Lt. Gen. Sami Enan: Could He Be Mubarak's Replacement?

Lt. General Sami Enan is the chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces.

Reuters is reporting that the “Egypt general could be new leader-Islamist “:

Enan could be an acceptable successor to Hosni Mubarak because he is perceived as incorruptible, a member of the banned Muslim Brotherhood said on Tuesday.

Egyptian Muslim cleric Kamel Al Helbawi, a main figure in the opposition movement with strong ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, is quoted:

“He can be the future man of Egypt… I think he will be acceptable …”

The prominent Kuwaiti news service Gulf News just released a story under this stunning headline:

“Armed forces chief seen as Mubarak successor”

And now this breaking news from French news service Le Quotidien:

“The intellectual community of Egypt calls on Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League, and Sami Enan, Chief of the Egyptian armed forces, to act as leaders of the opposition. We do not want El-Baradei. He spent too much time abroad, and knows nothing of the daily reality of the Egyptian people. He does not represent us,” declares on Facebook a professor of economics lecturer at the University Amércaine Cairo (AUC.)

Le Quotidien quoted directly from the Muslim Brotherhood website.


Who is Lt. Gen. Enan?

Born in Cairo in 1948, he has served in various upper level capacities in the Egyptian air defenses. He has some training from both the French and Russian military forces.

Enan was recently in Washington for high level talks at the Pentagon on regional issues such as the Palestinian – Israeli conflict and Iran.

According to Al-Jazeera Lt. Gen. Enan left Washington earlier than scheduled on Sunday, due to the developing situation on the streets of Cairo.

The Pentagon has said that Lieutenant General Sami Enan, the Egyptian army’s chief of staff, has departed Washington, cutting short a planned week-long visit as unrest sweeps his country.

The previously scheduled annual defence talks had been adjourned after “the Egyptian delegation was called home by its government,” Colonel Dave Lapan, the Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement on Friday.

He appears to have cordial relations with Washington. And he now has the approval of the Muslim Brotherhood. Would even the MB risk losing $1.3 billion in annual foreign aid from the US? Certainly the Egyptian Military would be most pleased with one of their own.

The calculations on all sides may lead to Enan as the logical successor.

Editor of LibertarianRepublican.net, former Senior Staffer for US Congressman Ron Paul, fmr. Libertarian National Committteman and author of the “Worldwide Multilingual Phrase Book.” Fluency in 5 languages including French.

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