It sounds very impressive and manly to talk about direct confrontation with the state; to initiate armed revolution against the military and the government. And it seems that everyone who talks about this imagines he is the first one to come up with this idea. Like it is a stroke of genius, “what we have to do is attack the security forces, as they attack us!” But the truth is, this is not an idea, it is a reflex. It is an unanalyzed emotional response to oppression.
It is a false promise. It will not deliver the desired results, and there are many reasons for this.
It is appealing because, one, it is emotional, and two, because it is simplistic.
I have yet to see anyone articulate an actual road map for armed resistance in Egypt, to explain to us exactly how it is to be carried out, its stages, its objectives, to say nothing of its source of funding , arms or training.
Is it to be urban guerrilla attacks on police and military in the streets? Against police stations and army bases? Is it to be in the countryside? (Of course they will say “all of the above!”) And what is the overall strategy?
Let’s imagine, in a parallel universe, that you have the weapons and funding, and that these are not being supplied by foreign intelligence agencies; how will you proceed? Exactly how will you bring down the regime this way? Of course, I do not expect an answer, because the advocates of this approach have faith in the magical power of violence, their aqeedah is the Kalashnikov.
They have bled, and want to make their attackers bleed. But it is not that simple.
If you believe in this method, you are obliged to explain it. Present a comprehensive strategy, what it can achieve, and how it will achieve it, so that this strategy can be scrutinized and evaluated. There are certainly armed revolutions which have succeeded, over usually a period of at least a decade, like for example in Nicaragua, which left a civilian death toll in the tens of thousands.
So, if you believe in this way, please offer an articulate plan, and if you cannot, and we all know that you cannot, admit that it is merely an irrational, emotional reflex, and try to overcome it, and join the reasonable discussion of responsible and realistic strategy instead.