Egypt is hemorrhaging. Knee-deep in political turmoil, no post-revolution scenario can meet the Egyptian people's expectations from the June 30 uprising, and the frustration felt by 84 million Egyptians makes civil war much more likely than democracy.
Egypt is facing a reality in which the Muslim Brotherhood refuses to let go of the reins of power despite last week's second revolution, the military seems eager to fire on civilians (today on the Brotherhood's supporters, tomorrow, who knows-) and Egyptian civilians are turning against each other. The situation is reminiscent of Syria.
The Egyptian military shoulders great responsibility. After toppling Mohammed Morsi, it now has to rule the nation and look out for its security. It is a daunting task, especially since the violent show of support for the Muslim Brotherhood and its deposed president has turned the Egyptian military from the people's army to half the people's army practically overnight.
Even the Salafist party, the second-largest party in the Egyptian parliament, which initially supported removing Morsi from power, backtracked following Monday's "massacre of Morsi supporters" by the army. The Salafists realize that they too might eventually pay a price for political opportunism, especially when it is at the expense of an Islamist constitution.
The Egyptian military has little choice but to expedite the democratic process and call for early elections as soon as possible. Such a move, however, will not necessarily appease the masses: if they outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood again, they would effectively be denying millions of Egyptians the right to vote for the candidate of their choice, but if they allow the Brotherhood to participate in the elections -- and considering how divided the liberals are -- they run the risk of facing another Islamic victory and they might even end up with a Salafist president.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian military is busy with raids, arrests, shutting down television and radio stations and firing at the masses, all in the name of the democratic vision.
It is embarrassing to see the United States' conduct throughout these events. Washington declared its support of Morsi at first, regardless of what the Egyptian people seemingly wanted, and then shifted its support to the military -- the same military that has been firing on civilians -- but without calling the Supreme Military Council's move a coup, as that would force the U.S. to suspend its aid to Egypt.
We knew Egypt was looking for a new direction, but it was surprising to learn that the U.S. had lost sight of its true north.
This situation is bound to lead to numerous security alerts and incidents in Sinai. The political instability Egypt will be facing in the near future is the jihadis' paradise.
The fall of Mohammed Morsi, who was not exactly a champion of democracy, also spells out the end of Egypt's dream of democracy. Maybe that is why Saudi Arabia is so pleased with the latest images from Cairo. The fall of the Muslim Brotherhood means that the Arab Spring is finally over.
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