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The Israel Border Attack's Unintended Consequences

(Jerusalem Post) Zvi Mazel - The massacre of 16 Egyptian soldiers at a traditional Ramadan end-of-fast dinner near the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Israel is far from the first time that militant Islam has struck Egypt. Islamists murdered president Anwar Sadat and tried to assassinate Hosni Mubarak; Jihadist terror organizations that draw their inspiration from the creed of the Muslim Brotherhood murdered hundreds of Egyptians and tourists between the '70s and the fall of Mubarak. However, during those years, ordinary Egyptians did not really feel concerned; for them, it was more a matter of Islamists fighting a corrupt and dictatorial regime. This is no longer the case. A people's revolution has brought to power a democratically elected president and he has to answer to the people, who angrily demand explanations for what is perceived as a colossal failure. President Morsi capitalized on the opportunity by firing a number of high-ranking defense personalities from the old regime. Newcomers will be chosen for their sympathy to the Brotherhood, the first step toward doing away with the old army guard by pensioning them off and appointing officers closer to the new regime in their stead. The Muslim Brothers have no wish to go on sharing power with the army. The writer, a Fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, is a former ambassador to Romania, Egypt and Sweden.
2012-08-13 00:00:00
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