Now that anti-terrorism has been declared by Prime Minister Mahlab as war, it is time for another revolution. A Public Information Revolution. Based on an enforceable code. Its aim is to create a credible civilian face for the Sinai war. Its components are: In depth research; credible evidence; deep penetration of Egyptian society; teach-ins on anti-jihadism; recruiting youth as intern reporters; putting national security ahead of the ingrained Egyptian desire to be funny; and becoming a tool of mass mobilization. Other components: When to publish. And when to shut up.
The army, the police, other security institutions, the judiciary, the executive of all branches, Al-Azhar and the Coptic Church, and all other educational institutions are all participants in weeding out terrorism.
For the Information Revolution is primarily an ideological response to the massive online rubbish spewing out daily from the Brotherhood/ISIS franchises. In essence, those cabals are reminders of the "Wizard of Oz." Fear is artificially generated by a mad person turning the wheel of panic. From behind the black curtain of a mythical caliphate.
With selected targets, foreign or laundered internal funds, captured war materiel, and video games reflecting barbarism, they have aimed at employing fear hypnosis. Encircled from the outside and from within, the jihadists keep alive the myth of invincibility.
They have no future. Terrorism has never established a State. Anywhere, Islamic or non-Islamic. Putting up a sign and receiving endorsements (they call these Baiaa) are mere props for the theater of the absurd. Butcherism combined with "jihadi fornication" are in-stock tools. For them, Islam is a convenient cover for genocide.
Assassinating Egypt's Attorney-General Hisham Barakat. Detonating deadly charges against the Sinai army defenders. Using Bedouin grievances as incentives. These are all proof of one verity: Jihadi forces of various stripes, including the Brotherhood, have coalesced. Making of the holy month of Ramadan, a month of blood, not of charity. Fomenting a Sunni/Shii split, a Muslim/Coptic conflict, or a Bedouin/nationalist cleavage. All of these are the tools of dead-enders.
A case in point is the recent attack in Kuwait on the Mosque of Imam Jaafar Al-Ssadeq. The Emir of Kuwait, descendant of nation-builders, has the appropriate response. He prayed at the scene of the crime.
In the Arab homelands, national borders shall always stand tall. Even if the national entity is geographically split. As in Syria, or Yemen. Statelets shall be defined by their future borders.
40,000 tweets by ISIS on a daily basis are no indicator of longevity. It is only "the Wizard of Oz" syndrome. Turning his sound machine to frighten Scarecrow and Tin Man. But not Dorothy or her little dog Toto!!
So the Sinai war, being the Egyptian front on the global war on terror, urgently needs a reformed Egyptian journalism. Those journalists should either shape up or ship out. The list of examples of their banality and triteness is endless.
Claiming that El-Sisi is not a decisive decision-maker. I don't work for him. I am a mere employee of her majesty the truth. A volunteer for "the Strong State," the New Egypt. Thus I feel the sting of what is published in the newspaper "Al-Masriyoon." It claims: "El-Sisi declarations about terrorism are contradictory." They should know better. The fight against jihadism is a daily changing nasty affair. The Head of State is entitled to reflect that changing reality.
Claiming that every statement by El-Sisi should be fully-documented. Time, place and manner. Al-Watan newspaper downgrades El-Sisi declaration after the Sinai massacre of July 1. He has said: "The armed forces shall conduct these attacks...The perpetrators shall know that Egyptian blood is not cheap." What is wrong with that? But Al-Watan finds fault with El-Sisi words. "Nobody knows where El-Sisi said that and when?" Is this the main issue?
Claiming that the new anti-terror law which is yet to be promulgated is obnoxious as it restricts freedom of expression. All because of one article (Article 33) which is now being re-examined. Al-Ahram newspaper writes: "This is a call for ignoring human rights. It is contrary to the aims of the anti-terror campaign." Oh, really? In times of war, security considerations trump. The great American emancipator, President Lincoln, suspended parts of the US Constitution. The American civil war, in which 850,000 American troops perished, was on. The survival of the U.S. was at stake. And the slave owners were being assisted by Great Britain. The same situation with the Brotherhood in Egypt being bolstered from abroad. And the new Egyptian law is intended to replace the existing State of Emergency laws.
