The Egyptian official said that Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are attempting to give the impression to the outside world that Egypt’s post-revolutionary government is incapable of controlling its border with Israel.

Othman defended Egypt against claims that Sinai was not sufficiently under the control of the government. He stated that their was a campaign underway to improve security in the region, particularly in the northern Sinai on the border with Gaza.

He added that the vast size of Sinai and its difficult terrain should be taken into consideration when  judging the efficacy of Egypt’s control of the area.

[Editor’s Note: If Israel was stupid enough to do this…it would provide the impetus for Turkey to offer Egypt a mutual defense agreement. And it would give Turkey a corresponding right to make ‘defensive’ moves itself if it feels threatened. Does Israel really want to find out now who is a more valuable ally…them or Turkey? What good does Israel really do for any country, other than say a desperate Greece?

And for some additional framing, take a look a the U.S. border problems with Mexico with all the death and carnage which is spilling over. Have we begun drone attacks on the cartels? Are we planning an invasion of the border areas to provide a defensive zone ‘for security reasons’? …Jim Dean]