Ahmed M. Abushadi* pays tribute to the late Ambassador For the late Ambassador , who passed away in November, 2005, Egypt's military victory against Israel in October 1973 was exceptionally meaningful careerwise. After serving as Egypt's top "unofficial" diplomat in Washington DC following the humiliating 1967 defeat, Ghorbal was named Ambassador to the United States in November 1973, immediately after the October victory. The contrast between both eras was graphic. In his memoirs published in 2004, Ghorbal reminisces on his victorious return to Washington, "I arrived in Washington with my wife on December 6, 1973, to assume my position as Ambassador of Egypt. By coincidence, it was our wedding anniversary! My return (after the October victory) was full of confidence and I felt great, almost like a giant despite my small body. The warmth of my reception in Washington boost my confidence. My American fellow diplomats and friends expressed their appreciation for the military prowess demonstrated by the Egyptian armed forces. Well done, they exclaimed!" Ghorbal found a very different political environment in Washington from the one he knew during his previous 5- year term (1968-1972) as Head of the Egyptian Interests Section. The US capital was now willing to listen more attentively to Egypt's views on the imperatives of a fair settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli question and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Arab territories occupied in 1967 including Sinai. An active, and more importantly, a more even-handed American policy in the Middle East was ushered. As Head of the Egyptian Interests Section, Ghorbal had been a "virtual" ambassador acting under the auspices of the Indian Embassy, after former President Gamal Abdel Nasser severed relations with the U.S. in June 1967. He was no stranger to the US when he arrived in a freezing- cold Washington in January 1968, having obtained his PhD from Harvard, and having previously served with the Egyptian Mission to the United Nations. Ghorbal, who remained to the end a firm believer in the benefits of closer relations between Egypt and the US, knew that his mission was going to be a tough one. He immediately set out to mend the tattered relationship and repair the damage done to Egypt's public image. Meeting with friends in the State Department, the White House, on Capitol Hill and in the media, Ghorbal incessantly hammered the message that Egypt was not the war-monger as framed by Israel and its powerful supporters, but rather a victim of Israeli aggression, and a country that was striving for territorial justice and for peace. Yet Washington's cold winter of 1968 was matched by an even colder shoulder towards Egypt and Ghorbal, as more American arms flowed to Israel and more vetos were cast in support of Israel at the UN Security Council. This pro-Israel attitude was most evident at the White House under former President Lyndon Johnson and his National Security adviser Eugene Rostow, both unabashed supporters of Israel. In contrast, many of the Arab affairs experts in the State Department were friends of Egypt and of Ghorbal personally. Throughout this five year term, despite Ghorbal's untiring efforts to establish a meaningful dialogue, American relations with Egypt remained cool at best, while support for Israel militarily and diplomatically remained strong. Ghorbal returned to Cairo in July 1972, convinced that only a restoration of the military balance between Egypt and Israel could change the US (and Israel's) position. He was promptly appointed assistant to the late Hafez Ismail, Sadat's respected National Security Adviser, joining the team that made preparations for the October war and eventual victory. In his memoirs and in private conversations, Ghorbal can be seen to have been one of the strongest political voices that supported military action to dislodge Israeli forces from Sinai. His assessments backing military action are on record in his diplomatic reports, positions which he reiterated in conversations with the late President Sadat. At one point when Sadat told Ghorbal that once the war was over he intended to appoint him as Minister of Information, he promptly responded that he would prefer to return to the Foreign Ministry and to his diplomatic career. Ghorbal remained faithful to this position when several years later he declined the position of Minister of Tourism. Immediately following the October war, full diplomatic relations with the US were restored, and Ghorbal was named Ambassador to Washington. He remained there for the next 11 years, successfully cementing ties between the two countries at every level, and helping to promote the newly-anchored more even handed American policy on Arab-Israeli peace in the Middle East. In the late 1970s, Washingtonian magazine named Ghorbal as most effective ambassador in the US capital, at par with the then all-powerful Soviet Ambassador, Anatoly Dobrynin. This was based on a survey conducted among hundreds of officials, politicians and media personalities polling their views on the effectiveness of some 120 ambassadors accredited to the US. For Egypt and its ambassador, this was no small feat. was blessed with a family that made his diplomatic prowess even more effective. His devoted wife Amal Amer, daughter Nahed and son Omar, made a lasting impression on the countless guests they entertained at the impeccably-kept official residence on Sheridan Circle in Washington DC. The Embassy itself was a bee-hive boasting some of Egypt's brightest diplomats who were inspired by Ghorbal's spirit of team-work, unswerving courage, and his confidence that hard work begets, not only success, but full credit as well. * The writer is a journalist, served as Press Counsellor under Ambassador at the Embassy of Egypt
