In a move to reclaim political power seized by the military after the fall of Husni Mubarak, Egypt’s President Muhammad Mursi forced the retirement of his Defense Minister, Field Marshal Muhammad Husain Tantawi, along with the army chief of staff and other senior generals. Mursi also swept aside a military-issued constitutional declaration that had limited presidential authority, replacing it with a declaration giving him broad legislative and executive powers, including a possibly decisive role in drawing up a new constitution.