CAIRO — As the pro-Morsi sit-in extends into the middle of its third week and shows no signs of scaling back, and as the Muslim Brotherhood begins to escalate in the streets, it appears the current Brotherhood strategy is three-pronged.
The first element: maintaining the Rabaa Square sit-in, fostering a public image of resilience and determination and ensuring the organization remains unified and its members psychologically charged, while officially demanding Mohammed Morsi and the previous constitutional framework be reinstated. The potential added benefit is that it provides some physical protection to Muslim Brotherhood leaders and members who are there from potential persecution or arrests, while possibly creating some continued pressure that makes going after them more politically painful and risky.