The Bedouin Connection

When suicide bombers killed 88 people in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on July 23, many assumed it was the work of al-Qaeda. That connection is not being ruled out, but Egyptian officials are also focusing their investigation on Bedouins who may have had a very local motive: payback.

The theory, says Egyptian political analyst Amr el Choubaki, is that the bombers may have been lashing out at the government for its aggressive pursuit of suspects in the October 2004 terrorist attacks that killed 34 in Taba and another Sinai resort. Egyptian officials blamed the 2004 attacks...