Al-Ahram Weekly Online 27 Sep. - 3 Oct. 2001 Issue No.553
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue | Previous issue | Site map

The level-headed line

No country can afford to shy away from fighting terrorism. But we cannot be blinded by maniacal vengeance; it is essential to examine hard evidence before striking. Having suffered from the scourge of terror over the past decade, Egypt's resolve to fight terror and protect the innocent victims of terrorism remains as strong as ever. It is taking practical steps to implement this resolve through the exchange of intelligence and information with the countries concerned, but it will not go further and commit troops to a US-led alliance that will bomb hapless civilians already burdened by decades of vicious conflict.

Hard evidence, freely shared, is necessary before Egyptian soldiers go to battle against the as yet faceless and nameless perpetrators of the 11 September attacks in the US. Since the Gulf War, Egyptian troops have only travelled abroad for peace-keeping missions such as those in Somalia, Bosnia, Angola and East Timor. It is unlikely that they will venture abroad now to make war with the people of Afghanistan. In any case, Egyptian military intervention, as President Hosni Mubarak recently stressed, must be subject to popular and parliamentary approval.

While the US rightly seeks to avenge its dead, it should proceed with caution if it wants to avoid the emergence of another generation of terrorists who will seek their own revenge a decade or more from now. It needs to investigate not only the perpetrators, but also the root causes behind the attacks. Most conspicuously, regional conflicts such as the one in the Middle East -- although it did not directly create the terrorists who struck the US -- nevertheless sowed resentment and antagonism against the US.

For the time being, Egypt is doing its share in fighting terror but also looks forward to a UN-sponsored conference to combat terrorism. A binding convention would ensure that terrorists would not find refuge or protection anywhere in the world, their financial supplies would be throttled and their communications blocked. That is the only sure way to win the war against terrorism.

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