WASHINGTON — Egypt’s forceful response to the Islamic State’s murder of Egyptian Christians in Libya this past weekend seemed to be a welcome addition to the fight against the extremist group. But observers say Egypt’s actions since then indicate President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi is focusing on his own domestic politics and not on the interests of the broader fight against the Islamic State, or ISIS.
Concern is growing because Egypt’s tightly controlled political environment is awash with claims the Islamic State is secretly connected to Qatar and the United States, which are publicly committed to defeating the extremist group. Analysts say that although such talk threatens to damage the unity of the countries combating ISIS, it proves helpful for Sisi, as it bolsters the idea that Egypt is under threat and only he can save it.
This idea seemed to have taken hold in Al Aour, the village that was home to 13 of ISIS’s Egyptian victims.
“I have a message to Obama,” Emet Suleiman Shahata, the brother of one of the men beheaded by a Libyan offshoot of the Islamic State, told HuffPost this week at the village’s Coptic Christian church. “Egypt will be strong no matter what our enemies do.”
Shahata and the men around him interrupted each other in their rush to explain precisely how the U.S. helped make the ISIS atrocity possible.
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For now, the U.S. has not taken a public position on the Egyptian airstrikes or the subsequent inter-Arab spat. A spokesperson for Gen. John Allen, the U.S. envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, declined to comment on the situation’s impact on the coalition.
But the crisis came as a high-profile Egyptian envoy was in Washington for the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism. A National Security Council spokeswoman said in an emailed statement Thursday that National Security Adviser Susan Rice had met with Egypt’s foreign minister on Thursday and re-affirmed the Washington-Cairo partnership. She did not reference the strikes in Libya, but did note that Rice said the U.S. and Egypt should cooperate in Libya to “address threats from terrorism and to promote a unified Libyan government that can represent the aspirations of all Libyans.” She also said Rice expressed U.S. concerns about human rights and political freedom in Egypt.
There were no immediate signs of other Arab states successfully repairing the rift. The Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Qatar and five other Gulf states that have supported Sisi, offered conflicting messages Thursday, posting on its site two messages from its secretary-general. The first one noted the “sincere efforts of the state of Qatar in cooperation with the GCC countries to fight terrorism and extremism on all levels” (and has apparently since been removed), and the second one indicated support for Egyptian actions in Libya while making no mention of Qatar.
That means the parties directly involved likely will be responsible for restoring this rift. Either Doha will lose face by moving to ease tensions without an apology from Egypt, or Sisi will have to take a political loss and prove he prioritizes international cooperation over domestic crowd-pleasing.
Akbar Shahid Ahmed reported from Washington, D.C., and Sophia Jones reported from Al Aour, Egypt.
