So apparently – amongst the wide variety of consumer and military goods produced (literally almost anything you can imagine) - we manufacture/produce our own tear gas, of the CS variety!

This is from Section C of the Technical Annex in “Crowd Control Technologies : An Assessment Of Crowd Control Technology Options For The European Union” – which was published in May 2000.  So potentially could have stopped production but feel like that would have been counter to the regime’s mindset – obviously, they don’t have moral qualms against using it but potentially may have been discontinued due to other reasons (although hard to think of some given that profitability is not an important criteria and neither is actually selling it...)

Given that we manufacture this stuff, then at least use your domestic supplies and don’t make us go in debt to teargas ourselves!  I suppose it is similar to the dynamic of bread/basic foods in Egypt – the demand far outstrips domestic supply...

On a more serious note though, potentially there was some foresight that the US/EU would eventually cut/decrease shipments so domestic production has been stockpiled until they go through the new 21-tonne US resupply from November).

Anyway – document is below!

Factory 10 (the one producing the tear gas)  is located in Alexandria and its military products include small arms and ammunition; while civilian products include shotgun cartridges, semi-automatic bakery lines, food cans, aerosol containers, aluminum containers.  

Also apparently companies called “Egypt & Middle East Co” and “Perfect Security Systems” manufacture batons and water cannons, respectively.  I will bet both of these are owned by former army generals.  Unfortunately only name I could find for latter company is Eng. Mahmoud Kamal (too generic) and the first company name is too generic to quickly identify people.  Alternatively, name is “Perfect for Security Systems” (PO Box 136, Mohandeseen, Giza). 

And sure enough, a little more digging and clearly it is a military company – nobody else produces for the military sector (god forbid competitive bidding) and especially telecom equipment sensitivity.  They turned up on US government website, although they caveat it quite a bit http://export.gov/egypt/businessserviceproviders/index.asp?bsp_cat=80141700 (“The BSP directory is intended to provide an additional resource to U.S. exporters doing business in this geographic area. The BSP directory is not comprehensive. Inclusion does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service.”)

Perfect Security Systems
Contact: Eng. Mahmoud Kamal, General Manager
54 Syria St., Mohandessin, Giza, Egypt.
Phone: +20(2) 336-7270; +20(2) 338-5695; +20(2) 336-7271
Fax: +20(2) 336-7271
Email: [email protected]#j5Z9r2H8G)[,_.m
Web: http://www.metrace.com/perfect (website not working)
"We specialize in importing if fire alarm, fighting and security safety systems, anti-intruder alarm, C.C.T.V, surveillance systems, electronic components and telecommunication for civilian and military sectors. "

Going through that website it seems at first glance that there are a substantial number of military related/linked companies (e.g. “Arab Engineering & Distribution Company (AEDCO) is a Joint Stock Company, organized and existing under the laws of the Arab Republic of Egypt,” “Caesar Service operates in the field of security and guarding services under scientific basis that have been well developed in order to suit the working conditions in the Arab Republic of Egypt. Caesar’s professional team, which consists of ex-military and police officers, has enabled the company to become a pioneer in this field.,” and another http://www.remage-egypt.com/about.html)

Still trying to pour through the crazy amount of information regarding Egypt military-industrial complex but it is really overwhelming – every company you discover brings about 4 more military companies and a new general manager to dig into!

Debating the merits of a sustained boycott of SCAF products/companies versus a general strike

I have begun pouring over army company information and compiling a page here (http://ow.ly/8WsUQ) and @AalamWassef provided this great overview (http://ow.ly/8ZiNM - download the PDF, great trove of information) documenting military owned companies and assets - all part of the massive interweb of people, companies, products and services that they use to finance their privileges, benefits, etc. (plan on trying to document those soon as well but these include all those properties on Salah Salem with fancy military gates inside - I have been inside a few of them and they are far nicer than you would expect...)
I believe the only thing that will make SCAF change planned course of action is fear of losing those benefits... So the question is what SCAF needs to maintain its privileges/benefits.  I think we can agree that it is generally easier to stay "rich" when you have the support of the West (i.e. despite being horrible dictators across their reign compared Saddam and Qaddafi's life pre/post US-isolation - circa pre1991 and pre1984/post2002, respectively for each...

Therefore, the end extremely worrying situation for #SCAF would be that the US/West flips on them the same way they did when Saddam invaded Kuwait and Qaddafi's Lockerbie, nuclear weapons, etc.!  In that regard, Israel is our Kuwait/Lockerbie/Nuclear Weapons... The most apt analogy is the nuclear weapon one since, just the ability to break out, is considered leverage.  By the same token, Egypt's ability to wage war (at most) or facilitate proliferation of extremism or turn a blind eye to their development in Sinai (at minimum) can be seen as its "nuclear weapon".

