Few could have been surprised when an Egyptian court sentenced Mohammed Morsi, the country’s former president, to death on Saturday. But the announcement generated condemnations from most of the West including a pointed denunciation from the State Department on Monday. The U.S. said the verdict was “unjust and undermines confidence in the rule of law.” Given the arbitrary nature of both the trial and the sentence, it’s hard to argue with that statement. The announcement was merely the culmination of a prosecution that bore little resemblance to a search for justice. But those who seek to use the sentence as a reason to cut off U.S. aid to Egypt are equally wrong. However harsh the government’s methods, it seems to understand something that many of its foreign critics as well as Obama administration often forgets: It is locked in a life and death struggle with the Muslim Brotherhood in which there can only be two outcomes: allowing the Islamists another shot at transforming Egypt into an Islamist tyranny or the continuation of military rule. The latter is clearly the lesser of two evils even if the military’s methods are deplorable.

The death sentence is just the latest sign that the military government led by former General Abdel Fatah el-Sisi is determined to wipe out every vestige of resistance from supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood regime Morsi led. Morsi is just one of many who have been railroaded in trials whose outcome was predetermined. These verdicts won’t win Sisi many friends abroad. Nor will they conciliate radical Muslims to accept his rule since killing Morsi will just give them another martyr. But as much as his death won’t do Cairo much good, Sisi isn’t interested in half measures with the Brotherhood or its Hamas allies in Gaza. In a real-life Game of Thrones scenario, the former general seems to think letting Morsi live would be to ultimately prolong a bloody struggle.

Though the trial was a parody of justice, what was interesting was the fact that among those condemned for the prison break that sprung Morsi from prison in 2011 during the uprising against Hosni Mubarak were 70 Palestinians. These were apparently members of Hamas who came into Egypt from Gaza via smuggling tunnels determined to help their Brotherhood cousins seize power. They succeeded in toppling Mubarak and then helping elect Morsi in what was at least superficially a democratic election. These details illustrate both how closely tied the Brotherhood (which tried during its bid for power to deceive the West about its alleged moderation) is with fellow Islamist terrorists and why the military has been so adamant about isolating Gaza since then.

What followed was a nightmarish year in which the Brotherhood sought to consolidate power and to forestall any effort to replace them by democratic means. This led to a mass uprising that sent tens of millions of Egyptians into the streets against Morsi triggering the military coup that brought Sisi to power. Critics of Sisi are right when they call him an autocrat and his government repressive. But he also seems to have the acquiescence of most Egyptians if not their support because they realize the only alternative to the military would not be liberal democracy, but another round of Islamist tyranny.

If President Obama had not forfeited the trust of most Egyptians, he might be in a position to save Morsi. But after torpedoing Mubarak and then supporting the Brotherhood government and condemning the coup and threatening aid cuts, few in Egypt, let alone Sisi, are interested in his opinion. If Egyptians aren’t listening to Americans talking about human rights violations it is because they see such advocates as hypocrites, since they were perfectly willing to let Morsi hold onto power and thereby plunge Egypt into the darkness of an Islamist regime.

Though refraining from transforming Morsi into a martyr would be smart, those who advocate for isolating the Sisi government in order to force clemency aren’t helping Egypt or the cause of human rights. The only hope for ultimate liberalizing Egyptian society is for the Brotherhood to be so utterly crushed that there is no chance of it trying again for power. Until then, the military will persist in its draconian tactics and probably have more the majority of Egyptians on their side.