Gamal Essam El-Din attempts to decipher the reasons and results of Gamal Mubarak's trip to the US last week Gamal Mubarak, the 46-year-old son of President Hosni Mubarak and chairman of the ruling National Democratic Party's (NDP) powerful Policies Committee, this week returned from a five-day visit to the United States. In New York on Saturday he was the guest of the Council of Foreign Relations, chaired by Richard Hass. On Sunday Gamal Mubarak was hosted on CNN's GPS (Global Public Square) programme by Farid Zakaria. Before introducing his guest, Zakaria said that of all Arab states Egypt held out the greatest hope for democracy in the Middle East. Mubarak answered Zakaria's questions on increased religiosity in Egypt, Bush's policies on terrorism, Egypt's relations with Israel and the recent visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the Middle East. Choosing his words carefully, he spoke about "those who have hijacked religion, using violence to justify their frustration" and argued that George Bush's "war on terror" had increased tensions in the region and led to suspicion of Washington's motives to peak. "The Obama election was historic... he is committed to reaching a solution on the Middle East conflict," Mubarak told his host. He also expressed surprise that some in America saw Obama's interview a week after he took office on the Dubai-based Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya as "a sign of weakness". Asked whether he thought Hillary Clinton is pro-Israeli, Mubarak said her words in Sharm El-Sheikh conference on Gaza had "hit the mark in the sense of looking at the broader issue of what is the peace process and rather, than focussing on just Gaza, pressing for a two-state solution." Mubarak also said he had a stern message to Israel: enough is enough, and the window for a two-state solution is closing quickly. Nor were "statements from politicians and leaders in Israel... helpful in normalising relations with Egypt or countering anti-Semitism". Mubarak also noted that Egypt has deep differences with Iran on the Middle East conflict and other issues. Although generally positive, US policymakers and media differed when it came to the purpose of the visit. The congresspeople Mubarak met in Washington were generally tight-lipped. Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, issued no statements regarding his closed-door meeting with the son of Egypt's president. Howard Berman, Kerry's counterpart in the House of Representatives, said that he had "a wide-ranging talk with Gamal Mubarak" but didn't want to "go into the substance of a private meeting". "What I can say," Berman's statement continued, is "that Mubarak is highly intelligent and fully conversant in the issues affecting US- Egyptian relations and Middle East peace". Mubarak, said Berman, is "a strong and sensible advocate of Middle East peace and of close cooperation with the United States". Egyptian sources in Washington say Mubarak also met with aides of President Obama. According to Al-Arabiya, the White House said it had no comment on these reports and that no meetings were scheduled. Obama spoke with President Hosni Mubarak on the telephone last week amid growing rumours that he plans to visit Turkey, Egypt and Israel next month. US Secretary of State Clinton, in an interview on 4 March, refused to comment on Gamal Mubarak's visit to the US or on the possibility of his succeeding to the presidency, emphasising that "it was up to the Egyptian people to decide on that". The same cautious line was adopted by US Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey. In a statement on the embassy's website Scobey stressed that "the US is keen to see fair elections in Egypt and will respect the winning candidate no matter what his affiliations are." Gamal Mubarak's visit to the United States was the first to be announced since 2006. The first two days were spent in Washington, followed by three days in New York. While in Washington Mubarak had mostly closed-door and off-the-record meetings with politicians in New York. His schedule included talks with economists and financial experts, including representatives of J.P Morgan, to discuss the global financial crisis. If US policymakers and experts were cautious in the public pronouncements on the visit newspapers were less so. Under the title "Mubarak's son slips into Washington" the monthly Foreign Policy journal quoted "one source familiar with Gamal's visit" as saying that "the unofficial purpose is likely to take the temperature in Washington ahead of his father's rumoured trip later this spring." A spokesman for the Egyptian Embassy in Washington said he had no information to share about either visit. At home, opinions varied on the significance of the trip. Abdel-Moneim Said, director of Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, insists that Mubarak's visit was simply part of ongoing attempts to build bridges with the new administration. "It is not just Gamal who will be visiting Washington. Many people belonging to civil society organisations and different political parties are trying to forge contacts with research centres and media organisations there," said Said. "These visits are good for both Egypt and America regardless of those who attack the US in Egypt." On the other hand, Gamal Zahran, an independent MP and professor of economics and political science at Suez Canal University, said he believed the visit was twofold: "First, an attempt to gauge the kind of reception President Mubarak might receive if he decides to visit Washington next month; second, to promote himself as the best person to succeed his father." Zahran argued that the fact that most of his meetings were behind closed doors was an indication that Mubarak had a personal agenda to promote.
