The NYT reports on burgeoning conversation between Egypt and the US about the security situation in the Sinai. The US evidently is prepared to offer Egypt security assistance to dampen down the security threat there from militants in the wake of the attack that left some 16 Egyptian soldiers dead when militants tried to cross the Israeli border.
Among the security measures on offer may be Mr. Obama's weapon of choice: drones, undoubtedly to be "piloted" by Americans. If the Egyptians sign on to this, it seems safe to say that at some point the US would want to be authorized to expand the drones' role from surveillance to "taking out" suspected bad guys . . . who would likely include, if not members of Hamas, then members of other Palestinian militant resistance groups.
And I can imagine nothing that would inflame anti-US feeling in the region more than the US military being directly responsible for killing Palestinians "resisting" Israel.
Nor would that reflect well on the Egyptian political leaders who green-lighted the US actions.
I hope Mr. Morsi is wary of this slippery slope.
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