Informed Comment

Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion

Juan Cole is President of the Global Americana Institute

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Dahab Bombings did Not Involve Kamikazes

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reports that Egyptian police are saying that the Sinai resort bombings on Monday do not appear to be the work of suicide bombers. Rather, the explosives were set off by remote control.

The police also do not think it unlikely that the same cell is behind this attack as carried out the previous two big tourist bombings in the Sinai.

But since this is the third, why didn't Egyptian security see it coming and have better precautions?

Egypt depends heavily on tourism for its economic survival. Wouldn't a wise Egyptian government focus in on stopping this sort of thing after the first two?

Euronews wryly gives as its headline,, "Bush and Hamas condemn Attack." For all Bush's bluster, he hasn't caught Ayman al-Zawahiri, who helped plan out the attack on New York and the Pentagon. An Egyptian physician, al-Zawahiri may also have played a role in enouraging the Sinai attacks. So Bush's threat to get the perpetrators is empty. All these years later, he still hasn't gotten al-Zawahiri. How is he going to track down some half-urbanized bedouin malcontent in the middle of the Sinai desert? It is all swagger, no delivery.

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