On July 1 Egypt saw the development that was to happen sooner or later – a massive terrorist attack of ISIL units. This time Islamists paid no heed to the civilian population, instead they assaulted regular army units head-on. ISIL militants attacked five police and army checkpoints in the northern part of Egypt. According to recent reports, a local police station in the town of Sheikh Zayed suffered the most damage, while at least 60 soldiers in total were killed in the skirmishes. Terrorists spent some time to carefully prepare the attack – all roads leading to the police station were mined beforehand. This assault is, though largest in the recent year, but an episode in the the ongoing terrorist campaign. On June 30 they fatally wounded Egypt’s Attorney General Hisham Barakat, which forced the government to put all regular units on full combat alert.
It’s curious that on the same day ISIL militants managed co capture an airfield in Saudi Arabia, along with attacking a number of military bases. This development was preceded by a terrorist attack in Tunisia, which claimed the lives of 40 foreign tourists. It is clear that all these attacks is no coincidence. After all, the leaders of the self-proclaimed “caliphate” appealed to their supporters from across the globe, urging them to “engage in terrorist activities.” Although some “experts” believe that the reason that the Islamic State has been so active recenly is the holy month of Ramadan, in fact we are talking about a new phase of the ISIL offensive that is targeting all the states of the Arab world and Europe. That is why the Islaimic State has intensified its activities in Libya, where they are about to take over all the major oil fields, along carrying out operations in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria. Their goal is to disperse the forces of the international community that has only been bombing Islamist positions in Syria and Iraq so far.
Egypt has found itself in a tight corner with no one to ask for help. In fact, once the military elites took over the country there’s been an ongoing civil war between secular forces and Islamist radicals The sentencing of the former president Mohamed Morsi has only aggravated the situation even further. Clashes and attacks is a part of daily routine for Egyptians today. The army is fully committed to anti-terrorist operations, since police and security forces are no longer able to handle the situation themselves. The dangerous virus of ISIL has already penetrated all layers of Egyptian society, reaching its very core – security units, that are formed from regular Egyptian citizens. And for no apparent reason analysts from across the globe stopped noticing that Qatar continues to provide radical Islamists with money and shelter in Doha. In a situation that the government of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is pretty weak and vulnerable, while two-thirds of Egyptians are supporting the ideas of radical Islam. And this groups are prepared to get violent in no time at all. Clearly, the Isalmic State has used this situation to its advantage. After all, Egypt – is the leading country of the Arab world, and should it be overrun by Islamic extremists, then the Arab won’t last for long. The other two leading states of the Arab are torn by brutal wars – Syria and Iraq.
ISIL has clearly caught Washington off guard, while it was busy demonizing Russia and the government of Vladimir Putin. So while US think tanks were obsessed with attempts to change government in Moscow, the Islamic State kept expanding its influence by pushing the boundaries of the “Caliphate” to the west, south and north. And the most disturbing thing is that this process may soon become irreversible. Discontented with Washington’s policies of promoting an ideology of total licentiousness under the guise of defending liberal ideas, by imposing freedom of homosexuality and pedophilia, the West repels Muslims and Christians alike that are joining the ranks of the Islamic State in hopes of saving the world from a new American liberal invasion. And one must admit that many of the ideas that are brought forward by the Islamic State and the social policies within its borders may look very attractive against the background of what the West has to offer.
Apparently, the Islamic State leaders are aware that Egypt is the weakest link today in the whole Arab. Moreover, ISIL is able to replace the “Muslim Brotherhood” by taking over the hearts of its followers. Especially in a situation when an increasing number of traditional Islamist groups pledge their allegiance to the Islamic State – from those in Algeria and Pakistan to such in Nigeria and Russia. So the new all-out offensive of ISIL is not simply allowing to spread its territories and influence, but win over minds and hearts of countless people across the globe, many of which are in no way connected with Muslims. And one would be exaggerating by stating that this is an extremely dangerous development.
Sooner or later ISIL militants will be able to cross the ocean to reach the United States and then Washington would realize that the attempts to “contain” Russia forced it to overlook the real enemy, but by then it would be far too late.
Peter Lvov, Ph.D in political science, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”