Nobody gains from the crisis now splitting Egypt apart. Neither the army, nor the Muslim Brotherhood nor the millions of neutral Egyptians who just want their normal country back. Meanwhile hundreds die.
The West is confused as to how it should react. Morsi’s presidency was clearly a disaster for all Egyptians who do not support the Muslim Brotherhood and hardly good for the secular and economic well being of even its own members. Most Egyptians supported the Army takeover and the Western capitals did not rush to condemn it. Had the Army announced that the constitution would be amended to provide a secular framework upon which democratic institutions could stand, following which elections would again be held, with the the deposed president free to run again for the Presidency, all would have been well. It would not have looked like a military coup, Morsi would have been soundly beaten and the Revolution would have progressed.
Unfortunately the Army did not do that and maybe that is because it could not guarantee to its own satisfaction that the above sequence would follow. There are a number of reasons for this, including the absence of established democratic institutions and a lack of consensus which enables the losers in an election to be governed by those in the majority whom they voted against. Democracy confers authority on the winners, not power. There is one other factor which is contributing to the current turmoil and bloodshed. In the whole country there are only two organisations which are organised with sufficient cohesion to effect outcomes. The one is the Muslim Brotherhood, the other is the Army. The majority of Egyptians who want a democratic secular state free of religious or military domination, have no leader and no political organisation. It is into this vacuum that the Army has stepped and where it is likely to stay.
How it will end or where it will lead is unclear. The loss of life among protesters is shocking. The West cries out and wrings its hands. Maybe that is, for the moment, the best it can do.