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Egypt and the New Terror Onslaught

(Jerusalem Post) Zvi Mazel - Spectacular attacks were mounted against police and army targets in Sinai by the Islamic terrorist organization Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis on Thursday that left dozens of dead and wounded. In the 18 months since the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic terrorist organizations in Sinai have vastly developed their operations. At the same time, hundreds of terrorists have been killed or jailed. The president still has the situation well in hand, and his efforts to develop the economy are bearing fruit; his popularity is still very high. Yet the Egyptian army was never properly trained to fight guerrillas. Furthermore, though the Egyptian army is fighting on Egyptian territory, it has to deal in Sinai with a largely hostile Bedouin population that shows no disposition to cooperate with a central government which has ignored them for decades. Unfortunately Cairo's long-term ally, America, has yet to restore fully its military cooperation, and Egypt is not receiving the help it so desperately needs to maintain its stability. The Obama administration still supports the Brotherhood. Just last week a delegation of members of the Brotherhood who fled Egypt was received at the State Department. When will America finally understand that a prolonged and bloody conflict in Sinai will affect all countries in the region? The writer is a former Israeli ambassador to Romania, Egypt and Sweden.
2015-02-03 00:00:00
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