The bomb attacks in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Dahab, just a few kilometers across the Gulf of Aqaba from Saudi Arabia, was an act of pure savagery and wickedness. What political objective can justify slaughtering innocent tourists, mostly Egyptians, doing no more harm than enjoying a short break in the sun? Is Egypt an occupied land where occupation has to be resisted by force? Does it have a brutal government which understands only the language of violence? Neither is the case. Egypt is no Israel, no apartheid-era South Africa; it has a government which has been democratically elected and which responds to popular concerns. Nor is the government a puppet of the US; President Hosni Mubarak has shown himself more than capable of telling the US what he thinks of some of its policies and demanding changes. Egypt is nobody’s puppet.
At the moment it is not known who is responsible for the atrocity; it may be years before the answer is clear. It is still not known who was behind the bombings in the nearby resorts of Taba and Ras Shitan 18 months ago which killed 34 people, or the bombs in Sharm El-Sheikh last July which left 64 dead. Initial speculation at the time that fanatics sympathetic to Al-Qaeda were responsible and that the presence of Israeli tourists was a major factor was soon replaced by allegations laying the blame on local Bedouin said to be resentful of the casual lifestyle and relative opulence in the resorts. Neither theory has been proven.
But there is clearly a pattern: Taba and Ras Shitan, then Sharm El-Sheikh and now Dahab. Those responsible for these barbarities either have a deep hatred of the tourist resorts and their Westernized ways and make no distinction between foreign tourists and Egyptian ones, seeing all as targets. Or this is part of an even more sinister plot, using the same tactics as in Iraq — to cripple the Egyptian tourist industry and with it the nation’s economy, thereby destabilizing the country, making it ungovernable and bringing down the government.
None of this will happen. The attacks have incensed the Egyptian public and rallied support for the government. Moreover, the experience of previous terrorist attacks in Egypt is that after a short downturn, the tourists soon return. Egypt is too attractive, too interesting a place to keep them away for long — and welcoming and competitively priced into the bargain. That, however, is not going to make life any easier for the Egyptian authorities. In recent years they have put into place enormous increases in security for tourists. There is, however, only so much they can do. In a country of 79 million, it takes no more than a dozen or so dedicated fanatics to cause devastation. A total clampdown would destroy the Egyptian tourist industry far more effectively than any terrorist bomb. But the demand for further security will be made. That makes tracking down and catching these evil criminals all the more important. Once behind bars, Egypt will be a much safer place. Making that happen must be Cairo’s priority — and in that they can surely expect every assistance from the civilized world.
