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In reply to the discussion: Egypt Interim to Be Short, Followed by Elections-Agency [View all]sofa king
(10,857 posts)... That in nations where the military habitually hits the "reset" button, it's a military leader who eventually rises to the top, or someone else who can command the loyalty of a plurality of the officers....
....And then that guy consolidates his own power by firing or murdering thousands of his subordinates, leading to promotions for those loyal to him and eventually solidifying the military as the only functional political party.
I think I can cite generally Josef Stalin, the Ba'ath Party in both Syria and Iraq, Cuba, Burma/Myanmar, Zimbabwe, and perhaps also Saudi Arabia, China... and even the United States. George W. never would have won Florida without the help of hundreds of illegally submitted absentee ballots, filled out and sent in once the election looked close, and a hundred million dollars in campaign funds from sources so sensitive we still don't know who they were.