November 28, 2023

“The Eye of Horus: Egyptian Intelligence” – with Dina Rezk

1 hour 2 minutes

Summary

Dina Rezk (LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss Egyptian intelligence. Dina is an Associate Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Reading.

What You’ll LearnIntelligence

Egyptian leadership & intelligence

The intelligence landscape of Egypt

Egypt’s relationship with neighboring countries

Ashraf Marwan’s story from the Egyptian perspective

Reflections

Leadership, power, and opposition

International perspectives and changing views

And much, much more …

Quotes of the Week

“I think that's one of the ways in which the Egyptian Intelligence Service sort of conceives of its primary responsibility. It's about maintaining internal security, and particularly at the moment you know, since 2014, I would say sort of eliminating any sort of political opposition, any possibility of political opposition.” – Dina Rezk.

Resources SURFACE SKIM*SpyCasts*

The Intelligence Legacy of the Yom Kippur War with Uri Bar-Joseph (2023)

Former Senior Indian Intelligence Officer with R&AW Special Secretary Vappala Balachandran (2023)

Kenya, East Africa, and America with African Intelligence Chief Wilson Boinett (2023)

Israeli Military Intelligence with IDF Brig. General (Res.) Yossi Kuperwasser (2023)

*Beginner Resources*

Egypt Profile, BBC News (2019) [Timeline]

Abdul Fattah al-Sisi - in 60 seconds, BBC News, YouTube (2014) [1 min. video]

Why Was The Suez Crisis So Important?, Imperial War Museum (n.d.) [Short article]

*Featured Resource*

The Arab World and Western Intelligence: Analysing the Middle East, 1956-1981 (Intelligence, Surveillance and Secret Warfare), D. Rezk (Edinburgh University Press, 2018)

DEEPER DIVEBooks

Making the Arab World: Nasser, Qutb, and the Clash That Shaped the Middle East, F. A. Gerges (Princeton University Press, 2018)

Egypt on the Brink: From Nasser to Mubarak, T. Osman (Yale University Press, 2011)

Nasser: The Last Arab, S. K. Aburish (Thomas Dunne Books, 2004)

Orientalism, E. W. Said (Vintage Publishing, 1979)

Primary Sources

Mining of the Red Sea (1984)

CBS Broadcast “The Assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat” (1981)

‘The Most Dangerous Game’ In Mideast (1980)

Special Assessments on the Middle East Situation (1967)

“Cairo Hails Nasser as Situation Sends Dulles to England” Newsreel (1956)

Meeting at the White House to Discuss Suez Crisis (1956)

*Wildcard Resource*

“Intelligence” in Egypt goes back as far as the ancient times of pyramids and pharaohs. One of the earliest accounts of the impact of spies and propaganda in Ancient Egypt is the Battle of Kadesh, a major conflict against the Hittite Empire around 1275 BC.

Check out this relief seen inside the Great Temple of Ramses II depicting an ancient view of interrogation.

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