Word: mubarak
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...strongest U.S. pleas to a close ally, it seemed that the killers were about to escape scot-free. All the anger and revulsion that Americans felt at that prospect were summed up by U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Nicholas Veliotes, who demanded that the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak "prosecute the sons of bitches...
Meanwhile the governments involved agreed to let Cairo take the lead in talking with the hijackers. The decision seemed logical since Mubarak enjoyed close relations with the P.L.O., and the Achille Lauro was steaming back toward Egypt. But from the start, the U.S., Italy and Egypt were not thinking alike about the crisis. All agreed, however, that there were three key issues: 1) safety of the hostages, 2) concessions to the hijackers, and 3) future punishment for the terrorists...
President Mubarak's main concern was to prevent the hijacking from torpedoing the Middle East peace process. Ever since Jordan's King Hussein and P.L.O. Leader Arafat agreed last February to work together to get Middle East peace talks moving again, Mubarak has hoped to bring Israel and Jordan to the negotiating table. That hope was dealt a rude blow two weeks ago, when Israel launched a 1,500-mile bombing raid on Arafat's P.L.O. headquarters near Tunis...
...further concern of Mubarak's was the fragile state of his own government, which is burdened by severe economic problems as well as a persistent challenge from Muslim fundamentalists. By conspicuously lining up with the U.S. against the P.L.O., Mubarak would be vulnerable to opponents at home and abroad. The Egyptian leader was therefore eager, perhaps overeager, to demonstrate that Arafat was a moderate opposed to terrorism by involving him in the hostage mediation...
...moderate Arab states. At the United Nations, the Security Council condemned the Israeli raid by a vote of 14 to 0, with the U.S. abstaining. Tunisian Foreign Minister Beji Caid Essebsi called the attack an act of "state terrorism" aimed at sabotaging Middle East peace efforts. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who had returned to Cairo only the previous day after what he had regarded as a successful trip to Washington, denounced the raid as a "horrible criminal operation" that posed "a major blow to peace efforts." Argued Mubarak: "If we counter terror with terror, we are going to have...