Word: moussa
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...many Arab politicians could win a popularity contest, even among their own constituents. But they're writing songs about former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, who in May became secretary-general of the Arab League. "I hate Israel," goes a chart topper of the same name by Egyptian crooner Shaaban Abdel Rahim. "But I love Amr Moussa." When the tune hit the Egyptian airwaves several months ago Moussa's standing soared. You might think that such Israel-bashing lyrics would cause some discomfort for an official whose job at the time involved his country's ultra-sensitive diplomatic relations with...
...That is the kind of undiplomatic talk that grates on Israel and the West but has made Moussa, who turns 65 this week, perhaps the most adored public servant in the Arab world. A career diplomat who held posts in India and at the United Nations, he is a man as famous for his hearty laugh as his explosive temper. In 10 years as Egypt's Foreign Minister, he sharply criticized U.S. support for Israel and Israel's treatment of Palestinians in interviews, speeches and finger-wagging lectures to visiting envoys. (His rows with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine...
...From his new office at the Arab League headquarters just a few blocks south along the Nile from the Foreign Ministry, Moussa is determined to transform the organization into a powerful voice of Arab opinion. He wants to toss out lifetime bureaucrats and reinvigorate the 800-strong staff. Although he says that the Arab League must address wider issues, from economic growth to solidarity with Arab-Americans, the Palestinian cause will continue to dominate his agenda. He sees the conflict as a source of regional terrorism, perhaps even a factor in the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. Says Moussa...
TIME: What explains some Arab street reaction showing satisfaction with the September 11 terrorist attacks on America? Moussa: I was really sad about what happened in Manhattan, where I lived for so many years, and in Washington. I strongly condemn it. If there are some expressions [of satisfaction], those are eruptions that do not at all represent the overwhelming majority of how Arabs feel and reacted. Those people have been living in refugee camps for decades. That shows what frustration will do. The Palestinian problem has to be solved...
TIME: How? Moussa: Israeli policy is to dupe Palestinians, Arabs and the world by saying, "We want peace," but then they build [Israeli] settlements, hit the Palestinians, use F-16 war jets, use Apache helicopters. And no powerful country intervenes. A continuation of the same policy creates a lot of bad blood, anger, frustration. It is in the interest of nobody, of no country, of no diplomacy, that such a situation continues. Now is the time for a reassessment of American policy toward the Palestinian-Israeli conflict...