As the Journal’s Jay Solomon notes, U.S. responses so far appear to have left those in Cairo’s streets confused over whether Washington is still backing Mr. Morsi, embraced by the Obama administration after he came to power in the wake of Egypt’s 2011 Egyptian revolution, or whether it is tacitly backing a military coup to get rid of him.

The broader question may be whether it makes much difference. The situation today stands in stark contrast to the one the prevailed in 1976 when an earlier Egyptian leader, Anwar Sadat, broke Egypt’s long-standing ties with the Soviet Union to begin a relationship with the U.S. The late Mr. Sadat said then that the U.S. held “99% of the cards” in the Middle East.

That’s hardly a claim anyone would make today. The U.S. gives Egypt a significant amount of aid, including nearly $2 billion a year in military assistance, but it isn’t the most important financial backer of Mr. Morsi’s government. That would be the Persian Gulf state of Qatar, which recently sent a $3 billion lifeline to keep the Morsi regime afloat.