ence 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 alSelmi, a well-known liberal academic of the Al-Wafd party, circulated another suite of supraconstitutional principles. These principles, officially known as the "Declaration of the Fundamental Principles of the New Egyptian State, " but was popularly dubbed as the "al-Selmi Communiqué," had some intriguing provisions regarding the role and political power of the armed forces. Most experts believe that the SCAF added these principles to the document. Articles 9 and 10 of the document stipulated:
(9) The state alone shall establish armed forces, which are the property of the people, and which have as their mission to protect the country, the integrity, security and unity of its land, and to defend constitutional legitimacy. It is not permissible for any body, organization or party to form military or paramilitary bodies. The Supreme Council for the Armed Forces is solely responsible for all matters concerning the armed forces, and for discussing its budget, which should be incorporated as a single figure in the annual state budget. The Supreme Council for the Armed Forces is also exclusively competent to approve all bills relating to the armed forces before they come into effect.
The President of the Republic is the highest authority of the armed forces and the minister of defense is the general authority of the armed forces. The President of the Republic declares war after the approval of the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces and of the People's Assembly has been obtained.
(10) A "National Defense Council" is established and is presided over by the President of the Republic. It is responsible for examining all matters relating to the country's security and safety. Its other responsibilities will be determined by law. The defense of the nation and its territory is a sacred obligation. The military draft is obligatory in accordance with the law. General mobilization is also organized in accordance with the law.2
Enacting such a document would have meant the following significant changes to Egypt's traditional const