Egypt’s plan for ‘joint Arab force’ a non-starter, but shows cooperative intent against threats
Egypt’s President Abdel Fatteh al-Sisi said in interviews with Saudi-backed media prior to his visit on Sunday to meet Saudi Arabia’s King Salman that he supports the establishment of a “joint Arab force,” though likely for rhetorical flourish.
However, Egypt and other Sunni Arab states are under external threat and feel the need to unite in some way.
Whether it is a nuclear armed Shi’ite Iran, Islamic State terrorism, or the wish to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, Saudi Arabia may be seeking a way to rally support, Brandon Friedman, a lecturer at Tel Aviv University and a researcher at its Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, told The Jerusalem Post.