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February 05, 2015<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/05/how-to-lose-a-war-on-terror/">http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/05/how-to-lose-a-war-on-terror/</a><br>
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<div class="subheadlinestyle"><b><big><big><big>The ‘Great War’ of
Sinai</big></big></big></b></div>
<h1 class="article-title">How to Lose a ‘War on Terror’</h1>
<div class="mainauthorstyle">by RAMZY BAROUD</div>
<div class="main-text">
<p>The Sinai Peninsula has moved from the margins of Egyptian
body politic to the uncontested center, as Egypt’s strong man
– President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi – finds himself greatly
undercut by the rise of an insurgency that seems to be growing
stronger with time.</p>
<p><a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/30/world/middleeast/bombings-of-security-facilities-in-sinai-kill-at-least-26.html"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.nytimes.com']);">Another
series of deadly and coordinated attacks</a>, on January 29,
shattered the Egyptian army’s confidence, pushing it further
into a deadly course of a war that can only be won by
political sagacity, not bigger guns.</p>
<p>The <a
href="http://www.youm7.com/story/2015/1/30/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A2%D8%AB%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%AF%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%A2%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%89-%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%AC%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7/2047450#.VMvS8S6ILTI"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.youm7.com']);">latest
attack</a> was a blow to a short-lived sense of
gratification felt by the regime that militancy in Sinai had
been waning, thanks to a decisive military response that
lasted for months. When militants carried out a multistage
attack on an Egyptian military checkpoint in Sinai, on <span
data-term="goog_1294561909">October 24</span>, killing 31
and wounding many, the Egyptian government and media lines
were most predictable. They blamed ‘foreigners’ for what was
essentially a homegrown security and political crisis.</p>
<p>Instead of reexamining Egypt’s entire approach to the poor
region of North Sinai, the army moved to further isolate Gaza,
which has been under a very strict Israeli-Egyptian siege
since 2007.</p>
<p>What has taken place in Sinai since last October was
predictably shattering. It was seen by some as <a
href="http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/politics/bfe24f31-5a78-4c54-9511-40dd85d42b27"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.alaraby.co.uk']);">ethnic
cleansing</a> in the name of fighting terror. Thousands of
families were being forced to evacuate their homes to watch
them being detonated in the middle of the night, and
resentment grew as a consequence.</p>
<p>And with resentment comes defiance. A Sinai resident, <a
href="http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/politics/bfe24f31-5a78-4c54-9511-40dd85d42b27#sthash.uRYKLnHH.dpuf"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.alaraby.co.uk']);">Abu
Musallam summed up</a> his people’s attitude towards
government violence: “They bomb the house; we build a hut.
They burn the hut; we build another hut. They kill; we give
birth.”</p>
<p>Yet, despite a media blackout in Sinai, the scene of
devastation created by the military campaign was becoming
palpable. “Using bulldozers and dynamite” the army has
demolished as many as 800 houses and displaced up to 10,000,
the <a
href="http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/10/30/world/middleeast/egypt-sinai-peninsula-gaza-buffer-zone.html?referrer=&_r=0"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://mobile.nytimes.com']);">New
York Times reported</a>. Sisi spokesman referred to the
demolished neighborhoods as terrorist “hotbeds”. The
long-discussed plan for a “buffer zone” between Egypt and Gaza
was carried out, and to a more devastating degree than
expected.</p>
<p>The Jerusalem Post quoted the Egyptian publication, Al-Yom
a-Sab’a reporting that “the security forces will work to clear
the area of underground tunnels leading to Gaza and it will
also level any buildings and structures that could be used to
conceal smuggling activity.”</p>
<p>But no Gaza connection was ever found. The logic of a Gaza
connection was bewildering to begin with. Attacks of this
nature are more likely to worsen Gaza’s plight and tighten the
siege, since the tunnels serve as a major lifeline for the
besieged Palestinians. If the attacks carry a political
message, it would be one that serves the interest of Gaza’s
enemies, Israel and rival Palestinian factions, for example,
not Hamas.</p>
<p>But no matter, Sisi, who rarely paused to consider Sinai’s <a
href="http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/sinai-egypt-residents-anger-empty-government-promises.html"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.al-monitor.com']);">extreme
poverty</a> and near-total negligence by Cairo, was quick to
point the finger. Then, he called on Egyptians to “be aware of
what is being hatched against us. All that is happening to us
is known to us and we expected it and talked about it before <span
data-term="goog_1294561910">July 3</span>,” he said,
referring to the day the military overthrew <a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/world/middleeast/egyptian-leader-ousts-military-chiefs.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.nytimes.com']);">Mohammed
Morsi</a>.</p>
<p>In a televised speech, he blamed “foreign hands” that are
“trying to break Egypt’s back,” vowing to fight extremism in a
long-term campaign. Considering the simmering anger and sorrow
felt by Egyptians, the attacks were an opportunity to acquire
