scription, the structure of the Army and the rights and sibilities of its members . "
The 1971 Constitution was a bit more elaborate about the armed forces, with four different Article 180 stipulated that "The State alone shall establish the Armed Forces which shall belong to the people. Their duty shall be to protect the country, its territorial integrity and security. " Article 182 mandated that the establishment of the National Defense Council would be presided over by the president of the Republic to "undertake the examination of the matter pertaining to the methods of ensuring the safety and security of the country. The law shall prescribe its other competences." The other articles dealt with public mobilization and the military judiciary.
While the armed forces received little attention in previous constitutions, the generals' imprint on Egyptian politics has been deep and widespread. Egypt's four presidents came from the ranks of the armed forces. While the trend of direct military participation in politics has been on the decline since 1967, the army continued to be a powerful political institution and an economic powerhouse. The stature and public support of the officers grew during the eighteen tumultuous days that led to the ousting of Mubarak. Many Egyptians saw the army as a main pillar of state stability and national security, an image that the regime controlled media carefully nurtured. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Egypt's governing junta since Mubarak's departure, has tried to seize its elevated position to institutionalize military power in the impending second republic.
The generals seem to understand that overt control over the political process is unfeasible and will be met with tremendous opposition at home and abroad. Therefore, they seek to influence the writing of the constitution to guarantee three main objectives: ensure the institutional autonomy of the armed forces away from the elected officials and particularly the parliament; maintain the army's financial independence and the privileges of senior staff with minimal intervention from the state; and safeguard a voice in the policy making process through the establishment of a national security council with strong military membership.
To accomplish these objectives, the SCAF has been trying to influence the selection of the constituent assembly that will draft the new constitution. Article 60 of the March 30th Constitutional Proclamation, which governs the transition period, bestowed on the parliament the exclusive task of selecting the constituent assembly. According to this provision, the elected members of the first People's Assembly and Shura Council will meet in a joint session within 6 months of their election to elect a 100 member constitutional assembly. This assembly will prepare a draft constitution within 6 months.1 Citizens will vote on the draft constitution in a referendum. This original timeline has been condensed to accommodate popular demands for timely transfer of power to an elected president by June 30. The new timeline gives the assembly just over a month to finish their daunting task.
The generals exhibited second thoughts about entrusting the parliament with this critical function. The generals worry that a democratic constitution might institutionalize civilian control over the military for the first time since the establishment of the republic. The SCAF has been experimenting with different ideas to achieve their objectives. One idea, which further heated Cairo's already warm summer, was to engrave "supraconstitutional principles" that will be binding on the constituent assembly. This proposal, presented by Deputy Prime Minister Yahya al-Gamal, was met by uproar from all Islamic parties and some liberal forces. They regarded such stipulations as an intrusion on the rights of the elected representatives. After massive protests, the generals yielded and the idea was put to rest. The matter surfaced again a few weeks before the due date for the elections in November 2011. Al-Gamal' s successor, Ali alSe