Egypt Defense and Security

Egypt Defense and Security

Due to its strategic geographic location, Egypt has played a key role in Middle Eastern politics and security since the First World War. During the twentieth century, powers such as the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and most recently the United States considered the country as a major player in their regional and global strategies. In particular, the Suez Canal proved to be crucial not only for the security of the Gulf, but also for trade routes between Asia and Europe. After the wars of 1948, 1967 and 1973 against Israel, President al-Sadat ushered in a new course in Egyptian regional politics, which resulted in the signing of the Camp David Accords in 1978 and the Peace Treaty with Israel in 1979. the rapprochement with Tel Aviv, on the one hand,

Since the late 1970s, Egypt has worked to ensure regional stability and peace. The country contributed 35,000 to the international force against Iraq during the 1990-91 Gulf War, the largest contingent after the US and British. Similarly, Egypt provided its logistical support to the US for the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, although Mubarak opposed the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime out of fear of negative repercussions on regional stability and of a downsizing of the partnership with the US, as well as the flow of aid from Washington. The emphasis on regional stability, on which Egyptian defense policy is based, explains the various mediation attempts conducted by Egypt both between Arabs and Israelis and, more recently, between different Palestinian factions. They were taken up both by the deposed president Mursi and by the current al-Sisi government, demonstrating the will to move along a line of continuity with respect to these issues. Still with a view to stabilizing the region and fighting jihadist terrorism, the central state has been engaged in securing the strategic area of Sinai and its eastern border following a resurgence of the phenomenon following the dismissal of Mursi in July 2013.

The return of Russia to Egypt

US-Egypt relations have long been characterized by a relationship of strategic reciprocity due to the role of Cairo both as a bulwark of the West against Soviet penetration in the Middle East and East Africa, and as an outpost for the projection of US forces in the Gulf. A situation that changed following the revolutionary events of 2011 and above all of 2013 which imposed a delicate phase of strategic redefinition of relations between Cairo and Washington. A first change of course was officially revealed on 10 October 2013 when the White House suspended part of the military and financial aid to Egypt, about 560 million dollars foreseen by the Camp David agreements of 1979 and then revoked at the end of 2013.. An action that, in fact, favored a rapprochement between Cairo and Vladimir Putin’s Russia. In this geopolitical repositioning of Egypt, Russia has moved its main diplomatic weapon – the military sector – to attract to itself the ancient ally of the Nasser era. Indeed, thanks to the signing of a $ 3 billion agreement for the supply of military weapons (November 2013), Moscow was able to expand its influence in what is seen as one of the pivotal players in the region. Al-Sisi’s subsequent visits to Russia (three, including two as defense minister) and the signing of some strategic partnership agreements (such as Egypt’s participation in the expansion of the Suez Canal) confirmed both the strengthening of thebilateral trade trend (trade increased by 70%, reaching 3.5 billion dollars in 2012), and the political shift from Cairo to Moscow. For its part, Moscow, while not aspiring to replace Washington as the main actor in the region, has taken advantage of the redefinition of US Middle Eastern foreign policy to expand its own in other theaters (for example in Algeria, Libya, Syria and Iraq) military export and increase its influence.

