As was shown with the apparently trivial example of sentry guards mentioned in chapters 4 and 5 the policy of surveillance that was crucial for the disciplining of the army was never as neatly and unproblematically implemented as Foucault or Mitchell have argued: it was constantly compromised by the activity of the one minor agent who was supposed to carry it through, the sentry guard.

XREF: Builds on the recurring theme that Egypt's programs failed at implementation despite impressive design (loc 1179), and on the gap between plan and execution (loc 41). Pays off: "Mehmed Ali's grand programs failed at implementation despite impressive design."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 1667