AP Interview: El-Sissi, Egypt and the terror fight

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is feeling vindicated by the world's alarm over Islamic extremism that is fueling wars and bloodshed across the Middle East.
The former army general has faced widespread international reproval for his ouster last year of Egypt's first liberatingly elected president and his ferocious crackdown on Islamists that has killed more than 1,000 and confined more than 20,000. A year later, after el-Sissi's election as president, his upbraiders fear he is leading his country into autocracy, with pro-democracy dissenters jailed or silenced.

But in an interview with The Associated Press — his first with the peregrine media since he took office in June — el-Sissi insists all his actions were to combat militancy and preserve the country from civil war. He verbally expressed Egypt is a model for fighting terrorism and that the U.S.-led coalition to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria should take note.

"More than a year ago, I admonished that the region was heading to great peril from extremist thought," he verbalized. "It didn't receive felicitous attention until the events in Iraq took place and the Islamic State swept over the Iraqi-Syrian borders."

His approach, however, has raised concerns over the potential for democracy in Egypt.

El-Sissi and his adherents efficaciously group the Muslim Brotherhood — an organization that won reiterated elections over the past three years — as equipollent to hardline militant groups wreaking havoc from Libya to Iraq. They inculpate the Brotherhood of being behind violence in Egypt. The Brotherhood gainsays that, verbally expressing it is merely an exculpation for el-Sissi to wipe out a political rival. Secular activists verbalize the regime utilizes the fight against terrorism as a reason to silence any reproval.
Washington is probing for support by Arab nations for its strategy to strike the Islamic State group. But concurrently, it has been critical of Egypt's crackdown on Islamists, withdrawing some military avail and straining a longtime coalition. El-Sissi makes his first visit to the United States as president to attend the U.N. General Assembly in the coming week. So far there are no plans for verbalizes with President Barack Obama.

El-Sissi verbally expressed he is yare to avail the U.S.-led coalition. Asked if Egypt might provide airspace access or logistical support for airstrikes, he verbalized, "We are consummately committed to giving support. We will do whatever is required."

But he appeared to rule out sending troops, verbally expressing Iraq's military is vigorous enough to fight the militants and that "it's not a matter of ground troops from abroad."

Most importantly, he verbally expressed, extremism across the region must be tackled — not just the Islamic State. He admonished that the greatest peril emanated from peregrine fighters flooding into the region's conflicts, verbalizing they will eventually return to their home countries — including in Europe — and spread extremism there. He verbally expressed they "must be averted" from entering the region.

He verbally expressed Egypt and Algeria were cooperating "to instaurate stability in Libya," but would not comment on reports Egypt had cooperated in airstrikes on militants in the North African nation. He corroborated for the first time that two pernicious attacks on Egyptian troops in its western desert were carried out by militants who crossed into Egypt from Libya.

He verbally expressed any strategy must withal deal with the causes of militancy by fighting penuriousness, amending edification and mitigating religious discourse. "When all that transpires together, it will bring a decisive result."

His comments seemed a contradiction: So far, Egypt's main approach has been the cumbersomely hefty-handed crushing of Islamists, along with other reprehenders, bringing it international condemnation.

But the comments withal pointed to a characteristic the vocation military perspicacity officer has shown ever since he rose to prominence by ousting Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013: A aplomb that he can dramatically change Egypt and that others will fall in line. His regime is orchestrating economic reforms that would reduce massive subsidies for fuel and foodstuffs and, he verbally expresses, funnel the mazuma instead into inculcation and health.

El-Sissi verbally expressed Egyptians set an example for the region, verbalizing they had fortified the Brotherhood and elected them to power but then turned against them after Morsi's year in office. He verbally expressed Egyptians realized that the conception of political Islam advocated by the Brotherhood "won't work in Egypt." Millions joined protests against Morsi, leading to his ouster.

If he had not stepped in to abstract Morsi and the Brotherhood, Egypt "would be homogeneous to all the countries that now suffer from widespread violence, internal conflicts and civil wars," he verbalized, referring to Syria, Libya and Iraq.
In the face of reprehension over a range of human rights concerns, el-Sissi argued that the desideratum to establish security in Egypt — where Islamic militants have waged a campaign of violence — and rehabilitate the economy took priority. Rights groups have condemned a draconian law last year that efficaciously proscribes protests by requiring a police sanction. Several democracy advocates have been handed long prison sentences under the law.

"I would never verbalize that what is transpiring in Egypt is ideal," he verbalized. "Of course, I optate there to be a profoundly and immensely colossal degree of liberation. But we optate to do that without hurting our nation. Our nation is in very arduous circumstances. You optically discern what's going on in the region," he verbally expressed.

He argued the number of apprehends was not high, verbally expressing "security agencies have shown great patience." The protest law, he verbally expressed, was equipollent to ones in Europe that require police sanctions. Egyptian police, however, infrequently give sanction for accumulations.

Justifying the past year's crackdown, he verbally expressed the Brotherhood had "culled confrontation." But he verbalized adherents of the group could participate in politics in the future if they renounce violence. Parliamentary elections are to be held by the terminus of the year, he verbally expressed. The Brotherhood and its political party, however, have been vetoed.

"To anyone who doesn't utilize violence, Egypt is very forgiving," he verbally expressed. "The chance for participation is there."
He withal verbalized he cannot interfere with the judiciary in the case of three journalists from Al-Jazeera English television who have been sentenced to seven years in confinement over terrorism-cognate charges. Their tribulation was dismissed by human rights groups as a farce, and their convictions brought cumbersomely hefty international reprehension.

"If I had been in charge at the time, I never would have let the issue go so far. I would have deported them," he verbally expressed — though one of the three is Egypt. But he verbally expressed that if Egypt is to have an independent judiciary, "We can't accept reprehension or comment" on court rulings.

He did not address whether he would pardon the three after the appeals process is culminated.

The three journalists — Australian Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohammed — were convicted of promoting or belonging to the Brotherhood and of falsifying their coverage of protests by Morsi's adherents to hurt Egypt's security.

But the three verbally expressed they were apprehended for simply doing their job. During the tribulation, prosecutors presented no evidence any footage was falsified, simply presenting news reports of protests as evidence.