Egypt's reluctant strongman, Major General Mohammed Naguib, stopped being reluctant. He had tried to stay in the background and run things through Prime Minister Aly Maher. This week Naguib threw out Aly, took over as Premier and, in fact, dictator.
From his GHQ at Abbasiya Barracks early one morning this week, flying squads roared into Cairo, rounded up 62 sleepy-eyed politicians and former palace officials, jailed the lot in Cairo's army school. Among those arrested: nine ex-Cabinet ministers and two ex-Premiers (Ibrahim Abdul Hadi, 52, president of the rightwing Saadist Party, and Ahmed...