Egypt backs US anti-terrorism action

Cairo has thrown its weight behind the US-led campaign against terrorism. Nevine Khalil and Soha Abdelaty report
After 48 hours of silence after the launch of the US strikes against Afghanistan, Egypt declared that it fully backs US action against terrorism, but cautioned against the killing of innocent civilians. "We support all measures which the US is taking to combat terrorism," said President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday, "because Egypt has suffered in the past from the scourge of terrorism."
Mubarak, speaking after opening a suspension bridge across the Suez Canal that links mainland Egypt to the Sinai peninsula, reiterated earlier calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state as a long-term way of ending terrorism. "At the same time, we call on the US simultaneously to take effective steps to resolve the Palestinian issue, because we believe such a solution is of key importance to drying up the sources of terrorism," Mubarak said. He added that "the only way to ensure the safety of the Israeli people is the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state next door."
Mubarak said he had faith in US President George Bush's statements last week supporting the establishment of a Palestinian state, provided that Israel's right to existence is acknowledged. "I believe [Bush] meant what he said about the creation of a Palestinian state. I have asked him to implement [these statements] many times, but he is very busy these days," noted Mubarak. "If the Palestinian problem is not resolved, it may give birth to generations of terrorists. The US understands this well and [Bush] promised to proceed with resolving the Middle East problem."
Egypt supported US anti-terror efforts following the 11 September attacks by providing intelligence information. The cooperation between the two countries in the exchange of information was described as unprecedented. But Egypt signalled that it was not ready to send Egyptian troops to join the US- led military coalition currently striking Afghanistan.
Responding to questions on what Egypt's position will be if the US strikes countries other than Afghanistan in its pursuit of Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qa'ida network, Mubarak's answer was that President Bush had "reassured" him that the strikes will not kill innocent civilians, "but rather target military installations and others which provide assistance to terrorists."
A day earlier, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher had underscored Egypt's opposition to any attack on an Arab state. "We are against any attack against any Arab country. I think we are confident that no Arab country will be the target of an American attack, or of an attack during this campaign against terrorism," said Maher in an address at the American University in Cairo (AUC).
Although the US was reported to have previously assured Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia that Arab countries were not in the firing line of American retaliation, Washington said on Monday that countries other than Afghanistan could be targeted as its "war on terrorism" progresses. In a letter to the UN Security Council, US ambassador to the UN John Negropronte stated that "we may find that our self-defence requires further actions with respect to other organisations and other states."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is scheduled to visit Cairo today (Thursday) to discuss the latest developments with officials here. Addressing an Arab audience on Al-Jazeera satellite channel on Tuesday, Blair said that Bin Laden is as much of a threat to the Middle East as he is to the West. "Let us be clear, when we listen to the words of Osama Bin Laden, if he has his way, the regimes that he would replace regimes in the Arab world with would be like the Taliban regime in Afghanistan," he warned. "I don't believe that anybody seriously wants to live under that kind of regime."
Although Egypt was not privy to the evidence supplied by the US to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and Pakistan, Cairo seemed convinced that the evidence was reliable and justified. "The US and other countries are convinced that the proofs they have are convincing, are enough. And I am sure that they would not act without solid evidence," Maher said on Monday.
Giving a carefully-worded speech at AUC, Maher told his audience that Egypt's position is one of support for, and solidarity with, the US. But Maher also underlined that there is a "need to react cautiously and, on the basis of strong evidence, identify the culprits." And once these conditions have been met, the reaction that follows should be based on international legality and "be narrowly targeted, both geographically and with regard to its object, and avoid innocent civilian victims," added Maher.
Mubarak's chief political adviser, Osama El- Baz, said that Egypt believes the US is within its rights to respond if it has irrefutable evidence against Bin Laden. "The US has, in accordance with all international laws, the right to retaliate if it has conclusive evidence that Osama Bin Laden or his group, Al-Qa'ida, perpetrated the terrorist attacks," said El-Baz. At the same time, he expressed concern for the plight of the Afghan people. "We hope that the strikes do not affect the Afghan people who are suffering already. They are innocent civilians and we hope that [the strikes] do not compound the humanitarian tragedy which they are living through," he said.
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