Mubarak urges U.S. to be fair in Mideast:'Shocked' by Bush's backing of Is

[Judi Lynn]

April 15, 2004, 9:58PM

Mubarak urges U.S. to be fair in Mideast
'Shocked' by Bush's backing of Israel
By JOHN C. HENRY
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle


Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned Thursday that more violence is likely in the Middle East unless President Bush acts quickly to bolster the United States' role as an impartial arbiter in the Israeli-Palestinian search for peace.

Mubarak told the Houston Chronicle that he was "shocked" by Bush's endorsement of Israel's claim to major parts of the West Bank and opposition to Palestinian refugees returning to Israel.

Bush's decision to side with Israel on the two issues, a deal struck without Palestinian involvement, was announced Wednesday after he met at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

"This issue should be discussed between both (Israeli and Palestinian) sides and accepted by both," Mubarak said, adding that the pro-Israel shift raises questions about the United States' ability to serve as a neutral broker in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/world/2509381
(Free registration required)

On edit:

Just found a Mubarak-related story I hope someone will find worthwhile:

Separated twins meet Egyptian president

03:39 PM CDT on Thursday, April 15, 2004


By BEATRIZ TERRAZAS / The Dallas Morning News



Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim, the formerly conjoined Egyptian twins, flew from Dallas to Houston Thursday to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The twins were accompanied by their parents, their older brother and their nurse, as well as by Dr. Kenneth Salyer, the craniofacial surgeon who will reconstruct their skulls, and his wife, Lucy.

In a meeting at a Houston hotel that lasted less than five minutes, Mr. Mubarak hugged the boys’ father and kissed the twins, Dr. Salyer said. The boys returned the president’s kisses.

Then Mr. Mubarak invited Dr. Salyer to Egypt when the boys return home, the surgeon said. Mr. Mubarak is touring the United States and met with President Bush in Crawford, Texas, earlier this week.
(snip/...)

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/041504dnmettwins.129e1ef6b.html


Mei-Chun Jau / DMN
Mohamed (left) and Ahmed Ibrahim were separated last year.

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Remember when the skewered Howard Dean for saying...

...the US should deal even-handedly w/ both sides in the I/P situation?

I'm struck, but never surprised, by Dean's prolific statements...

[i_c_a_White_Ghost]

2. Mubarak now knows what a backstabber

bush is.

24 hrs after meeting he hears this.

Ah, politics.

bush doctrine=roadmap to hell!

[terisel]

10. Bush's pattern of getting Phot op then "cutting" programs

Mubarak received the same political treatment that domestic programs have consistently gotten.
Bush arranges a photo-op and then cuts the program and humiliates the people used for the photo-op.
It is very "efficient". He gets political benefit from doing something that could have a politial downside.

[chelsea0011]

3. Why do you think Sharon was coming in later in the week?

About that dog and pony show the Crooked Ones did for Mubarak.....

[MsMagnificent]

8. Then came the Bush-Sharon gay porn hour

My god, WHAT THE F*** about that public, verbal 69 between Bush & Sharon yesterday?

Mingia!

We're all dead...there's no way Palestine will go for this, and on this I believe the Muslim states will join up & go berserk on us

Which is just fine to the White House
AS LONG AS THEY MAKE NICE BIG SHARON-FAT PROFITS!
Oh -- and of course THEIR children won't die! Just put them in that nice little program Georgie Jr. was in! As for the regular soldiers... oh well, so they lose a little tax on the $16,000 or less yearly income that the poor "earn", but we've got Mexicans coming in now to fill those jobs, so they'll be able to tax them to get THEIR money back.

It's ALLLLL been planned out...

[Corgigal]

9. Not only Mexicans

Hubby went to our favorite Chinese food place and inside was a picture of one of the workers dressed in their military best. My husband asked about him and was told that a recruiter came in and told him that if he served 2 years in Iraq he would become a US citizen. He told everyone that it would shave years off his naturalization into the US so he's over in Iraq now. Aren't we grand?

[MsMagnificent]

11. ROFLMAO

So THIS is the way our immigration officials react when attacked by foreigners? Go to ALL OTHER groups of foreigners and bribe them?

