Ibrahim Nafie, writing from Washington, reviews President Mubarak's agenda during his crucial four-day American visit President Hosni Mubarak arrived in Washington yesterday, following a brief stopover in London, at the head of a high-level delegation to discuss the bases for forthcoming steps to a solution to the Middle East crisis. The agenda of his four-day visit, at the invitation of President Bush, includes several new elements. In an interview with the New York Times published on Tuesday, President Mubarak announced that in his talks in Washington he would seek to persuade President Bush to support the declaration of an independent Palestinian state by the beginning of 2003 as a preliminary step to be followed by negotiations over the borders of the nascent state and the future of Jerusalem. The president believes that Arab, American and Israeli leaders and representatives of Russia and the European Union can work out an agenda for the conclusion of a peace accord some time after the 2004 US presidential elections. He added that he would urge Bush to specify a framework for taking on board new proposals for a settlement on such crucial issues as the status of Jerusalem, the return of Palestinian refugees and final borders. "The general negotiating framework must be drawn up after intensive consultations by US Secretary of State Colin Powell with Israeli and Arab leaders," the president said. Mubarak also declared that he was prepared to visit Israel if such a visit would contribute to a peace agreement between the Jewish state and the Palestinians. However, he also insisted that he would not undertake such a visit as long as the killing of Palestinians and the violence between the two sides persisted. In the interview the President revealed for the first time that Egyptian intelligence had succeeded in infiltrating the Al-Qa'eda organisation and that Egypt had informed the relevant US agencies a week before the attacks of 11 September that a terrorist plot against an American target was in advanced stages of preparation. At the same time, Mubarak cautioned that the US would sustain considerable losses if it attacked Iraq. "The use of force will create a hell of a lot of problems with public opinion, it will make people very furious," he said. The president begins his official activities today by meeting US Congressional leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties. He will then meet leaders of Arab and Islamic organisations in the US, after which he will begin talks with senior officials in the US administration. Among these are US Vice-President Dick Cheney who will host a luncheon in honour of the Egyptian president. Afterwards the president will hold press interviews with the major US newspapers and television networks. His schedule on Friday begins with another round of media interviews in which he will present the Egyptian positions on the most pressing issues in the Middle East. He will then resume his talks with officials in the US administration, notably Powell and National Security Adviser Condaleezza Rice. Afterwards he will meet leaders of US Jewish organisations. Later tomorrow, Mubarak is scheduled to leave Washington and head to the US presidential retreat at Camp David, where he will begin his consultations with George Bush. The talks are expected to extend over several hours, with an interruption for dinner. Saturday will bring further consultations between the two presidents, after which Mubarak will leave the US bound for home. The US press on Tuesday devoted much attention to Mubarak's visit. A New York Times report announced that the Egyptian president would present the US administration with proposals for a framework for an international peace conference. The Washington Post reported that the president would hold extensive talks with Bush over drawing up a time frame for specific measures intended to bring about a resumption of peace talks. This visit by Mubarak to Washington represents a culmination of Egypt's ceaseless efforts over the past month to effect a resumption of the peace process and to overcome the successive obstacles created by Israel and its supporters in their incessant bids to bring the Palestinian-Israeli negotiating track back to zero, to impose impossible choices upon the Palestinians and to topple and replace the legitimate Palestinian leadership. The presidential visit -- the second in three months -- also aims to capitalise on the progress the president achieved in his earlier visit. That visit produced an official American statement affirming the principle of creating a Palestinian state and concerted attempts by Washington to end Israel's blockade of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, its siege of the Church of Nativity and its incursions into PA territories. Related stories: Destroying Arafat's leadership The scent of a deal Unifying positions Consultations for peace 30 May - 5 June 2002 Measuring the steps 30 May - 5 June 2002 Holding out for peace 16 - 22 May 2002 Blowing in the wind 9 - 15 May 2002 Putting the message across 7 - 13 March 2002 Keeping Egypt-US ties 'healthy' 17 - 23 June 1999
