Did Egypt's military just declare war on the Muslim Brotherhood?

Egypt's military chief, Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, on Wednesday called on Egyptians to hold mass demonstrations to give the military a mandate to crack down on violence. The plea was seen as a direct threat to Islamists who have been staging protests demanding the return of Mohamed Morsi, the elected president and former Muslim Brotherhood leader the army removed from power three weeks ago.

"I'm asking you to show the world," Sisi said. "If violence is sought, or terrorism is sought, the military and the police are authorized to confront this."

Egyptians on all sides interpreted Sisi's words as a signal that he intends to intensify a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups, which dominated the government elected last year. In addition, Sisi's open animosity toward the pro-Morsi demonstrators has undermined his argument that the president's removal was a step toward restoring democracy, rather than a coup.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

To Islamists, the message is clear. "Sisi's threats are a declaration of civil war," says the Muslim Brotherhood-led coalition that has been demanding Morsi's reinstatement.

If nothing else, it makes it difficult to take seriously Sisi's insistence that his goal is to unite all Egyptians. Here's Quentin Sommerville at BBC News on that point:

Sisi's remarks came hours after a blast in front of a Nile Delta police station killed one person and wounded 28 others. Nearly 170 people have died in Egypt's unrest since late June, and the rising tensions suggest more violence is to come. Indeed, the Muslim Brotherhood vowed to continue its protests despite Sisi's ominous words.

This power play could be a risky one for the army. The U.S., which sends Egypt's military more than $1 billion in aid annually, is obviously watching closely. The U.S. has stopped short of calling Morsi's removal a coup, which would force the U.S. to halt the aid by law. The Pentagon, however, just put a hold on the delivery of four F-16 fighter jets in a clear sign of disapproval over the way things have gone in the past few weeks.

The smart thing to do, some analysts say, is for the military to dial down the rhetoric instead of getting tougher. Peter Beaumont at The Guardian says that the military's heavy-handed approach — which includes keeping Morsi locked up somewhere — is only making Egypt more unstable.