Securing Sinai

To efface the spectre of terrorism in Sinai, Egypt must make professional and specialised its policing capacities, writes Amin Howeidi*

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The world is turning into a jungle, with violence casting its shadow over the entire globe. Shall we blame terrorists or freedom fighters? The point has been debated and yet many are reluctant to differentiate between resistance and terror. The international community recognises the right of all nations to resist aggression. And yet it is having a tough time telling the difference between a terrorist and someone defending his land and rights.

Cairo has often called for an international conference on terror, but the global response has been lackadaisical at best. For some reason, the world doesn't seem interested in putting sense into its own words. In the lack of international consensus on the meaning of terror, Cairo will have to keep fighting terror on its own, just as it always did. One thing I find interesting about the way terrorists operate in Egypt is the way they select their targets. First they targeted south Egypt, then Cairo and Alexandria, then Sinai. If anything, this indicates that terror has a central command orchestrating its movement. The aim, as usual, is to destabilise the country through the use of force. Terrorists know that they can't match the overwhelming power of the state, so they are using hit-and-run tactics, changing pace and location as they go. They want to harass the regime and keep it at bay. They want to sustain a climate of tension that suits their purposes.

Terror thrives on anger. Therefore, the best answer to terror is to introduce substantial reforms that appeal to the public. Terrorists work on two stages. First, they organise themselves in cells and stack weapons. Then they move in for the kill, seeking maximum psychological impact. This is how things are done on the landscape of terror. Our police force may be used to working on cases of run-of-the-mill crime, but terrorism doesn't fall under the usual criminal categories.

Terrorism is a form of war. It is a war conducted through military operations, by groups that have their own political doctrines, by trained personnel. Only special units can fight terrorists; crack troops with special weapons and training -- not checkpoints and searches alone. I am not trying to belittle the valiant efforts of our police force, nor am I denying their courageous sacrifices. What I am saying is that the current situation calls for a different way of doing things. We need small units to work closely with the local inhabitants of Sinai. Anti-terror units should have light vehicles and armoured cars, hire locals for trail searches, and use helicopters for reconnaissance. They should deploy sniffer dogs, camels, learn how to navigate the desert at night, and be trained in desert fighting.

Sinai is 60,000 square kilometres. It is a land inhabited by a dozen tribes with blood links across borders in Palestine, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- mountainous and often inaccessible. I recall my professor at the Staff Military Academy, the late General Mustafa Youssef, who later served as ambassador in Japan. He used to say that the only way to defend Sinai is to populate it. We can only protect Sinai from terror by ending its isolation.

We have to bring together experts and tribal leaders and have them draw up a plan to promote agriculture, mining, tourism and industry in the semi-peninsula. Sinai is not business as usual, nor is it only about drugs and terror. But let's start with the police force. We have to help it update its methods and perform its tasks in a more creative manner.

* The writer is former minister of defence and chief of General Intelligence.