CAIRO — The Egyptian airstrike against Islamic State (IS) strongholds in Libya, carried out at dawn Feb. 16, revealed a lot. On the local level, the Egyptian people welcomed this action and praised their leadership. However, the strike unveiled many changes in the map of alliances in the Middle East, after Cairo was disappointed by its former Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) allies. The only country to support Egypt’s desire to continue with the war on IS in Libya was the United Arab Emirates.
Yet, despite Cairo’s disappointment in not obtaining international support to enable it to continue its war against IS strongholds in Libya, Egyptian politicians and military experts made calls for there to be naval strikes — along with airstrikes — to reach the group’s bastions in Libyan coastal cities. In an opinion poll conducted just hours after the strike, 76% of Egyptians supported Cairod Cairo carrying out additional airstrikes to eliminate IS, while only 11% were against this.
