Egypt’s intelligence chief has recently played a key role in Egypt’s foreign policy cases, with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri himself sometimes surprised by his foreign travels.
Al-Akhbar Lebanon, in an article titled “Egypt’s intelligence service is superior to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”, referring to the effective role of General Abbas Kamel, the head of Egyptian intelligence in the Gaza case and other cases: The role of “Abbas Kamel” is not limited to the head of Egyptian intelligence, but he is a person who has found a key role.
He seems to have taken over the Egyptian foreign policy case after the role of the Egyptian Ministry and Foreign Minister was reduced, and he is acting in a superior way to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi sees his friend General Abbas Kamel as a key to restoring Egypt to its position, and Abbas Kamel has been carrying al-Sisi’s messages to world leaders.
With the support of al-Sisi, Abbas Kamel pursues active diplomacy on foreign trips from Sudan to Libya, the Occupied Territories, Ramallah and Gaza.
The Egyptian intelligence chief’s periodic visits in recent weeks, with successive trips to Sudan and Libya to Gaza, the West Bank and Tel Aviv, indicate that he has replaced Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri and is leading the case for Egyptian foreign policy. The powers of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have changed in favor of the Egyptian intelligence service, and it is “completely” in charge of the case.
Al-Akhbar writes: The rise of “Abbas Kamel” and the handling of cases related to Egyptian foreign policy is not surprising, because Major General Kamel has worked as the director of the office of “Abdel Fattah al-Sisi” and is considered a close friend of him.
Short but fruitful trips
During foreign trips that last only a few hours, Abbas Kamel, as Egypt’s intelligence chief, conveys al-Sisi’s message to the officials of the countries he is visiting, and then returns to al-Sisi, explaining the outcome of his trip. The culmination of his successful efforts can be seen during the 11-day war in Gaza, where he was able to play his role well and establish a ceasefire.
According to Abbas Kamel, there are no permanent interests and enmities
The philosophy of “Abbas Kamel” is based on common interests, whether temporary or transient. In his view, there are no permanent interests and no permanent enemy.
Pragmatism (According to the school of pragmatism, thoughts and ideas are like tools to solve human problems; as long as they have a beneficial effect, they are right and true and then they are wrong. In this way, an idea may be used and effective for a while, and therefore it is true for now; but later it may not have satisfactory results, and then it becomes a false theory.) The sharpness of the Egyptian intelligence chief in many cases has led to temporary disputes with Cairo’s allies on key issues in some cases.
For example, in Egypt’s partisan view alongside Europe in the Libyan crisis, which the UAE strongly opposed, especially since Egypt and the UAE have been in a coalition for more than two years in support of “Caliph Haftar”.
The number one man in the Egyptian intelligence and diplomacy apparatus and the Iranian case
“Abbas Kamel” is not only the head of Egypt’s intelligence, but also the country’s foreign minister.
Egypt’s foreign relations engineering, on which the director of intelligence works extensively, includes the form of relations with Iran and Asian countries that have long been far from the circle of Egyptian relations.
This coincided with the visit of Malaysian Foreign Minister Hisham al-Din Hussein to Egypt and the virtual meeting that al-Sisi held with Hussein. This is in line with the development of relations with Islamic countries and countering the presence of the Muslim Brotherhood in the countries in which they will be concentrated in the future.
In the policy of “Abbas Kamel”, the persecution of the Muslim Brotherhood, wherever they are, is a priority, especially after Egypt’s reconciliation with Turkey and the current calm that seeks to stabilize it, especially as the gap in Turkish-Egyptian relations narrows in many cases.
Major General Abbas Kamel is currently working to improve Egypt’s relations with the Arab Maghreb countries, including Algeria and Tunisia, especially since the atmosphere between Egypt and these countries has not been favorable in recent years.
Egypt’s foreign relations engineering strategic or the product of “Abbas Kamel” thoughts?
Certainly, this engineering was not achieved overnight, and it is certainly not the product of Abbas Kamel’s personal thoughts, but behind it lies the radical developments and analyzes and the strategic approach to dealing with variables. This is based on the views of experts whose circle is developing day by day and their thoughts are listened to daily.
Al Akhbar wrote: “Abbas Kamel” is not only the head of Egyptian intelligence, he is also the foreign minister. He attends all presidential meetings, whether the foreign minister is present or not.
It is true that he does not comment or speak on his behalf; But the mechanism of interaction with other officials is completely different, and in some foreign trips that “Abbas Kamel” makes without coordination with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, even “Samah Shukri” is surprised.
This is unprecedented in the presence of a chief intelligence officer
During the rule of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and then the head of intelligence, there was no such prominent role, not even a strong man, Omar Suleiman, was so involved in the relationship.
Abbas Kamel’s foreign travels and participation in the celebrations of officials of other countries are not appropriate for the secret dimension of his intelligence work.
“Abbas Kamel” is very reliable at the moment, and this is due to his ability to manage cases and solve them without any problems.
Achilles heel of “Abbas Kamel” in Egyptian domestic politics
Al-Akhbar concludes: “Despite al-Sisi’s complete confidence in ‘Abbas Kamel’ and the forgiveness of the mistakes he made from his friend, the head of the Egyptian intelligence named him as a restrictor of freedom, especially in the discussion of media freedom and expression and politics inside Egypt.”