Provocation to Violence: the Crackdown in Egypt

On July 3, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the military in the wake of massive protests against Mr. Morsi and the performance of his government. In the month since, pro-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood supporters have engaged in peaceful, if disruptive protest unmolested by the security forces. Until yesterday:

WARNING: GRAPHIC

I half-heartedly supported Morsi's removal, but this move is worthy of only condemnation. In his little more than a year in office, Morsi focused on implementing restrictive social policy over addressing the woes of the Egyptian economy. When a massive coalition of secularists, liberals, and even the extreme Islamist Salafis took to the streets in numbers unseen since Mubarak's removal, it came as little surprise. The police took no action against them and, I suspect, had no small amount of complicity. The army's declaration of the end of Morsi's presidency undermined democracy, but they had little alternative.

But yesterday was entirely unnecessary. Feathers could have been smoothed over and the Brotherhood brought back into the political process, but they instead decided to engage in a thoroughly undemocratic suppression of the protests. The use of such disproportionate, lethal force can only be taken as deliberate provocation and can be taken to mean that the military has no intention of setting the country back on a democratic track. The extreme violence used will--and has already been reported to--inspire a response in kind.

The generals can't get what they want through the ballot box, so they've generated a environment of crisis with which they'll push through whatever measures they like.

The real leverage the United States wields over the Egyptian military is questionable, but it's time for the United States to pull the substantial aid it provides. It may not stop the killings, but it would divest this administration of the link to a thoroughly anti-democratic regime.