Nearly a month after Egypt underwent a truly embarrassing, if mostly for the US department of state, coup and days after international "mediator [4]" US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns left Cairo, having made no headway in finding a compromise between the army-installed government and supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, it appears that the catalyst to push the already unstable social situation into a state of borderline civil war, is about to be unleashed following a Reuters report [5]that "Egyptian police are expected to start taking action early on Monday against supporters of deposed President Mohamed Mursi who are gathered in protest camps in Cairo, security and government sources said on Sunday, a move which could trigger more bloodshed."
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More from Reuters [5]:
Any further violence would almost certainly deepen Egypt's political crisis and keep the government from dealing with vital issues such as the fragile economy.
"State security troops will be deployed around the sit-ins by dawn as a start of procedures that will eventually lead to a dispersal," said a senior security source, adding that the first step will be to surround the camps.
Another security source said the decision to take action, just after celebrations following the holy month of Ramadan, came after a meeting between the interior minister and his aides.
It is almost as if the escalation in violence has been pre-ordained. The question is by whom, although the flip flops on the ground "usual suspects" are always there. Al Jazeera [7]has more:
"It is worth noting that many people had thought that the government and the military would not act against this place, as long as Eid al-Fitr continues - and that is due to ende tonight."
The pro-Morsi camps are the main flashpoints in the confrontation between the army, which toppled Morsi, and Morsi supporters who demand his reinstatement.
Thousands rallied on Sunday to demand Morsi's reinstatement, amid last-ditch efforts for reconciliation ahead of the threatened crackdown on protests.
A large convoy of cars carrying pictures of the deposed president beeped their horns as they drove through a neighbourhood in east Cairo.
Hundreds at a women's march in central Cairo chanted against army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who was behind Morsi's overthrow, shouting: "Sisi is a traitor, Sisi is a killer."
Putting all this in context, recall that it was Goldman [8]which highlighted recently that the primary catalyst of the drop in US deficit funding (aside from the GSE net cash addition which will reverse promptly when Fannie and Freddie once again demand cash as the most recent "housing recovery" mirage pops) was the plunge in "defense spending." Well, there is always an easy solution for that, which of course is the main reason for the Fed's taper: if and when the annual US deficit returns back to its $1 trillion a year level, Bernanke and/or Summers will have all the liberty to resume monetizing the $85 billion or more per month needed to really unleash the "wealth effect" upon the 0.00001%.