Full circle

The crackdown on the pro-Morsi sit-ins has deservedly drawn international condemnation. Those who had refused to countenance the midnight ouster of Morsi as anything less than a coup may feel vindicated,but the situation is much more worrisome. The generals have demonstrated that they are not keen on guiding the country back to representative government. In fact,with Egypt totally polarised,the dangers of a civil war are more real today than on July 3. The Muslim Brotherhood,which feels unjustly robbed of power,didnt set the right precedent. As president,Morsi failed to speak to Egypt as a whole. Instead of addressing and co-opting liberals,secularists and minorities,his government tried to remake Egypt in the Brotherhoods image.

It seems the army wants to eliminate the Brotherhood as a political force altogether. That will only further derail Egypt from the path it was briefly on to end decades of repression. The US,which refused to call the July manoeuvre a coup,must now tell the generals off and consider withdrawing military aid. As the most populous Arab country and one-time leader of the Arab world,what happens in Egypt is crucial to peace and stability in the Middle East.