a political mandate that would allow him to carry whatever
military policy that suited his interests in Sinai, starting
with a buffer zone with Gaza.</p>
<p>While awaiting the bodies of the dead soldiers in Almaza
military airport in Cairo, <a
href="http://www.masralarabia.com/%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1/480727-%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%81%D9%8A-48-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7-201-%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%A7-%D9%81%D9%8A-52-%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.masralarabia.com']);">Sisi
spoke of a ‘great war’</a> that his army is fighting in the
Sinai. “These violent incidents are a reaction to our efforts
to combat terrorism. The toll during the last few months has
been very high and every day there are scores of terrorists
who are killed and hundreds of them have already been
liquidated.”</p>
<p>Without much monitoring in Sinai, and with occasional horror
stories leaking out of the hermetically sealed desert of
60,000 square kilometers, and the admission of ‘scores’ killed
‘everyday,’ Sinai is reeling in a vicious cycle.</p>
<p>Resentment of the government in Sinai goes back many years,
but it has peaked since the ousting of President Morsi. True,
his one year in power also witnessed much violence, but not at
the same level as today’s.</p>
<p>Since the January 2011 revolution, Egypt was ruled by four
different regimes: The supreme military council, the
administration of Mohammed Morsi, a transitional government
led by Adli Mansour, and finally the return of the military to
civilian clothes under Abdul Fatah al-Sisi. <a
href="http://www.masralarabia.com/%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1/480727-%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%81%D9%8A-48-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7-201-%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%A7-%D9%81%D9%8A-52-%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.masralarabia.com']);">None
have managed to control the violence in Sinai</a>.</p>
<p>Sisi, however, insists on using the violence, including the
most recent attacks that struck three different cities at once
– Arish, Sheikh Zuwaid and Rafah – for limited political gain.
<a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/01/30/world/middleeast/ap-ml-egypt-sinai.html?_r=0"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.nytimes.com']);">He
blamed the Muslim Brotherhood</a> (MB) once more without
providing much evidence. The MB, in turn, released <a
href="http://fj-p.com/Our_news_Details.aspx?News_ID=62623"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://fj-p.com']);">a
short statement</a> blaming government neglect and brutality
in Sinai for the violence, which promises to increase.</p>
<p>Following the October killings, I wrote: “If the intentions
are to truly curb attacks in Sinai, knee-jerk military
solutions will backfire.” Others too sounded the alarm that
the security solution will not work.</p>
<p>What should have been common sense – Sinai’s problems are,
after all complex and protracted – was brushed aside in the
rush for war. The folly of the military action in the last few
months may be registering internationally, at last, but
certainly not locally.</p>
<p>That denial is felt through much of the Egyptian media. A top
military expert, Salamah Jawhari <a
href="http://www.youm7.com/story/2015/1/30/%D8%AE%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%89--%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%89-%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%A7-%D8%A5%D9%83%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%8B%D8%A7-%D9%88%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A3%D9%85%D8%B3/2047518#.VMwHxi6ILTI"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.youm7.com']);">declared
on television</a> that the “Sinai terrorists are clinically
dead” and the proof is the well-coordinated attacks of January
29. Per his logic, the attacks, which targeted three main
cities all at once were ‘scattered’, thus the ‘clinical death’
of the militants. He blamed Qatar and Turkey for supporting
the militants of Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, which, as of November
vowed allegiance to the so-called ‘Islamic State’ (IS),
announcing their new name: ‘The Sinai Province’.</p>
<p>The massive comeback of Sinai’s militants and the change of
tactics indicate that the war in Sinai is heading to a stage
unseen since the revolution, in fact since the rise of
militancy in Sinai starting with the <a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Sinai_bombings"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://en.wikipedia.org']);">deadly
bombings</a> of October 2004, followed by the attack on
tourists in April 2005, at the Sharm el-Sheikh resort in the
same year, and on Dahab in 2006. The militants are much more
emboldened, angry and organized.</p>
<p>The audacity of the militants seems consistent with the sense
of despair felt by the tribes of Sinai, who are caught in a
devastating politically-motivated ‘war on terror’.</p>
<p>The question remains: how long will it be before Cairo
understands that violence cannot resolve what are
fundamentality political and socio-economic problems? This is
as true in Cairo, as it is in Arish.</p>
<p><em><strong>Ramzy Baroud</strong> – </em><a
href="http://www.ramzybaroud.net/"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.ramzybaroud.net']);"><em>www.ramzybaroud.net</em></a><em> –
is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media
consultant, an author of several books and the founder of
PalestineChronicle.com. He is currently completing his PhD
studies at the University of Exeter. His latest book is My
Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story (Pluto
Press, London).</em></p>
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