Claiming that the Sinai armies are not entitled to exhibit the bodies of the dead terrorists. "Al Maqal" newspaper decries that action as "triumphalism unbecoming of the armed forces." Amazing. How about the jihadi daily massive of barbaric butcherism to keep us all hiding like rabbits in our holes? The burning alive of the Jordanian pilot, Moaz Al-Kasasbeh, in a cage should sear the mind of humanity for a long time. Telecast by ISIS repeatedly.
Claiming that the Government is derelict in divulging how the weapons of the jihadis have penetrated Egypt. So "Al-Masri Al-Youm" writes: "Every Egyptian is entitled to know how these weapons entered Egypt; what kinds of weapons; and when have these weapons arrived?" Then it adds: "Apparently all who raise these questions are attacked as unpatriotic." But the whole world knows that the events in Libya and in Gaza have created points of entry for these weapons. Does that newspaper put the priority at investigations of the weaponization of the present war, when the State institutions, including the judiciary, are overburdened with all types of investigations? And haven't the armed forces bombed the Libyan borders and created a "cordon sanitaire" at the Gaza/Sinai borders? Doesn't the whole world know that today Egypt is buying from us ultra-modern surviellance equipment? Where is that technology going to be placed? At the Libyan border!! For decoration? No!! For border protection on the west (Libya).
Claiming that the State should not use the term "liquidation" in its anti-terror statements. "Al-Shorook" newspaper writes: "The State establishes justice not vengeance and revenge." Well!! What is the difference between "containment, degrading, and ending jihadism," and "liquidation?" Is this a war of combat for rescuing the homeland or a war of words?
The list goes on and on. Ad nauseam. Some of the same commentators described the status of journalism in Egypt as "the public information chaos." Amen!! Time for an "Information Revolution." If it is a war, it should be fought like a war. On all fronts. By all means. Akin to general mobilization. May God save Egypt from jihadism and its inane journalism!!
The shallowness of present-day journalism in Egypt makes me over-nostalgic to its golden age. Established in the 19th century by Lebanese Christians, it was the home of great essayists. One of them was our neighbor in Sharqia Province -Zaki Abdel-Qader. A few years later it was Ahmed Bahaul-Din and the twins, Ali and Mustafa Amin. How about Fikry Abaza and El-Zayyat? Today, these stalwarts are terribly missed.
There is strong evidence that the hallow carping of present-day journalists in Egypt leads the US press to draw absurd conclusions. One of these is the perpetuation of the myth that the June 30, 2013 Revolution was a coup. Witness the stupid conclusions in the Egyptian press about El-Sisi donning his military uniform during his visit with the Sinai troops following the treacherous attacks by the ISIS branch called "The Sinai Province." And remember how Bush Jr. as president, who has never been in military service, was applauded when he donned a military uniform, parading himself on a battleship. Falsely declaring about the American invasion of Iraq: "Mission Accomplished."
One of the side benefits of the two companion revolutions (January 2011 and June 2013) is that the average Egyptian has found his or her voice. So did Egypt's journalism. But with one difference in the case of the latter. Most of their contributions seem to equate between democracy and a constant barrage against the government.
Credible statistics show that since January 2011, the army and the police in Egypt lost 258 martyred in the course of the war in jihadism in Sinai. The bloody results of 74 attacks. Over various periods of post-Mubarak rule. The SCAF (Supreme Council of Armed Forces) from February 11, 2011 to June 30, 2012. The Morsi rule, the Mansour rule, and the present El-Sisi rule.
All the while, the New Egypt is a building. From the expected opening of the Second Suez Canal in early August, to ensuring the safety of its tourists, to combating the income inequality in the land of the Nile. So enough is enough with spilling of ink to fill empty pages in Egypt's newspapers.
Aside from efforts for economic recovery and anti-terrorism, the main pending issue is the holding of elections for the lower house of parliament. Egyptian journalism paid scant attention to the march of Egypt toward those parliamentary elections later this year. The Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court has approved the draft bill on electoral districts (a total of 209), paving the way for its promulgation, following presidential approval. The daily moan and groan is: "Nothing is OK with the New Egypt." Their monument is a permanent wailing wall.
What a great free ride for the Brotherhood/ISIS/Sinai Province criminal consortium to read that headline in Egypt's so-call press:
"The disappearance of the President from view increases the public's fear of a tsunami of decisions. The unknown envelopes Egypt. And fear pervades the majority of its population."In any country in a state of war, such fear-mongering would have prompted the authorities to prosecute the offending outlet. The legal grounds are: "Aiding and abetting the State's enemies through falsely and maliciously causing public panic during wartime."
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