Suspicions of the Military Council remaining in power in Egypt no longer stand. Indeed, neither international and regional circumstances nor the situation on the ground inside Egypt makes the presence of one or more members of the military in power in Egypt after the month of June possible, not to mention the blatant mistakes committed by the Military Council since Mubarak stepped down and throughout the year. Thus the military leaving power in Egypt is an issue there is no need to discuss. The Military Council will leave sooner or later, and the deteriorating security situation, the rising violence, the proliferation of angry groups and the eruption of protests, demonstration and strikes, as well as the mounting pressures, could drive towards holding presidential elections quickly, and starting the process of applying for candidacy after the elections of the Shura Council at the end of the month. The Council may behave obstinately, and suffice itself with asking Egyptians to be patient and treating chronic illnesses with painkillers, until the roadmap it has laid out is completed. Indeed, the Council has moved forward with its roadmap, and it should be completed in June with the election of a president for the country. Then the army will return to its barracks, and a new battle will begin, to “hold to account” members of the Council. Both possibilities now stand, but it would be most likely, or let us say most natural or logical, for the Council to move quickly, implement its roadmap swiftly and without delay or waiting, and shorten the time remaining to save its members from their doom, save the country from the cycle of chaos and put a stop to the series of further mistakes being committed. Yes, the Council itself has become the greater part of Egypt's problem, while it was supposed to be the solution for it, not just because people hate military rule, even when it is temporary. Rather, it is because every time the Military Council has sought to solve a problem it has made it worse, and whenever a problem has worsened it has failed to offer solutions to it, leading it to branch out into additional problems, and so on and so forth. It is strange for some to believe or promote the idea that the military leaving power would alone be sure to solve all difficulties, and that Egypt will by the mere fact of the military leaving emerge from the dark tunnel it finds itself in now. What is meant here is not that the solution would be to keep the military in place, as the reality everyone has realized is that their leaving would show mercy both to them and to us. Yet questions about what the situation will be after the military arise, in light of Egypt's situation after the Revolution, and of the struggle for gains among political forces, the outbidding of the Revolution and the revolutionaries, and the bartering – sometimes with the lives of martyrs and the sacrifices of the Egyptian people. Have political and revolutionary forces become prepared, and do they have the capabilities, to fill the vacuum left by the military? To what extent does Egypt's elite agree on the way to manage the phase that comes after the Military Council? Will all groups, coalitions, political parties, and forces accept the results of the presidential elections, no matter what they are and whoever the next president turns out to be? Have the Islamists, who have the parliamentary majority, realized that completing the constitution is a task that cannot bear “procrastination” or obstinacy? And that satisfying and reassuring other forces, as well as dispelling the fears of the Copts, the Liberals and the Leftists, has become a necessary duty in order to avoid a new conflict that could drive the country into a bottomless abyss? Will the people, and with it the political forces and elites, give the next government (which will most likely be formed by the Muslim Brotherhood in coalition with one or more other political parties) the opportunities to heal the wounds of the past, and lay the foundations for the future, while at the same time managing the country's affairs and providing the needs of citizens? Those are basic questions, to which the answers should be positive in order for the departure of the military to be a good thing, and for the country to move steadily after the presidential elections towards achieving the goals of the Revolution, without any faction claiming the Revolution to be its own, the martyrs to have sacrificed their lives for its sake, and the mistakes of the military to have taken place for its benefit. Indeed, the Revolution was the work of the Egyptian people as a whole; most martyrs were not affiliated to any specific groups, parties or forces; and the mistakes of the military have harmed everyone. And regardless of the referendum on the constitution last March, the Military Council obtained the “legitimacy” to manage the transitional phase by virtue of the slogan “the people and the army hand in hand”, which Egyptians chanted loudly in Tahrir and other public squares. The desire for it to leave has also become “legitimate” by virtue of the mistakes it has made, its poor performance and the eruption of protests. What will then be the reaction towards the performance of the Egyptian government and the new president if they fail to meet people's ambitions, fulfill their demands and end their suffering? They say that revolutions always take place in countries subjected to dictatorial rule, and that democratic countries have means for expressing one's opinion, and mechanisms for pressuring those in power, with the judge always being the ballot box. Certainly the Egyptian people yearn for a real democracy, accept its results and are willing to deal with the climate it will produce. They are not the problem. But what about the political forces and elites that direct them, and the media that can enlighten their minds or mislead them? The military is leaving, inevitably, but who after them will be asked to leave?
