“He was erratic, conspiratorial in nature and harbored a lot of anti-American suspicions. He believes that the 2011 uprising was the result of an external conspiracy rather than internal upheaval.”

“The public remarks in which the US government expresses concern are a necessary precondition. It serves as a signal of how much we care about the status of those individuals. It also helps to create a sense within Egypt that this is a real problem.”

“Egypt and its lobbyists go to huge lengths to put forth the narrative that the country deserves special treatment because of its terrorism threat and its alleged irreplaceable regional role. But no amount of PR can change the reality inside Egypt.”

“There is a long history of Russian preliminary agreements that take forever or never occur.”

“The Egyptians have failed to acknowledge that ISIS is not just a terrorism threat. Killing terrorists is not sufficient. They need to deprive ISIS of local support, which is rooted in Cairo’s historical neglect of the Sinai.”