Views put forward by Margaret Scobey, nominated as the new US ambassador to Egypt, have sparked anger in the country even before her appointment has been confirmed, writes Doaa El-Bey Even before the official confirmation of her appointment as the new US ambassador to Egypt, the candidate nominated for the post, Margaret Scobey, has made remarks in her confirmation hearing in the US Senate that indicate the policies she would follow were she to be confirmed in the post. These comments have angered many Egyptians and have given rise to a flurry of criticism in the Egyptian papers. Scobey said last week that were she to be confirmed as ambassador, she would push Egypt into promoting greater civil and political liberties and would demand the freeing of opposition leader Ayman Nour. Her remarks, ignored by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in Cairo, aroused wide indignation at apparent US attempts to interfere in Egypt's internal affairs and were strongly criticised in the press. Mahmoud Shokri, a diplomat and former ambassador, described Scobey's remarks as "not the right start" for the job of ambassador, since they could cause conflict with many parties in the country. Her intention of pressing for the release of Nour he described as "a slip of the tongue". "Ambassadors are not entitled to press governments to do this or that, especially in legal matters or matters relating to the sovereignty of the state. Nour was imprisoned as a result of a court ruling," Shokri told Al-Ahram Weekly. Nour, who ran against President Hosni Mubarak in the 2005 presidential elections, was found guilty of forgery and sent to prison for five years on charges his supporters claim were invented by the government. Scobey's other remarks about pushing Egypt into reform were described by Shokri as unfortunate in that they seemed to be in contradiction with the role of an ambassador, which is to develop relations between two countries. "Given that she is an ambassador, and not a high commissioner," Shokri said, "she should behave as a good mediator. She should not be dealing with matters in this way at all." However, Shokri said that Scobey was right to think that the US should look for Egypt's support in promoting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, because Egypt has always declared that it is committed to working for peace in the region. She was also right to state that withholding US aid "would not help to shift Egypt", because using aid in this way could worsen rather than improve relations between the US and Egypt. The US has already suspended aid to Egypt worth $100 million from a total of some $2 billion, the Egyptian government responding that it will not tolerate interference in the country's internal affairs. As for Scobey's remark that she intended to "give the greatest attention to getting our message out to the widest possible Egyptian audience", including the press, Shokri said that he saw no harm in this as long as she did not intend to interfere in Egypt's domestic affairs. It is thought that Scobey adopted her tough stance in the hope of convincing the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which approves White House nominations of US ambassadors abroad, of her fitness for the job of ambassador to Egypt. However, if this was the case, in Shokri's view, it was a poor decision on Scobey's part since such comments may be taken to reflect the kind of relationship US policymakers want to establish with Egypt. Scobey started her career in the US foreign service in 1981, and has focussed mainly on the Middle East. She has worked in many Arab states, first as deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, and then as chief of the Political Sections in the US Embassy in Kuwait and the US Consulate-General in Jerusalem. She served as minister counsellor in the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from September 2001 to November 2003, and as US Ambassador to Syria from December 2003 to 2005, and then as a political advisor at the US Embassy in Iraq. Last year, she was appointed senior adviser to the US secretary of state. Scobey's experience in the region and her ability to speak Arabic should have been good credentials for the post of ambassador to Egypt, which, if confirmed, she is due to start in May. However, by adopting a "tough approach" she has only managed to gain the indignation of many people in Egypt even before she has started the job, rather than being accepted as an experienced diplomat who could play a leading role in patching up US-Egyptian relations
