State Dept: 'Tense Time' In Egypt

Q: “Couldn’t it be argued, though, that President Morsi has essentially undercut the legitimacy of this draft constitution and of the referendum to initiate it by taking on these powers?”

State Dept Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner: “Look, I think it can be argued that this is a very tense time for Egypt. We want to see the Egyptian people emerge from this time with a greater democratic infrastructure, and we want to see this political transition succeed. It’s really up to the Egyptian people to decide what that process looks like. But what’s important now is that this dialogue begin, as I said, without preconditions.”