Self-deception

By Salah Issa

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Arab and Egyptian analyses, at both the official and grassroots level, fail to comprehend the significance and magnitude of the recent bombings in the Sinai. As a whole these analyses are a jumble of inconsistencies and contradictions. They attempt to shrug off the bombings significance on the grounds that Israel, not Egypt, was targeted; to downplay the damage it caused on the grounds that it will not affect the tourist industry; and to absolve Egypt of all responsibility, ostensibly because the Israelis planned and carried out this attack in order to debilitate the Egyptian tourist industry.

Needless to say, this analysis defies all logic. It is impossible to regard a terrorist act against foreigners in Egypt as anything but a terrorist attack against Egypt. It is naïve to think that the bombing of a tourist target will not be detrimental to the tourist industry. It is pure lunacy to imagine that authorities in Israel would risk perpetrating a terrorist act targeting Israeli citizens regardless of the political and economic gains this might bring.

This oh so comfortable reading might let us sleep well at night, but only for the time being. It is rash and irresponsible, because it lulls us into a sense of complacency that effectively serves the interests of those who actually carried out the operation and encourages them to repeat it.

Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of this reading is that it rules out the most logical likelihood, which is that the Taba bombing represents an attempt on the part of terrorists to home in on Egypt, now that their movement has become so restricted in other regions.

Egypt has a particular lure because of its strategic importance to all parties in the global war on terrorism, because of its proximity to certain focal areas, notably Israel and Saudi Arabia.

This reality should compel Egypt to undertake a series of measures, the very least of which entail tightening up security and working to amend the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty to allow for the return of Egyptian armed forces to all parts of the Sinai. At the same time, Egypt should not omit the vital need for comprehensive political and constitutional reform. The task is not an easy one, but it is better than self-deception, which only breeds disaster.

This week's Soapbox speaker is the editor-in-chief of the cultural weekly newspaper, Al-Qahira .