Cairo, July 8 (ANI): Youth in Egypt still hold the country's military in high esteem, and a majority of them disregard criticism of it.
Even when Tahrir Square demonstrators chanted slogans such as "Down with military rule!", there were some people such as Tarek Abo Elnaga, 16, who said he dreamt of becoming an officer, or Medhat Mohamed, who said he would enlist in a heartbeat, even at age 45, "for my nation."
The public admiration for the military could bode well for the country's stability. But analysts say it could also hinder civilian efforts to wrest real control of parliament and military matters.It's definitely going to make the president's - or whatever civilian institution's - task all that much more difficult," Yasser el-Shimy, an Egypt-based analyst with the International Crisis Group, said.
"It's one thing to revolt against Mubarak. It's completely another to revolt against the military," he added.
Since the revolution, there have been few reports of unrest within the Arab world's largest military, which receives about 1.3 billion dollars in U.S. funding annually.
In his inaugural speech last Sunday, Morsi said the armed forces would "go back to the barracks."
But even before he spoke, the audience of dignitaries and former parliamentarians chanted that Egyptians and the army are one.
"The majority of Egyptians are very much pro-SCAF and pro-military," said Sameh Saif el-Yazl, a retired army general and security analyst who is viewed as close to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. "People look to the army as the final salvation," he said. (ANI)
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