How's about being CAREFUL with ANY foreign group, especially in this day and age?

I mean, 14 years ago we would have done that for TALIBAN members,
AFTER we TRAINED AND ARMED them, that is!

BTW, I'm new so don't know if I should keep responding to "Latest Breaking News ;/ Hope it's OK

[ClintonTyree]

4. Why do.............

world leaders express shock anymore about anything the little dictator does? They know he's a sock puppet, they know it's an election year and they know Cheney's in charge.
Of course this is going to cause more tension and loss of life in the ME, but the little dictator doesn't care. He's pandering for every Jewish vote he can get. The road map to peace is the last thing on Bushie's mind right now. Getting (re)-elected is first and foremost.
What's the blood of hundreds of more people on his hands have to do with it? Nothing.
He's going to do what's in his and the neo-cons best interests, the rest of the world be damned!

[MsMagnificent]

16. There are many Jewish people who do not like what Israel is doing

so I wonder if:

A) As with Chalabi, the White House denizens only listen to the ones who make the most noise

B) They're too stupid to realize that not all American Jews (aka Voters!) support Israel's apartheid

C) It really doesn't matter what Israel OR the American Jewish people really want , it's all in their nefarious PNAC, so F*** them & F*** the rest of the world too!

They've got the POWER and they'll DO JUST WHAT THEY WANT TO!
*stamping feet tantrum*

[Corgigal]

5. Mubarak is shocked?

How do you think the military in Iraq feel? Even the civilians working over there? It's not like Iraqis need another reason to shoot at us but I'm sure this didn't help. Sooner or later the active duty military if they aren't already thinking it, are going to be thinking that Bush is REALLY trying to kill them.

[MsMagnificent]

6. Looks like the ROAD MAP detoured

only thing is, it's on the road with the washed-out bridge!

There will never be peace in the Mid East with those settlements in place.

NEVER

And those White House idiots are even more out of touch with reality if they think that this will actually work!

"Sharon reportedly yelled at (Shimon) Peres, saying "don't worry about American pressure, we the Jewish people control America."

--This quote has been questioned as to its legitimacy, many contend it was a construct -- yet it certainly is true by the White House's ACTIONS & DEEDS!

What's the consensus here about the veracity of that quote anyhow?

[Bridget Burke]

7. You brought up the quotation---you locate the source.

As much as one may abhor the policies of the current Israeli regime, one needn't blame everything on the "Jewish people".

[MsMagnificent]

12. NOT Jewish people - The State of Israel!

That's what I meant... it was SHARON who said "Jewish people", I never did!

I'm angry as hell about how we coddle Israel, but tThere is a HUGE difference between the State of Israel and Jewish people! It's like saying since Bush is president we all fully support Bush!

[MsMagnificent]

14. Sorry, should have read "ALLEGEDLY Sharon said..."

and '(same as saying) since Bush is president ALL Americans completely support him.'

There are MANY Israeli groups such as Gush Shalom who are against the Sharon inspired apartheid, and I support them fully.

[kevinhnc]

13. Another example of how *'s religious quackery ruins our world

i.e. the religious doctrine that we should support Israel no matter what, even at the risk of all Islamic nations rising up against us.

Its frightening...he listens to Falwell and not his denizens, the other nations of the world, or even common sense.

[0007]

15. I watched this yesterday - What a defference between a real man

and our junior.

....Mubarak addressed a large at Rice University in Houston Texas and was well received.

[NNN0LHI]

17. Mubarak is a thug wearing a suit just like Bush

When are you ever going to have an election in your country Hosni? Got more important things to do lately? Like have your secret police do some torturing of accused terrorists for the USA perhaps? Scum.

Don

[htuttle]

20. Where are Mubarak's manners?

This is NO way for the hired help to speak about their employers...

[SOS]

18. He claims to be shocked

while cashing $2.5 billion in annual checks from the US.

:eyes:

[David__77]

19. Bush has doomed Mubarak.

If Bush endorses the settlements, Mubarak either reorients Egypt away from the US, going back to its Nasser-era policies, or he is in serious risk of finding himself with a one-way ticket out of the country.