At this point, it turns into an exercise in game theory... When looking at the defense establishments of both countries, at the end of the day neither Egypt wants to go to war with Israel nor does the United States want to cut its military aid to Egypt - which both sides know.  The question that the US needs to answer is whether Egypt can go to war with Israel? (Which my complete, unsubstantiated guess would be no).  The next question is how far SCAF is willing to deteriorate the country to hold onto their own benefits?  Historically, leaders have been willing to undergo a spectrum of isolation but we can make some educated guesses.

The fundamental premise is that #SCAF might not mind seeing Egypt turn to shit as long as they retain some benefits (i.e. pretty sure Pakistani army officers live a pleasant life despite state of their country)!

The most extreme example that comes to mind is North Korea's Kim regime which has no problem starving the whole country and living as global pariahs as long as the core power base is satisfied in Pyong Yang.  However, that regime was bred out of isolation and has become accustomed to living locally luxurious but globally isolated.  The leaders of North Korea cannot go shopping in Paris or take family trips to New York - something I suspect our general have become quite accustomed to.  (According to the New York Times American handlers ensure that a day per visit is carved out for Sami Anan, his wife and three kids to go shopping in Tyson’s Corner with an affinity for electronics and jeans.  Additionally, his occasional drinking probably makes him weary of Saudi love)

However, beyond North Korea there are a variety of regimes from Pakistan to Mozambique to Cuba to Iran.  (Which, when looking at this list – and North Korea – there is a strong similarity: the regime has been in power for decades and has yet to show palpable signs of weakness – although take into account, by definition we are filtering out all the failed ones so the above list in and upon itself cannot lead one to conclude that the best path to regime longevity is authoritarianism at all costs.)

Now – in my mind – the only situation that SCAF would be OK with is a Pakistan type situation.  My knowledge on Pakistan is pretty limited but from what I do know there is a deep military/intelligence state (let’s not forget Head of Intelligence Omar Suleiman has been untouched during revolution and, by many unconfirmed accounts, continues to be part of the state security system with privileges and access).

As a result, I think that confrontation with the military is useful in letting them know we are not going away – however, in reality, they have the guns, tanks, planes, weapons, etc. and – with Maspero and Ahram printing press under their control – they likely will have a sizeable portion of public opinion in the short/medium turn.  Therefore, what we need to address is the specific privileges that they are fighting to protect.

While civil disobedience does have its merits, it is also akin to using a sword to perform a surgery – even if it does succeed in cutting off the correct limb; it will likely take a few with it.  The collateral damage will not be felt by most people on Facebook/Twitter but for the 40% living day to day it is not sustainable – they will feel the pain before the military does.  At that point, the HOPE would be that they realize the army is responsible for the dire circumstances and, in one swift swoop the public would realize the countless army transgressions and see the benefits of a truly civilian state!  Unfortunately, not too optimistic that is how it would play out (i.e. far more likely that they would leverage Maspero and Ahram printing press to ensure their message is heard).  In short,  I worry they will turn the civil disobedience to their advantage and use it to consolidate their support - i.e. an us against them discourse (with "them" being protesters who will be presented at destabilizing Egypt).  Moreover, plays very well into anyone who will say "Look at these well off protesters, they can go on strike and not feel the pain whereas #SCAF - and MB for that matter - understand your difficulties and work with us to help you solve them).
Further adding to my belief in the discord between protesters calling for civil disobedience and the general public comes from the polls that have been released over the past year (see an attempt to capture them here (http://ow.ly/8Zlju).  In Q4 2011 a poll released showed that " • 65% of the Egyptian either agrees or strongly agrees that protesters should be prevented from using the Tahrir Square."  In essence civil disobedience is a large, nationwide strike.  In addition, it explicitly demands things protestors and revolutionaries used to have to defend throughout protesting (i.e. protesters in tahrir are stopping traffic, 3agalit el entag, mayroo7a yishoofo li nafsohom shoghlana , etc.).  While one poll may be flawed, these tendencies came out consistenly in other polls as well.  Specifically on the civil disobedience, this stood out ": Only 1% of people participating in "workers strikes" while 25% of people participated in street protests " (25% seems high but its polls, self reported).  Another poll showed that only 34% of Egyptians feel strongly about the need for civil law.  Coupled with the fact that, when asked about reasons for protesting, Egyptians cited low Living Standard/Lack of Jobs" 64% of the time with lack of Democracy/reform coming in at 19% "

