fantastic article

Make some time for this one; sit down with a cup of coffee or tea for 20-30 minutes and put your thinking cap on.

Paul Amar of UC-Santa Barbara dissects THE VARIOUS FACTIONS within the Egyptian ruling elite, and concludes that the President actually lost power fairly early on in this crisis.

I won’t give away the ending, but he tells us exactly which coalition of forces he thinks will end up winning.

Hat tip, Protevi.

[ADDENDUM: I’m in no position to know whether the analysis is correct in all respects, of course. In fact, an NY Times article I read shortly thereafter had a very different assessment of Tantawi’s role, especially. But it’s good to be reminded that a state apparatus is rarely a homogeneous lump transparently serving the will of a single great overlord, and Amar does that nicely.]