Word: sadat
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...Thursday, there were reports that the armed forces of Egypt and neighboring Libya, a bitter foe of Sadat's, had been placed on alert, and that rioting by Muslim fundamentalists had broken out in the southern Egyptian city of Asyut, long a center of religious militancy. The clashes in Asyut, in which both police and protesters used firearms, causing hundreds of casualties, did not subside until army reinforcements were brought in. But there were no mass arrests within the army as a result of the assassination, and the country as a whole remained quiet...
...what does the act mean for the stability of Egypt? As in a mystery novel in which hardly a character is free of suspicion, Sadat had so many enemies that almost no political or religious group can be completely ruled out. He was despised as a traitor by Arab nationalist radicals at home as well as those in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere. He was hated by Islamic fundamentalists both inside and outside Egypt, and their numbers, like their fervor, are on the increase. He was at odds with some of his country's Coptic Christians. He had quarreled...
Some skepticism greeted the official explanation. It is true that there were no sure signs of parallel attacks anywhere else, or any coordinated efforts to take over the country, as presumably would have been the case in a wider conspiracy. But some questions remained. Sadat's security men seemed slow to react, though the spectacular nature of the attack might well have stunned them. More important, the professional nature of the assault suggested the possibility of thorough training and a larger operation. Somehow the assassins evaded the security check prior to the parade. They were able to sneak live ammunition...
...from fields in the Sinai returned by Israel; Egyptian workers in other Arab countries bring home about $2.7 billion a year; and foreign investments since 1979 have totaled $550 million. On the balance sheet alone, the Egyptian Establishment is likely to support Mubarak in his continuation of Sadat's economic policies...
...element in the equation is Israel ?and the varied reaction of Israelis to Sadat's death underscored their confusion...