The army obviously doesn’t care about the welfare of the people, only raising a concern about that when there is the potential of the sha3b blaming them (i.e. the whole point of a pseudo-civilian government to take the blame – the lovely game of “fire the cabinet, hire the cabinet, repeat). ALthough some report it cares about its image, its fine as long as no threat of revolt.
Unfortunately, I do not see general strike / civil disobedience as fitting into those criteria.  The army will simply say “Look, there are foreign forces trying to destabilize and they are getting revenge because we attacked their American financiers.”  Today, SCAF’s official Facebook accused AUC students of causing discord (http://ow.ly/8Zf4e) and conspiring against the state.  Fortunately, most people who look at Facebook can search the internet for reports on reality – however, when Maspero is pushing this message there is little that can be done to counter it (although much respect for @3askarkazeboon and @mosireen for their persistent efforts to show the people the truth).  Also, let’s not forget Al-Ahram publishing reach – which, again given its importance, controls around 90% of press printing and 85% of distribution...

I think the only thing that will hurt is fear of losing economic privileges – which we cannot expect the US to willingly do.  Given their ownership of 40% of the economy through consumer facing brands, the focus should be on choking those companies!  That way, SCAF cannot say we are trying to destabilize Egypt – bil 3aks – these are companies that do not pay taxes, use Egyptian employees for free, etc. – we are simply supporting the average Egyptian’s claim on his money and due payment for his efforts.

Public campaign: anytime you see someone drinking Safi water explain how the military benefits from this and pays no taxes - they are literally stealing from you every time you purchase a bottle of Safi water!  (In addition to them using your brother's free labor to keep lining their pockets...

Think a sustained boycott of military products would be great - with more impact and less downside on average person than a general strike.  If it were targeted on Army companies and a long-term sustained campaign!  Not only when they cede to civilian power but as a principle - INDIVIDUALS in the military should not be profiting on our backs...

Also, it is a little more palpable for a nation of 85M to request them to use ALTERNATE products (e.g. buy Baraka instead of Safi) but, given day to day salaries of majority of population, staying at home is expensive!


The above is just thinking out loud - I am by no means particularly knowledgeable of civil disobedience or boycotts but I think history is a useful guide and civil rights in the US would be a successful example of the former and South Africa and/or Israeli boycott an example of the latter... 

Started looking into the military’s civilian production and sales to get an idea and, while I have yet to go through all the info, it is one large, complex web of interconnected companies and personalities.  All of the information is from public sources, websites, Google searches, etc.

Some key names and companies keep popping up in large investment projects and having lived in Egypt you can see the potential correlation between unnecessary public spending projects and the army’s economic interest.  While there is no direct link, it is interesting to see random video monitors pop up in the middle of Cairo (e.g. Gama’eat Al Dawal Street intersection with Gezirat Al Arab) and you see that the military produces THESE.  Additionally, the traffic signal digital display countdown timers that have been installed in many main streets (e.g. Battal Ahmed Abdel Aziz after exiting off 6th October bridge) and a military company produces THESE. Also, it is interesting to see that they produce billboards then advertise their OWN PRODUCTS (guessing that has something to do with the parliamentary budget oversight issues).

To give you an idea of the range – the army produces anything from CRATES to HOTEL DINING/RECEPTION to LAVISH HOTEL ROOMS (to the more simple ones) to COMPUTERS to TVS to DVD PLAYERS to INCUBATORS to DATA CENTERS to YACHTS!! (CLICK on item names to see actual pictures of military products in each category)

While I have been able to come across names of companies and types of goods produced and some specific consumer-facing product names (see list below for some of the identified, more commonly known ones).  It has been far more difficult to come across any financials (especially recent ones).  One of the companies had $36M and employed 1,517 (apparently sometime around 1998?).  Another company (Jeep and other light vehcle production) employs over 17,000 people (unclear of date).  One of the larger holding companies made $100M in the 1980s apparently.

While I am still pouring over the information, there are some initial interesting tidbits:

An engine factory writes:

• Delivery of drinking water & sewage drainage projects worth LE365M+ (around $60M) 
• With another LE964M+ (little over $160M) in the process of being delivered
  

Around 1999 three of these companies were placed under sanctions by the US due to the transfer of dual use technologies provided by the US to North Korea

A factory focused on electrionics states:

• Produced of over 50k TV sets
• Produced of over 50k computers

One factory that focuses on equipment for the railway claims to have produced:

• 2,369 rail coaches/cars 
• 16,200 freight transport cars
• 36,591 bogies
• 225 subway cars
• 250 “trommay” cars
  

Another factory that is focused on aircraft (?!?!?) claims :

