Opportunity for ISIS as Sinai Civilians Sour on Cairo

Posted: September 7th, 2017

By Robert Richer

Robert Richer served as a former Associate Deputy Director for Operations at the CIA. He retired in 2005 and before his retirement he also served as Chief of the Near East and South Asia Division, responsible for Clandestine Service Operations throughout the Middle East and South Asia. Mr. Richer currently consults on Middle East and national security issues and is a senior partner with International Advisory Partners.

Despite its role as a critical partner for the U.S. in the global fight against terror, Egypt has struggled to quash an extremist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, which has had devastating effects on the country’s security apparatus and economic health. Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi has pledged to continue his strong counterterrorism campaign, but the government has yet to appeal to many in the Sinai who have felt disenfranchised by the Egyptian government’s lack of interest in the region. The Cipher Brief’s Bennett Seftel sat down with Rob Richer, The Cipher Brief expert and former Associate Deputy Director for Operations at the CIA, to discuss Egypt’s ongoing terrorist campaign and the toll it has taken on the country’s economy.

The Cipher Brief: What is the threat level currently posed by ISIS’ affiliate in the Sinai as well as other militant groups operating in the Sinai Peninsula?

“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62

Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Subscriber+