The Egyptian military has thrown former President Morsi from his position of power, in a coup that will put the country's constitution on hold and install an interim government to replace the leader that won Cairo's first democratic election a mere year and a half ago.
General Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi told CNN that the Egyptian armed forces carryied out its "historic responsibility" to keep watch over the nation by demanding that Morsi step down.
Many Egyptians, including the General, claimed that the Western-educated Islamist member of the Muslim Brotherhood "did not achieve the goals of the people," and did not meet demands to properly allocate power with the opposition that have flooded the streets of Cairo and Tahrir Square over the past week.
When Egyptian television made the announcement at around 9 p.m. local time, millions of Egyptian citizens gathered in Tahrir Square erupted into cheers, setting off fireworks, crying, laughing, popping noisemakers and embracing one another.
Morsi supporters responded in anger elsewhere, the New York Times reported. In the city of Alexandria, the opposition was pitted against presidential supporters, breaking into fights with rocks and bricks. Some reported that gunfire was heard in the vicinity.
After the General issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Morsi on Monday, urging him to respond to the issues brought up by protesters and insisting he resign from his post, Morsi rejected the military's call for him to step down.
"Dr. Mohamed Morsi, the president of the Arab Republic of Egypt, emphasizes that the measures taken by the General Command of the armed forces represent a complete military coup, which is categorically rejected by all the free of the country who have struggled so that Egypt turns into a civil democratic society," a statement released by the former president's office read.
But by 6:30 p.m., the military had already assembled in front of the presidential palace with tanks and troops. And come 9 in the evening, Morsi was gone.
What does this movement mean for the United States? The military coup in Egypt shoves President Obama's administration in an awkward place.
At the beginning of the week, President Obama made a call to then-President Morsi, telling him that his people were not satisfied with his actions, and that simply being put in office through a democratic election does not constitute an ultimately democratic government.
According to the BBC, a state department spokesperson has insisted that the United States did not back the Egyptian government, nor its opposition.
But funnily enough, America pays for one side-plans to slide the Egyptian army around $1.3 billion next year are currently in place, and a fair amount of the high-up Egyptian officers got trained in the United States.
According to Mark Mardell, North American Editor at the BBC, this gives America a fistful of contacts and whole lot of clout.
But the Obama administration does not want appear as if they are taking sides with certain rulers in the Arab world.
Additionally, America now has to make a well-worn choice: back the democratically elected leader with questionable ideals, or support the military that gained power through a decidedly un-American coup, but may have more Western tendencies?
"While the U.S. claims it is not making choices, it could pull the plug on funding if it really didn't like what was happening," Mardell concluded.
