President Morsy made calls to one of the leaders of the jihadi groups in the Sinai, asking him to stop any operations and asking him to deliver messages to other more important leaders (of the jihadi group) to whom Morsy is unable to connect. Morsy asked him to take into account that Egypt is going through tough times and can’t afford more problems.
Morsy is failing in Sinai and thinks he’s succeeding.
The President has surrounded himself by “yes” men and women who are too concerned with keeping their jobs.
What is the President’s strategy in the Sinai?
He did not tell us .. But Ayman al-Zawahiri told us: al-Qaeda has decided to deal with the Sinai as a base for jihad against Israel and for reclaiming Jerusalem.
The goal might be noble but the means will destroy Egypt.
Hundreds of jihadists have come to Sinai from all around: Kandahar, Peshawar, Chechnya, Palestine, Libya, Somalia and elsewhere. This is a clear violation of Egypt’s sovereignty and represents the creation of a state within a state!
Sinai has become an open place for the influence of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. All these groups crossed the borders on January 28th on the “Friday of Anger” when they “freed” members of their groups and prisoners from the Muslim Brotherhood, one of which was Mohamed Morsy.
The apparent cooperation between these groups and the Muslim Brotherhood gives some clues as to the types of relationship they have with Morsy post his Presidential ascension.
Sinai now is a battlefield for conflict between jihadi groups and Israel, in violation of Egypt’s sovereignty. Meanwhile, Morsy gives speeches reassuring Copts in Rafah. It is noteworthy that the President is trying to keep the Copts in Rafah while the jihadis wants to prove their influence by threatening and killing the Copts as a show of strength and a message to the President.
What’s happening in Sinai is not Morsy’s doing alone but it is his responsibility.
Translated/edited by Coptic Solidarity; published in Al-Dostor Al-Asly, October 10, 2012