections in the coming period will be significantly different. egypt has already experienced a referendum on march 19 in which the citizenry was asked to vote on a constitutional amendments that were put in the process of this

so we're pleased today to have with us major-general elassar, a member of the supreme council of the armed forces in egypt. the military played an important role in the revolution and now in the interim governance. as someone often called upon by the military council to speak for it, i know that he is used to handling tough questions. and i know a man used to asking tough questions, and that is built quandt, a leading expert on political science at the university of virginia. he is a frequent contributor to many institute of peace programs. he is author of a forthcoming book, "the piece puzzle -- peace puzzle." we will have an opportunity for questions. just get them by card, i believe, to steve and he would get them up to all of you. i now ask you to welcome our guests and we will begin the program. thank you both for being here. [applause] >> thank you very much and thank you to the u.s. institute of peace for arranging this turn out of the audience shows how interested we are in what is happening in egypt today, and what a special opportunity is to have a chance to talk -- it is to

we have the supreme council of the armed forces.is headed by the military in the have put in an interim cabinet. they have called for parliamentary elections in september. but the country is certainly unsettled. there is a great deal of political activity with different political parties forming, alliance is made, security issues. security is not fully back to what it was. there has not been reform within the security apparatus. the economy is faltering. so the transitional moment isn't settled. host: talk about the elections that you mentioned. in the last decades, we sought elections in which mr. mumbai won. what is different in terms of the process and the way that this might be played out? guest: as you know the january 25 revolution was against this authoritarianism and electoral fraud. i have some faith that elections in the coming period will be significantly different. egypt has already experienced a referendum on march 19 in which the citizenry was asked to vote on a constitutional amendments that were put in the process of

soon setter of was elected to the supreme council as a delegate from the academy of sciences was in june one thousand nine hundred eighty nine sacra found himself at the center of a scandal that flared up in the first days of the session he had condemned the situation concerning a soviet troops in afghanistan. that on the war in afghanistan as a crime to lie about the great drawing in itself. it's not clear he should be held responsible for this great wrong by the country i his statements were judged offensive by the offices who had foreseen that war themselves one of satirists main opponents his main just said a gay child of an a peacekeeper a former paratrooper who lost both his legs in the war it is we're going to we're very shocked by the provocative behavior of this famous scientist i. today surrogate lives in kiev and his head of the ukrainian war veterans group he still believes that sucker of was to go a bull in trusting people who provided him with information including that on the situation in afghanistan. we're foolish with generally speaking apart from being a great physicist

soon sector of was elected to the supremes council as a delegate from the academy of sciences was in june one thousand nine hundred eighty nine sacra found himself at the center of a scandal that flared up in the first days of the session he had condemned the situation concerning the soviet troops in afghanistan egypt not on the war in afghanistan as a drawing. of a great front in itself. if you have held stock player should be held responsible for this great crime by a country. his statements were judged offensive on the offices who had foreseen that war themselves one of the satirist main opponents has may just set a gay children a peacekeeper a former paratrooper who lost both his legs in the war. we're very shocked by the provocative behavior of his famous son to. today sergey lives in kiev and is head of the ukrainian war veterans group he still believes that sucker of was to go above and trusting people who provided him with information including that on the situation in afghanistan. over from was generally speaking apart from being a great physicist who the sucker of was a ver

at the moment the cabinet doesn't really have that much talent the real power rests with the supreme council of the forces which is headed by field marshal to tonally who was you know a twenty year ally and close friend of barak he's the guy that you know general petraeus for example america would come and make when he was when he was in egypt as. it's not just a matter of who's in charge in terms of freedom of speech is not yet really being enacted there is a plug hole there's more than one boat in jail for criticizing the military. fortunately we just seem to have lost connection there with our guest that was austin machall speaking to also from cairo a journalist and blogger speaking to us about the crowd for the now back on cairo's tahrir square. a similar show of on rest in neighboring israel public squares and now a sea of demonstrators camping out calling for social justice as prime minister netanyahu to go bigger protests planned for saturday will palestinian israeli journalist as bruce says the similarities with egypt are clear. two thirds of the poor in israel are working poor peop

how do you deal with that on a practical and i think the the the supreme council of the armed forces also as a probably in a way a lot of people are accusing them of striking a deal with the brotherhood. which to some degree is true because at the end of the day the brotherhood is this point in time the only force they can reasonably acquire twenty five thirty percent of qualified minority will lead him to be did the greatest party in the future egyptian parliament or how you deal with the liberals i think that is where the problem lays in the thank you have not been able to create to untie brotherhood the coalition where you have forces from all walks of life good anyways do not share these almost platform views and run against them and this is where i think the problem internally niji in egypt lies now going back to what your guest was talking about in terms of the international perspective an american perspective i would disagree with your position views the united states as having ever supported the muslim brotherhood i think that is historically false i think the big dilemma bea

the moment the cabinet doesn't really have that much talent the real power writers rests the supreme council of the forces which is headed by field marshal time totally who was you know a twenty year ally and close friend or partner he's the guy you know general petraeus for example from america were telling me when he was when he was in egypt there's. not just a matter of who's in charge in terms of freedom of speech is not yet really being enacted perry. has more than one program in jail for criticizing the military. unfortunately we just seem to have lost connection there with our guest that was austin markel speaking to us from cairo a journalist and blogger speaking to us about the crowds are now back on cairo's tahrir square. a similar show of unrest in neighboring israel public squares in our sea of demonstrators camping out calling for social justice and prime minister netanyahu to go i think a protest planned for saturday will come a senior israeli journalist. says the similarities with egypt are clear. two thirds of the poor in israel are working poor people who are working every d

year old allie khilnani was shot dead by private american war contractors four years ago the supreme council ground between life on the same day dozens of other innocent iraqis were shot by trigger happy us professional killers like they were trying every one if you'd seen no one of blackwater the for whom the hired guns work has been punished for the massacre two other private american security companies were contracted to carry out interrogations at the notorious abu ghraib prison in iraq a name synonymous now with her rethink human rights violations including porcher rape and murder the us supreme court recently threw out a lawsuit alleging abuse of prisoners by the contractors. in afghanistan it's reported that human rights violations and even killings are committed by security firms on a regular basis to an extent set to undermine call the horses counterinsurgency efforts girls don't firing at anything that moves injure or kill innocent afghans destroying property we're getting fairly consistent complaints about them everybody knows somebody who's been shot by the contractions. the lack

of people supporting the supreme council. and those groups are very minor. we're expecting them, because they are egyptians. we will not go to those severe measures. they have the right to demonstrate. they have the right to speak, but not the right to [unintelligible] to destroy our interests. they left the main government square for some days. it is not revolution. they threatened to block the suez canal. could you imagine? they threaten to block the underground. -- what it would be to the international community? but despite all the statements and behavior, we did not have the measures. -- severe measures with them. >> you mentioned foreign interventions. you mentioned the april 6 group in critical terms. you did not mention which country was intervening. would you like to tell us what you had in mind? >> yes, yes. [laughter] [applause] i would like to tell you. we have loans to buy money to egypt. -- to provide money for ngos in egypt. >> are those laws being followed? >> yes, we have a problem in this regard. there are s