Democracy Now! August 14, 2012

August 14, 2012 from Democracy Now! via Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND

In a major shakeup, Egypt's new president, Mohamed Morsi, dismissed the country's two top generals over the weekend, but looks set to replace them with appointments from within the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Sharif Abdel Kouddous reports on his recent trip to Zabadani, a besieged Syrian town near the Lebanon border, while Omar Dahi discusses the growing refugee crisis being caused by the escalating conflict in Syria. And Paul Ryan's hometown of Janesville, WI is coming under the spotlight, as some claim its economic recovery is due to federal aid the newly anointed GOP VP candidate claims to oppose. Plus headlines, and more.

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In This Video

Mohamed Morsi

Mohamed Morsi is the fifth and current President of Egypt, having assumed office on 30 June 2012. Mohamed Morsi was educated in Egyptian public schools and universities; he was later granted a scholarship from the Egyptian Government to prepare for a PhD degree in the United S... Explore this topic

Supreme Council of the Armed Forces

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is the governing body of 21 senior officers in the Egyptian military. As a consequence of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, SCAF took the power to govern Egypt from its departing President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February 2011, and relinquish... Explore this topic

Mohamed Hussein Tantawi

Mohamed Hussein Tantawi Soliman is an Egyptian Field Marshal and former statesman. He was the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces and, as Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, was the de facto head of state from the ouster of Hosni Mubarak on 11 Febr... Explore this topic

President of Egypt

The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the head of state of Egypt. Under the Constitution of Egypt, the president is also the supreme commander of the armed forces and head of the executive branch of the Egyptian government. The current president is Mohamed Morsi. Explore this topic

Egypt

Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Most of its territory of 1,010,000 square kilometers lies within North Africa and i... Explore this topic

Sami Hafez Anan

Lieutenant General Sami Hafez Anan or Enan is an Egyptian soldier. He was the Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces until his retirement was announced by President Mohamed Morsi on August 12, 2012. From 1990 to 1992 he was the Egyptian Defence Attaché to Morocco. More re... Explore this topic

Politics of Egypt

The politics of Egypt is based on republicanism, with a semi-presidential system of government. Following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, and the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, executive power was assumed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which dissolved th... Explore this topic

Egyptian Army

The Egyptian Army is the largest service branch within the Egyptian Armed Forces, and is the largest army in the Arab World, and Africa. It is estimated to number around personnel 468,500, in addition 1,000,000 reservists for a total of 1,468,500 strong. The modern army was es... Explore this topic

Cairo

Cairo; Arabic: القاهرة‎; is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa. Its metropolitan area is the 16th largest in the world. Located near the Nile Delta, it was founded in 969 AD. Nicknamed "the city of a thousand minarets" for its preponderance ... Explore this topic

Tahrir Square

Tahrir Square, also known as "Martyr Square", is a major public town square in Downtown Cairo, Egypt. Explore this topic

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Syria

Syrian Civil War

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