The Mursi trial

On November 4, 2013, the trial of deposed President Mohammed Mursi and 14 other people from the Freedom and Justice Party began in Cairo, accused of “inciting violence, hooliganism, torture and killing of seven demonstrators in front of the presidential palace of al-Ittihadiyah in Heliopolis (Cairo) on December 5, 2012 ». The process could take several months: there are over 30,000 files and documents to be examined. In addition to these accusations, new charges have come against Mursi: attempted escape from prison in 2011 during the first anti-Mubarak riots and spying in favor of Hamas and the Qatari government. For the latter charge he risked the death penalty. According to the Attorney General of Cairo, Hesham Barakat, the former president will have to answer for “conspiracy with foreign organizations aimed at carrying out acts of terrorism and revealing secrets to a foreign state”. The same charges for another 35 people, including Mohamed Badie and Saad al-Katatni, leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Party for Freedom and Justice respectively. Dismissed by a military coup on 3 July 2013, Mursi was immediately placed under arrest in the Torah prison in Cairo, where he was imprisoned along with other leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, while since November 2013 he has been moved to the Borg al prison. Arab in Alexandria. The Cairo Criminal Court announced that a verdict on this trial will be issued on 21 April 2015. including Mohamed Badie and Saad al-Katatni, leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Party for Freedom and Justice respectively. Dismissed by a military coup on 3 July 2013, Mursi was immediately placed under arrest in the Torah prison in Cairo, where he was imprisoned along with other leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, while since November 2013 he has been moved to the Borg al prison. Arab in Alexandria. The Cairo Criminal Court announced that a verdict on this trial will be issued on 21 April 2015. including Mohamed Badie and Saad al-Katatni, leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Party for Freedom and Justice respectively. Dismissed by a military coup on 3 July 2013, Mursi was immediately placed under arrest in the Torah prison in Cairo, where he was imprisoned along with other leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, while since November 2013 he has been moved to the Borg al prison. Arab in Alexandria. The Cairo Criminal Court announced that a verdict on this trial will be issued on 21 April 2015. where he was imprisoned along with the other leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, while since November 2013 he has been moved to the Borg al-Arab penitentiary in Alexandria. The Cairo Criminal Court announced that a verdict on this trial will be issued on 21 April 2015. where he was imprisoned along with the other leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, while since November 2013 he has been moved to the Borg al-Arab penitentiary in Alexandria. The Cairo Criminal Court announced that a verdict on this trial will be issued on 21 April 2015. For Egypt defense and foreign policy, please check prozipcodes.com.

The al-Jazeera case

On May 15, 2014, the Egyptian judicial authorities sentenced three al-Jazeera English journalists to 7 years in prison, arrested on December 29, 2013, on charges of spreading ‘false news’, of being a’ threat to national security. ‘and to be close to the Muslim Brotherhood, a group declared terrorist in the aftermath of the Mansoura attacks of 24 December 2013. The sentence was defined by the Qatari leadership of the all-news channel as’ political’ and aimed at punishing the Doha government, political and economic supporter of former president Mursi. Since the deposition of the Islamist leader in July 2013, the network he had taken a very critical line towards the growing authoritarianism of Egyptian transitional institutions. The arrests and sentencing followed a series of intimidations, searches and kidnappings of the broadcaster’s staff in the aftermath of Mursi’s deposition and culminated in the closure of the Cairo office. The recent diplomatic rapprochement between Egypt and Qatar, mediated by Saudi Arabia, has also favored a turning point in the trial against journalists. On January 3, 2015, the Court of Cassation ordered a repeat of the trial for procedural defects.

The new Suez Canal

On 5 August 2014, Ihab Mamish, president of the authority that manages the Suez Canal, announced on live TV from Ismailia the start of expansion works on the new channel. The project worth 12 billion dollars, which is based on those of Mubarak and Mursi, will be carried out by the Egyptian armed forces and will involve the construction of a 72 km long canal parallel to the current one. The infrastructure will be built by 2016, with the potential to create over one million new jobs. In addition, the project will include the construction of another tunnel, shipyards, service stations for cargo but also resorts for passengers. Russian capital will also flow into this great work – even if Moscow’s stake is not clear – as also confirmed by the agreement signed by al-Sisi and Putin in Sochi,

Sinai, a threat to Egyptian security

After the fall of Mubarak in 2011, the security state in the Sinai Peninsula suffered a power vacuum due to the collapse of the state and security apparatus and the consequent outbreak of uprisings led by indigenous Bedouin tribes and terrorist groups infiltrating the Peninsula. and now linked to al-Qaida, now to the Islamic State (the most active are Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, Muhammad Jamal Network and Mujahideen Shura Council). Particularly affected were the Egyptian military targets, facilities and economic infrastructures in the area between Sheikh Zuweid, al-Arish and Rafah, near the Israeli border and the Gaza Strip, where these cells are active which use the numerous tunnels that connect the two areas for the smuggling of weapons and goods. In an effort to restore legality, the government of Mursi had begun – with no luck – negotiations with the local Bedouin tribes. Nonetheless, the attacks on themilitary checkpoints and the police forces did not stop and after the coup d’etat of July 2013 there was a constant escalation of violence in the peninsula. A situation that has led the military authorities to launch new counter-terrorism operations in the area in an attempt to decapitate the jihadist cells and restore state order in the region, which is increasingly out of control.

Egypt Defense and Security

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