CAIRO: The new US ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey presented her credentials to President Hosni Mubarak at the Presidential Palace Monday. Scobey was confirmed as the new ambassador in a Senate hearing on March 14, replacing predecessor Francis J. Ricciardone, who had been criticized by rights groups in Egypt for what they perceived as his overtly positive comments on the government. The appointment comes at a critical point in bilateral relations. Despite being staunch allies, the two countries have seen a cooling in their relationship recently due to US criticism of the pace of political reform and Egypt's patchy human rights record. Scobey is the first female US ambassador to Egypt. She previously served as the ambassador to Syria from 2003 to 2005 and followed this by a stint as a political advisor at the US embassy in Baghdad. Last year she was appointed as a senior advisor to the Secretary of State. At her senate hearing, Scobey vowed to push the advancement of civil and political liberties in Egypt and advocate the release of jailed opposition leader and former Presidential candidate Ayman Nour. Scobey also said at the hearing that there was no conflict between lobbying Egypt for reforms while seeking its support in the wider issues of the region. She added that she would "give the greatest attention to getting our message out to the widest possible Egyptian audience. A diplomatic source who spoke on condition of anonymity told Daily News Egypt at the time that Scobey's aims do not "matter. "She said she will do everything in her power and good luck to her. As long as there is no talk of pressure, because nobody pressures Egypt, the source added. Human Rights groups have taken Scobey's predecessor Ricciardone to task in the past over positive statements he has made about the Egyptian administration. Director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights Hossam Bahgat previously told Daily News Egypt that the incumbent ambassador "consistently heaps praise on the Egyptian government to the extent that he sounds more like an Egyptian government official than an American one. This has damaged US credibility. Local press had reported that the US administration had sought to terminate Ricciardione's tenure earlier than scheduled due to "its dissatisfaction with Ricciardone's polices in Egypt, and mainly owing to the occasional conflict between his statements and the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's that are critical of Egypt. This was refuted by the US embassy in Cairo, which informed Daily News Egypt that Ricciardone's term had come to an end and a new ambassador was due to replace him. Scobey becomes the 42nd ambassador to represent the US in Egypt since 1849. She is considered an expert on the Middle East and speaks Arabic.
