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Egyptian military analyst Brigadier-General (ret.) Safwat Al-Zayyat said that Egypt must carry out a military strike against the Renaissance Dam. Brigadier-General (ret.) Al-Zayyat spoke in an interview that aired on Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar) on July 6, 2021. He said that after this Egypt would be able to come to the negotiations table. Brigadier-General (ret.) Al-Zayyat asked why Egypt has this military might if not for this purpose. He said that no Egyptian would let this "aquatic bomb" threaten Egypt.
Safwat Al-Zayyat: "We must launch a military strike against the [Renaissance] Dam. The purpose of this strike will not be to destroy [the dam], or to kill a single Ethiopian citizen. The purpose of this strike will not be to fly over the capital Addis Ababa, or to deal with the intense ethnic conflicts in the Ethiopian plateau. Not a single Egyptian soldier will be deployed to Ethiopian territory, but it will use intense force in order to stop the construction that is taking place now, including the elevation by a few meters of the main spillway. Shortly after this, we will ask to sit at the negotiations table. This way, the world will respect us, because we would have done something. We would be able to sit at the negotiations table with all the credentials – we did something and we are willing to repeat it as many times as needed.
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"Why do we have this military might [if not for this purpose]? This is the big question. No one in Egypt – from my generation or from future generations – will let this 'aquatic bomb' [threaten Egypt]. It has become clear, through the interviews I have been following, and especially through the interview you conducted with Dr. Samuel... He said that [Ethiopia] would take all the water and that Egypt had no historic rights. He also said that things would go back to the way they had been before, and as if there was an alliance between the other countries of the Nile Valley. Who will take responsibility? Who will be able to back down? Who will be able to provide me with assurances? The international powers? The internationals powers cannot vouch for anything. We only have our own power to rely on.
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"Is it an existential threat or not? Will we allow them to fill the reservoir and then ask to sell us water? Can we deal with a reduction in the amount of water [we receive]? Can we accept projects, funded by people from the Gulf and others, on the banks of the reservoir, and every year, another million or two, or three, or four million feddan will be added to it, while we suffer, thirst, and hunger?"
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