Mr Hosni Mubarak's exit from the Oruba Palace in Cairo came as no surprise for those who understand the relationship among three powers: the US, Egypt and Israel. In 1882, Britain occupied Egypt, which remained a monarchy till 1952, while British interests in the region ruled supreme. The British colonialists even stole the mummies of the Pharaohs and took Egypt's wealth to London. It's all in the British Museum. In 1952, the young Free Officers staged a bloodless coup. King Farouq sailed from Alexandria with his entourage and his pet dogs. General Mohamed Naguib assumed power in a broken nation with a rich culture and civilisation. In 1956, a youthful army officer, Colonel Gamal Abdel-Nasser, took the helm. He nationalised the Suez Canal, to the bewilderment of the French and the British. In 1967, Israel committed a silent aggression against Egypt, Syria and the West Bank of the Jordan, seizing the entire Sinai. The Suez Canal remained shut till 1976 and this was a catastrophe for the Egyptian economy. Israel, America's pampered child, occupied the Golan Heights in Syria and all of Palestine, including the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in 1967 throwing the relevant UN resolutions in the dustbin. Egypt's economy was suffering seriously. Its agriculture and industry were supported with the co-operation of several countries, including India. President Nasser, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Yugoslavian President Tito launched the Non-Aligned Movement. In so doing, Nasser incurred the wrath of the Anglo-American bloc. In the 1967 Six Day War, the Israeli military completely destroyed the Egyptian Air Force (mostly caught unawares on the ground) and swept through the Sinai to the Suez Canal, routing the Egyptian Army and killing at least 3,000 soldiers. The devastation threatened to bankrupt the Government. Internal squabbling among Arab nations and the growing Palestinian movement put a terrible strain on Nasser, who collapsed and died on September 28, 1970. When he resigned in 1967, accepting moral responsibility for his country's defeat in the Six Day War, Egyptians flooded to the same Tahrir Square where their children recently protested for 18 days against Mubarak, demanding Nasser go back on his resignation. He agreed and promised to liberate all the occupied territories, including Palestine, from the Israelis. Anwar Sadat, his vice president, succeeded Nasser in difficult times. President Sadat avenged the Egyptian defeat of 1967 and liberated Sinai in 1973, shattering the myth of Israel's invincibility. Israel had to bow to Egypt's command and the Suez Canal was reopened. Ironically, it was in October 1981, during a military parade on the anniversary of the 1973 War, that extremists, opposed to Sadat's peace initiative with Israel, shot him dead in Cairo. Hosni Mubarak, Vice President of Egypt at the time, took over as President the same day. An experienced Air Force commander, Mubarak tried to revive the economy of a nation, which boasts one of the world's oldest civilisations. This author first visited Egypt in 1968. He shook hands with President Nasser on 30th March that year, when Nasser made his historic speech at Cairo University, challenging Saudi Arabia and his other critics, stressing that socialism was inseparable from Islam. Regrettably, the 22 Arab nations in the Middle East and North Africa have never seen eye to eye with each other. The kingdoms have never ‘shaken hands' with sheikhdoms, while both have refused to accept the winds of change and democracy, which authoritarian rulers won't let blow through their windows. In 1947, Palestine was partitioned under UN Resolution 181, because the Arabs were not united. For nearly three decades, Yasser Arafat, who was a great friend of this author, kept on calling for Arab unity, arguing that it depended on the liberation of Palestine. It was a blunder on the part of seasoned Arab leaders to support Anglo-American axis in their aggression on Iraq in 1991 and again in 2003. After Nasser and Arafat, there was only President Saddam Hussein to sincerely oppose America's ugly plans to colonise the Arab world. Of course, the US and Britain and the rest of Europe were after Arab oil. Saddam was like a cobra sitting on the oil, so they removed him, while President Arafat was also killed in a conspiracy. The Arabs have failed to support the Palestinian cause. Mubarak remained a great friend of Anglo-American Bloc for almost 25 years, from 1981 to 2005. But he became cautious when the Americans tried to divide the Palestinians and supported Israel in their aggression on the Gaza Strip. Mubarak wasn't happy with the US policy in Palestine. The United States' lack of trust in Mubarak surfaced when President Obama, in his address to a high-level gathering at Cairo University, failed to mention the name of the Egyptian President. On June 13, 2009, this author wrote to President Obama, to complain about his omission of Mubarak's name. The letter went like this: "The cycle of suspicion and discord between the West and the East cannot end, as long as the lack of mutual interest and respect continues. The President of the US, in his speech at Cairo University, did not mention the name of Mubarak, the President of Egypt, one of the world's greatest civilisations. Was it lack of respect or lack of interest? “The seeds of suspicion grow into discord if not dug up in time. This is why the Balfour Declaration [1917] betrayed the Arabs, leading to an unending conflict in western Asia. Again, the UK, with US backing, betrayed the Arabs by facilitating the Zionists' efforts to take control of Palestine, which was under its mandate.” The US wanted a government in Egypt, which toed the US line and agreed with its policies, particularly in reference to Israel and Palestine. The Israeli leadership, particularly Prime Minister Netanyahu, have been carrying on the old Zionist plans to establish Greater Israel by extending Israel's boundaries. Recent events in Egypt show that a revolution can be popular, peaceful and disciplined. The world is still waiting for democracy in Egypt, when the Army relinquishes power. Time will tell. The author is Barrister-at-Law, a postgraduate of London University and expert in Arab affairs. He is presently Chairman, J&K National Panthers Party and a member of the National xIntegration Council.