• Delivery of drinking water & sewage drainage projects worth LE566M+ (little less than $100M) 
• With another LE602M (little over $100M) in the process of being delivered
  

Below are a list of some of the companies (compiled from various sources thanks to great work, will cite but just so many and don't have time right now, apologize - but includes jadaliiya, @arabist, Ahram, Robert Springboard writing, various Google books, etc.) - also, may be some repeats:

• 'Wataniyya'
  
• 'Queen', the military's cleaning services company
  
• high-tech slaughterhouses in East Uwaynat 
  
• cabins to rent out in the north coast Sidi Crir resort last summer; 
  
• apartments for sale in Kuliyyat al-Banat residential buildings
  
• Safi spring-water company, aviation services, security services, travel services, footwear production, and kitchen-appliance manufacturing.
• television sets, jeeps, washing machines, wooden furniture and olive oil, as well as bottled water under a brand reportedly named after a general’s daughter, Safi
• Queen,’ the army-produced brand of pasta

From random companies/factories:

• Civilian products are the same, in addition to precision casting. casting of hematite iron, grey iron, and steel.  
• Civilian products include shotgun cartridges, semi-automatic bakery lines, food cans, aerosol containers, aluminum containers
• Civilian products include dynamite, industrial nitro-cellulose, sodium toluene sulphonate, potassium chlorate, shotgun powder, hydrogenated oils, blasting services
• Civilian products include electric motors, electric fans, electric switches and sockets
  
• Civilian products include water meters; electric meters; fastners; bolts & nuts and incinerators.
• Civilian products include radiators, sewing machines, medical and surgical instruments, general cutting tools, oil coolers, agricultural machines, shotguns, air rifles, meat mincers, scissors, kitchen knives, and wooden furniture
• Civilian products include irrigation sprinklers, aluminum foils, brass, copper and aluminum brass, sections, strips, plates, tubes, blocks, castings, sheets, wires and cables, water combinations, aluminum tea pots, copper tables, insulated electric wires, copper and aluminum cables, and conductors
• Civilian products include formaldehyde and hexamine paints, safety and detonating fuses, rubber and plastic products, and adhesives
• Civilian products include fire extinguishers, gasoline pumps, automatic balances, pressure cookers, stainless steel cooking pots, gas bottlers, gas regulators, cutlery, pistons, piston rings, cylinders
• Civilian products include paints, inks, varnish, beauty products, potassium chlorate, and anesthetic ether
  
• Civilian products include television receivers, radios, TV antennas, and personal computers
• Civilian products include electric meters, water meters, ball bearings, bolts and nuts, degreasing solutions, phosphating solutions, and axle boxes
• Civilian products include gas rings, gas ovens, solar water heaters, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners
• Civilian products include diesel engines, generating sets, welding sets, pumping sets, bearing shells, compressed air sets, and tractor engines
• Civilian products include lathes, drilling machines, grinders, wood sawing machines, shapers, milling machines, automatic and semi-automatic bakery lines, agricultural machinery and equipment
• Engaged in the production of passenger cars, Jeep Wranglers, and 4x4 Jeep Cherokees. This Egyptian and American joint venture was formed in 1977, and company employs over 17,000 workers producing military jeeps and other light vehicles
• Engaged in the production of intermediate chemicals; incecticides and fertilizers; house insect insecticides; industrial gases; cosmetics and other aerosol products
• Civilian production includes microscopes
• El-Nasr Company for Services and Maintenance (Queen Service) - security; maintenance works for electrical and water networks; purging works; automobile service stations; and vocational training
• Armed Pharmaceutical Factory - Equipped with West German machine tools (Johann Weiss), this factory makes such pharmaceutical products as tincture of iodine and bandage
• Cutleries : sets of cutleries of extra ordinary beauty and attractive styles ( normal and gold coated ) , made of stainless steel.
• kitchen sets : Pressure cookers, Cooking pots , Frying pans , Casseroles, tea & sweet Sets , Plates and trays  ( normal and decorated) , made of stainless steel.
  
  
• Fire extinguishers 99 :  With dry chemical powder , foam and carbon dioxide ( in different types and sizes form 1 kg to 250 kg ).
  

• Fire detection and alarm systems , Automatic Fire extinguishing Systems and light fire fighting vehicles.
• LPG cylinders 30 lt. And 60 lt. , cylinder valves and gas regulators
• Automotive feeding industries:
• Internal combustion engines parts ( Pistons,  piston  pins, rings and cylinder liners 
• Automotive shock absorbers.
• Automotive steel wheels.
• Special manufacturing tools workshop for producing gauges, dies (drawing cutting , forming , pressing , forging and carting tools ), jigs and fixtures for Metal and Bakelite.