Barry Strauss, author of 11 books on military history and chair of the history department at Cornell University, says the ISIS-affiliated militant attacks in the Sinai Peninsula demonstrates ISIS is capable of launching highly coordinated attacks far from its base and will generate new recruits.
Strauss says: “The July 1 attacks, the worst terrorist violence in Egypt in several years, demonstrate that ISIS is capable of launching highly coordinated and effective attacks far from its base in Syria and Iraq. Egyptian President Al Sisi has called for beefing up Egypt’s anti-terror laws but ISIS’s ideology will remain attractive to many. In fact, successful ISIS attacks are likely to generate new recruits.
“As long as ISIS retains its base it is going to remain a security threat to every state in the region. And it’s within the Middle East that ISIS finds its primary targets, even if it often targets westerners. “Unfortunately there are likely to be many more attacks of the kind we have just seen in Egypt and in Tunisia and Kuwait last week. Nothing succeeds like success.
“When a movement rests on a dynamic, radical ideology with widespread appeal, as ISIS does, then it will continue to ride high until its military center of gravity is destroyed. Stronger anti-terror laws in one country or even several countries won’t be enough.”
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