Egypt Military Signals Support for President

Egypt’s military signaled its acquiescence Monday to the president’s surprise decision to retire the defense minister and chief of staff and retake powers that the nation’s top generals grabbed from there offices.
Egypt’s official news agency quoted an unnamed military official late Sunday as saying there has been no “negative reaction” from within the military. “With the military stripped of legislative authority and in the absence of parliament, the president holds imperial powers,” Egypt’s top reform leader and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei wrote on his Twitter account on Monday. The Brotherhood won both parliamentary and presidential elections in the first free and fair votes in Egypt’s modern history following Hosni Mubarak’s ousting in a popular uprising last year.
The Brotherhood-dominated upper house of parliament, which was not dissolved, last week replaced many of the editors of 50 state-owned publications with journalists known to be sympathetic to the group.
On Monday, Egypt’s top prosecutor referred Okasha along with the editor of an independent daily newspaper to a criminal court for trial on charges of incitement.  
Last week, a crowd of suspected Brotherhood supporters stormed a TV complex in a suburb west of Cairo, attacking journalists and smashing cars to punish media critics of Morsi. Analysts have floated the possibility that the shake-up of the military brass was part of a “safe exit” deal struck between Morsi and the generals to shield them against prosecution for alleged crimes during the time they ruled the country.
Three top generals retired by Morsi – the chiefs of the air force, air defense and the navy – were given senior government jobs.