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Morsi's Victory in Egypt: Early Implications
(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Robert Satloff - It would be a grave error to fixate on the obstacles the Egyptian army has put in the way of the Islamists without appreciating the latter's remarkable ability to fill any political vacuum they are permitted to fill - first, by stepping into Tahrir Square to inherit a revolution waged by secularists; second, by trouncing all comers in winning three-quarters of the seats in parliamentary elections; and third, by taking the presidency. Betting against them now, merely because the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has neatly executed a rearguard holding action, is probably unwise. The obstacles SCAF has thrown in the path of Islamist monopolization of power may not be tools to derail the Brotherhood's ambitions, but instead gambits to negotiate the best deal possible and retain military prerogatives in an Islamist-controlled state. The writer is executive director of the Washington Institute.