office in front of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court on Thursday
morning, formalizing a whirlwind insurrection that brought millions of
Egyptians onto the streets and overturned an Islamist president that
only days ago had seemed immutable.
Mr. Mansour swore his oath hours after Egyptian security forces moved
briskly to arrest and detain hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood
leaders—the powerful Islamist organization that has dominated Egyptian
elections over the past two years.
Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's ousted president, was reportedly in police
custody on Thursday morning after he refused to step down from his
post on the orders of Gen. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi on Wednesday night.
Mr. Mansour took two oaths on Thursday morning: The first made him
chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court and the second
elevated him to the presidency.
Mr. Mansour has been the head of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court
since Monday, but the court's own swearing-in ceremony was delayed for
several days due to massive street protests against Mr. Morsi's rule.
The leader of Egypt's military ousted Mr. Morsi from office and
replaced him with Mr. Mansour late Wednesday evening. The presidential
palace immediately branded the move a "complete military coup."
The announcements capped days of political crisis that brought
millions of Egyptians out to the country's streets, spurring bellicose
rhetoric from Mr. Morsi's backers and Egypt's military, and sparking
deadly violence. Ten people were killed and 481 injured in clashes
around the country on Wednesday, the health ministry said.
Two years after the biggest tremor of the Arab Spring ousted Hosni
Mubarak, and a year after his elected replacement took office,
Egyptian streets again thronged with protesters calling for the
removal of a despot, the stark divides between their celebration and
anger suggesting a new period of political uncertainty lies ahead.
Egypt's acting attorney general on Thursday issued arrest warrants for
Muslim Brotherhood supreme leader Mohamed Badie and his deputy Khairat
al Shater on charges of inciting the killing of protesters, according
to MENA, the state news agency.
The two are wanted on charges of inciting the killing of eight
protesters in front of the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters in Cairo.
The prosecutor's decision came after eyewitnesses in the neighborhood
said they were able to testify against the Brotherhood leaders,
according to MENA.
The military overthrow poses a new challenge for Washington. The U.S.
has a deep relationship with Egypt's military, which is budgeted to
receive some $1.3 billion in U.S. aid this year. But congressional
legislation demands the U.S. suspend assistance to allied militaries
that are certified as having overthrown democratically elected
governments.
Two powerful U.S. senators on a visit with troops in Afghanistan on
Thursday affirmed that continued assistance from Washington would
hinge on a swift restoration of civilian rule.
"We view with great concern the events that are taking place in
Egypt," said Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.). "I believe that the defense
minister and the military have to show us and the world that they are
making a rapid transition back to democracy. And that will be, I
think, the indicator to the level of support that we would provide to
Egypt."
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), who serves on the Senate
Appropriations Committee, said the Egyptian military had to abide by
the rule of law as a condition of aid.
"If the democratically elected government is overthrown by the
military, you would suspend all assistance," he said. "It looks like a
coup, it sounds like a coup, but I'm in the camp with Sen. McCain:
Let's look and see how this unfolds."
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