Daniel Greenfield:
Once the Egyptian military issued its deadline, the endgame was obvious. The military and the opposition were teaming up to replace the Morsi regime.
The military’s deadline meant that it had a plan for moving Morsi out within that timetable. And we are seeing that plan moving forward. There are now reports coming in that Morsi is under house arrest. That may or may not be true, but the military has reportedly announced a travel ban.
The genuinely impressive thing about all this is how smooth it is. The military is using liberal protesters to escape any accusations of a coup and the liberal protesters suddenly find themselves on the same side as the police and the military. The ostracized protesters suddenly find that their protests come with a steel fist. And the military no longer looks like a bunch of thugs. Everyone wins, except the Islamists.
This is the sort of outcome a lot of the Western backers of the Arab Spring expected, concluding with an El Baradei presidency. And that may still be in the cards. After spending some time with Morsi, the military has decided that El Baradei and the liberals are a better alternative after all.
Morsi is retreating behind the Republican Guard, counting on the military to be reluctant to open fire. But counting on the Republican Guard to protect him will not pay off.
The Muslim Brotherhood will spend all its time shouting “military coup”. But when your goal is to impose theocracy while terrorizing minorities and the streets of every major city are filled with massive crowds calling for your ouster, and you only took power because the previous government was overthrown and your Qatari backers got your the cash and publicity to get you to the throne (narrowly), then your moral high ground is rather weak.
Nothing is certain.
