Columnists remain focused on the state’s ability to fight terrorism

The nation’s columnists remain focused on the state’s ability to fight terrorism. Mohamed Aboul Ghar takes to the pages of Al Masry Al Youm to question the security apparatus’ efficiency in stopping terrorist attacks before they take place, saying that they seem to be too preoccupied with monitoring activists on social media platforms to direct their attention to gathering intelligence on terror cells. Security forces evidently do not have adequate access to intelligence in desert areas, where terrorists are likely to strike, or are not trusted by citizens to inform, Aboul Ghar says. Meanwhile, Al Shorouk’s Emad El Din Hussein says the government must begin to tackle issues connected in one way or another to terrorism, pointing at corruption in particular. Increased effectiveness in curbing corruption would increase resources the state can direct to target poverty and create jobs, he says.