Army, not Mubarak, worries Egypt protesters
(CBS News) CAIRO - There are multiple reports that deposed Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak is brain dead and on life support after suffering a stroke. This comes at the same moment that Cairo's Tahrir Square is once again occupied by protestors demanding that the military give up control of the country.
It's another turning point for the Middle East's largest nation more than a year after the Arab Spring revolution that overthrew Mubarak.
This last weekend, Egypt held its first ever presidential election, but the results raise more questions than they answer.
Both candidates in Egypt's presidential election have declared victory, even though official results won't be announced until Thursday. But it didn't stop this crowd who turned out in force for Mohammad Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The crowd streamed into Tahrir Square to protest the recent dissolving of parliament and a decree by the ruling military that severely limits the powers of the new president.
No matter who is declared the winner in the election, Mustapha Saeed, a local businessman, insisted the protesters will fight the military.
"We are not going to be tired. We are fighting for the revolution we are fighting for a clean society in Egypt," Saeed said.
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The Muslim Brotherhood had sent out a call to fill the square, counting on the anger against the military to appeal to all segments of Egyptian society.
This is as much a test of the Islamists' ability to rally secular and leftist parties to their cause as it is of the military. Normally, the Muslim Brotherhood prefers backroom bargaining to confrontation, but they need the power of the streets as a negotiating tool.
The generals aren't just protecting their power. The military has a huge stake in the Egyptian economy, according to activist Heba Morayef with Human Rights Watch.
"Estimates range from 20 percent to as high as 40 percent" of the economy is controlled by the military, Morayef said. "The military owns factories that make pasta. They have mineral water factories. They have transportation companies. They own travel agencies."
The Muslim Brotherhood said it does not want confrontation with the military, but tonight the square is filled with calls for the generals to give up power.
The crowd in Tahrir Square cheered when they heard about Hosni Mubarak, but his condition doesn't really make any difference. As far as they're concerned Mubarak was already dead. Their real concern is now the political situation and whether or not the generals are going to ride roughshod over their revolution. If that's the case, they say they're going to come back and fight another revolution all over again.
