by Dr. Reuven Berko
The Egyptians know that for the New Suez Canal to save the country's economy, they must be able to provide safe passage to foreign ships. But with Islamic State already in Sinai, and with powerful enemies in Qatar and Turkey, this will be no easy task.
The trial run at the New Suez Canal
|
Photo credit: EPA  |
Ever since the Suez Canal was built between
1859 and 1869, for the Egyptian and French governments, the waterway has
known its share of ups and downs. For example, in July 1956 the canal
was nationalized by then-Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who
three months later was attacked for the decision by Britain, France and
Israel in what came to be known as the Sinai Campaign. Nasser reopened
the canal in 1957. Ten years later the canal was again shut down, for a
period of eight years, until it was reopened in 1975 by Egypt's new
president, Anwar Sadat.
In 2014, under current Egyptian President
Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, a project to expand the canal and dig a second
waterway was put in motion. At the same time, as part of the Egyptian
national project, the Suez Canal Authority issued an amazing series of
stamps commemorating the canal's history. This is the nostalgic aspect
of the utopian, pan-Arab ideology of the United Arab Republic, which saw
Egypt and Syria unite briefly between 1958 and 1961.
In actuality, what unites the two countries is
their struggle with Islamist terrorist groups, those wishing to
dismantle Syria and carrying out attacks in Egypt (the Muslim
Brotherhood). These groups are wreaking havoc on Egypt's internal
security while wiping out its tourism industry, which throughout the
years has been a fundamental revenue source for the Egyptian economy.
Beyond fighting Islamic terror and incitement,
the Egyptian government is also coping with a rapid natural growth rate
(the result of religious bans on contraceptives), poverty and economic
bankruptcy, unemployment, the lack of education and a dearth of natural
resources. A water crisis is also looming on the horizon, the result of
the Ethiopian dam built at the mouth of the Nile River, which has
increased the chances of a military conflict in the south of the
country.
The new canal, as of now, is seen as a ray of
hope. During last week's initial test run, three enormous ships, loaded
to the brink with cargo, sailed through the canal, while at the same
time, in the opposite lane of the canal, three other ships elegantly
passed them by. The head of the Suez Canal Authority, Mohab Mamish, can
check that off his list, just days ahead of the official inauguration
ceremony on Aug. 6.
This endeavor, taken on by el-Sissi at a cost
of $8 billion, was completed within exactly one year. At its center is
the Egyptian army's engineering unit. The route was dug 35 kilometers
(22 miles) in length and 24 meters (79 feet) deep, so that even the
heaviest ships can traverse the canal.
The new canal has been called a "national and
global project," due to the dramatic improvement in the number of ships
that can pass through the canal simultaneously, without stops or delays,
between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. The Egyptian government now
forecasts an unprecedented upswing for the deteriorating economy. The
revenue from the new canal is expected to reach $15 billion by 2023 --
three times the amount yielded from the old canal -- due to increasing
the number of ships that can cross the canal daily from 49 to 97.
The Egyptians plan to expand the project to
include other initiatives: an agricultural and international commerce
zone, and a logistical service center. These will all be built on the
island that has been created between the two routes, and those needing
to travel to the mainland will have the old tunnel under the canal and
two bridges at their disposal.
According to the Egyptian vision, the canal
and adjacent commercial and logistical support zone will provide about
one third of the Egyptian economy's future revenue.
Islamic State, just a 'stone's throw away'
A main issue for the new canal is security.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry addressed the matter with
foreign journalists. Shoukry stressed that the international community
has put faith in Egypt's ability to protect and secure the new maritime
traffic, despite the internal security threats and the crisis in which
the Middle East is currently mired.
Shoukry and all Egyptians know the canal's
future depends on being able to provide safe passage, but Islamist
terrorists in Sinai are casting a dark cloud over the optimism.
Regardless, in light of the countless attacks against symbols of the
regime and the Egyptian security forces, the local press is comparing
next week's inauguration of the new canal to the "victory" over the
"undefeated Israeli army" on Oct. 6, 1973 (the Yom Kippur War). This
sentiment, however, did nothing to prevent a large contingency of naval,
air and land forces from safeguarding the trial run last week.
The Egyptians are planning a national
celebration. The Coptic pope of Alexandria has been invited to the
opening ceremony, as an expression of national gratitude from the
government to the country's Christian citizens. The international media
expected to cover the event will see thousands of Egyptian citizens
gathered along the canal to welcome some 10 ships loaded with tourists.
The Qatari press, however, is intentionally and overtly ignoring the
affair, in what can only be seen as an affront. Qatar is obsessive about
el-Sissi, seeking to show only his faults. Qatar even encourages
terrorist groups to attack Egyptian forces.
Qatar and Turkey are unhappy that el-Sissi's
regime has continued to survive against the slow collapse of the Muslim
Brotherhood. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's
Ottoman-Islamist-imperialist dream spans from Turkey to the Gaza Strip,
and from Egypt to the Arabian Peninsula. This dream, though, is slipping
away, even as he desperately tries toppling el-Sissi.
While Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf
states are working to form a united Arab army against the threats posed
by Shiite Iran in Yemen and the Sunni Islamic State group in Sinai,
Turkey and Qatar are spending astronomical sums of money on bolstering,
training, manning and arming these Sunni Islamist terrorist groups.
Turkey has gone even further. Under the claim that it is fighting
against Islamic State, which it funds and dispatches to Syria and Iraq,
its forces are now bombing the Kurds, with tacit American support.
In this complex reality, terrorists in Islamic
State's enclave in Sinai are just a stone's throw from the Suez Canal.
The aid that Hamas and Islamic State receive from Turkey and Qatar,
while using weapons smuggled into Sinai from Libya and other African
countries -- through Egypt -- is a significant threat to the Egyptian
government's hopes that the new canal can help revive the country's
economy.
The death blows dealt by Islamist terrorists
to Egypt's tourism industry are a gloomy harbinger, and it makes
safeguarding the canal for international ships a considerable challenge.
Question marks abound for Egypt's security forces, on land, sea and in
the air.
Dr. Reuven Berko
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=27273
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
No comments:
Post a Comment