Egypt must prepare for extensive war against terrorism

What happened in North Sinai, and in many neighborhoods, before, in Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia, is a war in the true sense of the word, a war launched by the forces of treachery and betrayal against this nation, which expelled them on June 30, 2013, bringing an end to their rule, which they did not expect.

It is war, I know, it may weigh on the heart, but we can't do anything about it. Our sons are being killed, kidnapped and slaughtered, and we are only concerned with how the West looks at us.

We know that the solution is to declare war on the terrorists, with all the meaning of the word in terms of preparations, mobilization, declaring emergency and allowing the officers and soldiers to confront the situation as they should, with full blows, but we do not do that.

Trembling hands, gentlemen, do not build nations, as time has proven. Terrorism lives inversely with the way it is confronted. If it is strong, it is weak, and if it is weak, it strengthens us.

A simple equation that has been proven correct throughout all ages, from the era of King Farouk and his governments, to former President Mubarak, through Presidents Abdel Nasser and Sadat.

The battle with terrorism is not a traditional war battle, whoever considers it or fights it in this concept loses, or with tools such as those used in those wars, such as planes, mortars, and tanks, the war of terrorism is based on information and the way to deal with and analyze it.

The matter did not stop there. The confrontation during that period included the submission of 120 cases to the Supreme State Security Prosecution and the military courts, which included more than 1001 accused members of terrorist groups, 94 of whom were sentenced to death, and 70 were executed. 

Here we are not inventing the wheel, as we have extensive experience in confronting terrorism, whether we suffered from it in the nineties of the last century, or what we experienced at the beginning of the second millennium, and on both occasions, we brought it to its knees and forced it.

Many operations against public figures and tourist places were also thwarted, and hundreds of members of those groups were arrested, which prompted the Jihad Organization to take a decision at the end of 1995 to stop armed operations permanently in Egypt, followed in 1997 by the Islamic Group’s decision to lay down arms and stop military operations.

Egypt then launched its most ferocious crackdown against the group, handing down death sentences or long prison terms for its leaders and driving its members underground or abroad.

We must urgently implement four main steps, which are, in their entirety, the necessity of the moment, if we are to win this battle.

First: Expediting the issuance of a terrorism law, on the basis of which terrorist groups and their allies will be tried.

Second: The establishment of emergency state security courts, to consider these cases, in order to achieve justice.

Third: Establishing a National Council for Combating Terrorism, which draws plans, defines objectives, and coordinates among all institutions concerned with confronting the phenomenon of terrorism.

Fourth: Developing and implementing a comprehensive reform plan for the security system, foremost among which is the abolition of all laws restricting security work, which were imposed on the National Security Agency, under the rule of the Brotherhood.

Without that, gentlemen, we will continue to bid farewell to our children every day, without making those who planned, executed and financed these despicable operations, to pay the price for the crimes they committed against Egypt and the Egyptians.