In an interview with Russia Today TV, Dr Walid Phares said "Morsi was criticized for talks with Jihadists. He could ‘could have ordered Sinai operation 1 ½ years ago’." Phares added that "Despite reports that the operation would last for approximately two days, the Egyptian Army is well aware of the fact that “they would be fighting a long war against the terrorists in Sinai, and most likely also in mainland Egypt,” Middle East analyst and counter-terrorism expert Walid Phares told RT. "Currently, the army is “making sure that the Jihadi forces won’t have an enclave” in North Sinai, which could turn it into a breakaway extremist-controlled region, Phares said. According to information published by the Egyptian Army, “had the Morsi regime continued for a few more months…there would have been a declaration of an emirate of Northern Sinai…and that would be the equivalent of Waziristan in Pakistan, or Northern Mali,” the analyst explained.While it is unclear if the extremists in the region have links to the Muslim Brotherhood, both the army and secular parties have criticized ousted president Morsi for what he “could have ordered the same Egyptian Army to go and do the same operation 1 ½ years ago, but he did not.” He added: "Morsi’s government failed to do so, instead choosing to send a delegation to negotiate with Sinai extremists because Morsi’s right-wing ally, the Al-Nur Salafi party, had been “linked to these Jihadists” and “came from the same background,” according to Phares.

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