The outbreak of civil war in Egypt is very bad news.

The bad news about the bad news is the Obama administration is backing the wrong side.

The good news about the bad news is Egyptians are paying as little attention to what President Barack Obama says as the Russians do.

Egypt's descent into chaos began when corrupt, but pro-American Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's president since the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981, was ousted. Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, won the election to succeed him.

Founded in 1928 with the goal of establishing a worldwide "caliphate" ruled by Islamic law, the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan) gained prominence through an alliance with Adolf Hitler.

Like their Nazi mentors, the Muslim Brothers believe in "one man, one vote, one time." Mr. Morsi pledged compromise, conciliation, and inclusion during the campaign. Once in office, he reneged. Non-Ikhwan were excluded from the political process, journalists jailed, the Coptic Christian minority oppressed.

Most Egyptians didn't like the bait and switch. In what the BBC called the largest political event "in the history of mankind," millions took to the streets June 30 to protest Mr. Morsi's efforts to create an Islamist dictatorship.

"With between 18 million and 20 million people -- one in five of Egypt's 90 million -- roaring one word, 'Leave,' the regime had to go," said former New York Times correspondent Youssef Ibrahim.

Four days later the military ousted Mr. Morsi.

"The military stepped in, somewhat reluctantly, first to respond to the protests and also to prevent impending state failure," said Eric Trager of the Center for Near East Policy.

This caused a "dizzying turnaround" in public opinion, said Jackson Diehl of the Washington Post. Egypt's young liberals had led the opposition to Mr. Mubarak, a former air force general, he noted. "Now the vast majority of them are cheering another general, coup leader Abdel Fatah al-Sissi."

A woman nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her opposition to the Mubarak regime explained why:

"When terrorism is trying to take hold of Egypt and foreign interference is trying to dig into our domestic affairs, then it's inevitable for the great Egyptian people to support its armed forces against the foreign danger," Esraa Abdel Fattah told the New York Times.

President Obama made outreach to the Muslim Brotherhood the centerpiece of his Mideast policy. Because he supported Mr. Morsi to the bitter end, most Egyptians now despise him. In a video gone viral, popular entertainer Sama Elmasry calls Mr. Obama "a stupid bad man," a "jerk" and a "terrorist."

The Ikhwan won't compromise their demand that Mr. Morsi be restored to office, and will become more violent, predicts Erick Stakelbeck, author of a new book on the Muslim Brotherhood.

"When it comes to democracy in Egypt, the Brothers have been there, done that, and it ended disastrously for their movement after Morsi revealed his true Islamist, dictatorial hand way too soon," he said.

Now the Ikhwan are poised to go "the full jihad route," Mr. Skakelbeck said.

As Egypt descended into chaos, President Obama interrupted his vacation just long enough to send a mixed message. To protest a bloody crackdown on the Ikhwan, he'll cancel a joint military exercise, the president said in brief remarks Thursday, before returning to the golf course. He said nothing about cutting U.S. aid to Egypt, disappointing those who want to punish the military for deposing Mr. Morsi.

Which would be madness, said retired Army intelligence officer Ralph Peters. Cutting aid "would only make the Egyptians who want a reasonably free, generally tolerant and ultimately democratic Egypt even madder at us."

The protesters "rejected all offers of compromise and all demands to disperse," he said. "The interim government's response was heavy-handed, but the Muslim Brothers chose violent resistance."

The real coup was Mr. Morsi's attempt to replace Egypt's fledgling democracy with an Islamist dictatorship, Lt. Col. Peters said. The military stopped it. "Sometimes a military is all that stands between a population and deadly fanaticism."

Had the Wehrmacht intervened when Hitler subverted Germany's fledgling democracy, 70 million lives might have been spared. Those who condemn the military "coup" without taking into consideration the nature and ambitions of the Muslim Brotherhood would do well to remember that.