Hours Ahead of Deadline, Morsi Defiant

The clock is ticking on the Egyptian military’s threat to overthrow President Mohamed Morsi, but the stubborn leader is showing no signs of backing down. There are now only mere hours left until what looks slated to be a clash between the military and members of Morsi’s Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. On Monday Morsi-appointed Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced a 48-hour deadline for the president and his protesting foes to kiss and make up before the military takes over. But on Tuesday night the president made clear that he had no intention of giving in to this demand, declaring on national television that he was democratically elected and any efforts to remove him from office were “unacceptable.”