Article

2012-08-20 Africa North

Egypt To Plant A Million Acres, Settle A Million Citizens In Sinai

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Posted by trailing wife 2012-08-20 00:25|| || Front Page|| [3 views ] Top

#1 First thingys come first - IMO Israel will prob insist that its demand for the withdrawal of Egyptian armor from the Sinai be accomplished first, lest Israel demand 1/2 of the Sinai for Israeli settlement + devlopment, as National Security "collateral" from Egypt.

SUB-IMO, ANOTHER REASON FOR ISRAEL + THE US-WEST TO MISS BABY ASSAD.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2012-08-20 00:57|| 2012-08-20 00:57|| Front Page Top

#2 it's a pretty dry place. Average rainfall 4".

Posted by phil_b 2012-08-20 01:32|| 2012-08-20 01:32|| Front Page Top

#3 Ahh look! a Homestead act! umm. will wait to see how this flys with Israel.

Posted by newc 2012-08-20 02:42|| 2012-08-20 02:42|| Front Page Top

#4 "3,500 acres will be distributed to recent university graduates and small farmers, who will each be given 2 greenhouses for agricultural use"

"Koranic studies" degree? That ought to work. /s

Posted by tipover 2012-08-20 03:29|| 2012-08-20 03:29|| Front Page Top

#5 Actually there is enough rain in the northern Sinai and southern Sinai mountains that with intense management of runoff the million acre/million population goal is probably achievable.

However, the $1B sum is way low. It would require hundreds of thousands of linear feet of terracing and digging tens of thousands of cisterns and then quite a bit of annual maintenance.

Lots of road and electrical infrastructure would also be needed to be built ($100Ms)and then maintained ($Ms/yr).

Posted by lord garth 2012-08-20 06:12|| 2012-08-20 06:12|| Front Page Top

#6 Any bets on it ever getting of the ground---even if, as I suspect he will, uncle Sugar gives 'em the money?

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2012-08-20 08:38|| 2012-08-20 08:38|| Front Page Top

#7 The people in the Sinai do not feel Egyptains; this is colonialism to get Egypt into the region.

Posted by BernardZ 2012-08-20 09:46|| 2012-08-20 09:46|| Front Page Top

#8 this is colonialism to get Egypt into the region.

A similar thought occurred to me, BernardZ This is an Egyptian version of creating facts on the ground -- if there are lots of people there a) it will be harder for the Israelis to drive their tanks through, and b) governing them afterward would be as undesirable for Israel as governing the Gaza Strip...although the illiterate Egyptian peasantry don't seem much good, violence-wise, for anything more than the occasional pogram against local Copts, but perhaps their children could take tutorials from the Gazans, once they learn to read.

Posted by trailing wife 2012-08-20 09:57|| 2012-08-20 09:57|| Front Page Top

#9 Lord Garth.
Maintenance. Egypt.

Posted by Richard Aubrey 2012-08-20 13:32|| 2012-08-20 13:32|| Front Page Top

#10 Sounds like Egypt is taking a page from the Chinese "How to Subdue the Non-Han" textbook.

Posted by Pappy 2012-08-20 15:29|| 2012-08-20 15:29|| Front Page Top

#11 look for Obama to give billions for these "green jobs"

Posted by Frank G 2012-08-20 15:49|| 2012-08-20 15:49|| Front Page Top

#12 I can't help wondering how the "settlers" will be selected.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2012-08-20 15:51|| 2012-08-20 15:51|| Front Page Top

#13 Shovel ready project. But are the Egyptians ready to man the shovels.

Posted by Whiskey Mike 2012-08-20 16:26|| 2012-08-20 16:26|| Front Page Top

#14 g(r)om, are you suggesting this could be a way to relocate dissidents, then shrug wonder and ask for more money when proper building and water well supplies fail to show up.

Posted by swksvolFF 2012-08-20 17:52|| 2012-08-20 17:52|| Front Page Top

#15 Relocate the copts out there you say? There are all dissidents technically. That though would be a catastrophic mistake if they did. They'd practically welcome Isreal with open arms. And say good-bye to the Suez.

Posted by Charles 2012-08-20 19:54|| 2012-08-20 19:54|| Front Page Top

#16 I agree to just let them go out is probably not in the Egypt government's best idea. However, tightly controlled farming camps with wire and guards, for their own protection from the natives, that would be the uh oh.

On the other side, it would be a way for the Egypt gov to select who they would want, perhaps a reward system for supporters rather than a Sooner Boomer type run.

Posted by swksvolFF 2012-08-20 21:33|| 2012-08-20 21:33|| Front Page Top

23:23 JosephMendiola
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22:46 JosephMendiola
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22:32 Frank G
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22:26 JosephMendiola
22:23 Barbara
22:21 Raider
22:20 JosephMendiola
22:17 Pappy
22:16 Raider
22:08 Fred
21:54 USN, ret
21:37 Mullah Richard
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21:34 USN, ret
21:33 swksvolFF
21:31 Mullah Richard
21:26 Mullah Richard
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21:14 tu3031
21:00 Zhang Fei