The Daily Beast quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Senior Fellow H.A. Hellyer on the Egyption response to the bombing of a Russian jet over Sinai:
“I think a lot of this is about pride. They hate to admit to the world that there was a security breach,” H.A. Hellyer, at the Royal United Services Institute, told The Daily Beast. “That would be fine but an attack happened—and everyone can see it.”
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The Egyptian government “wants the world to say, ‘We support Egypt,'” Hellyer said.
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“The outside, even Cairo’s friends, aren’t coming to the Egyptians in a unified, multilateral effort, all together,” said Hellyer. “These are all bilateral efforts. So the Egyptians can and do deflect, until the world moves on to another problem.”
But Hellyer stressed that it is up to Egypt to set a tone that it wants to work with the international community. Otherwise the Metrojet crash will indeed mark a low point for the government.
The crash in itself “is not shameful,” he said, “unless you don’t do something quickly about it.”