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EGYPTIANS THREATEN WAR?
APPROACHING THE ABYSS?
MID-EAST REALITIES - www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 6/04:
When the American Secretary of State cancels long-planned foreign
travel and publicly warns of the "abyss" from which "there may no
return" you can bet the situation behind-the-scenes is far more
dangerous and explosive than is publicly realized. And just in the
past few hours, for the first time in memory and possibly the first
time since Egypt's peace treaty with the Israelis more than 20 years
ago, top officials in Egypt are publicly talking of possible war with
the Jewish State.
As for the Israelis, who knows what Sharon and the Israeli Army
and Mossad he now commands are really up to at this point. Maybe they
actually do want to provoke a regional war; one in which they would
pulverize the Arab armies, terrorize more Palestinians across the
Jordan River, and then mid-wife creation of a "Palestinian State" in
today's Jordan. This is in fact the scenario Sharon himself was
personally best known for not that many years ago -- "Jordan is
Palestine". And this is the ideological position Sharon's mentor,
Vladimir Jabotinsky the founder of Revisionist Zionism, insisted upon
throughout his lifetime -- "Jordan is Palestine." And it was none
other than Jabotinsky's picture on the wall behind Sharon the day he
took office as Prime Minister.
Or maybe the situation as it approaches the abyss is just out of
control, as has also happened before in the Middle East, with no one
really able to control events anymore and predicting the short-term
and long-term outcomes impossible. After all, as the anniversary of
the "Six Day War" more than 30 years ago now approaches again, just
what happened then is still being debated by the experts. But however
it started then it was Israel's triumphant victory, made possible with
considerable covert American help at the time, that created the
occupation and the settlements which are at the root of today's
impending reignition of what could prove to be a horrendous
confrontation, now possibly looming.
EGYPT WARNS MILITARY RESPONSE IF ISRAEL ACTS AGAINST P.A.
Newswires - Jerusalem Post - 6/4/01: Senior aides to Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak have threatened military response if Israel
attacks Palestinian Authority targets, according to a report published
in 'The Middle East News Letter.'
"The Egyptian armed forces [are] ready to deter aggression," Defense
Minister Hussein Tantawi said. "They are ready to carry out
instructions."
The aides asserted that the Egyptian military is ready for any
prospect, including a war with Israel, the report said.
The state-run media in Egypt quoted officials as vowing that Cairo
will not be again defeated in a war with Israel.
Ibrahim Saada, editor-in-chief of Al Ahram, and regarded as a
spokesman for Mubarak, said in an article entitled 'War or Peace,'
that Egypt is ready to confront any danger to its borders and any
operation ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
The escalation in rhetoric began last week on the eve of the
commemoration of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war in which Egypt lost the
Sinai peninsula to Israel.
"The Egyptian army is constantly kept in excellent shape in terms of
training and armaments. It is prepared for any eventuality.
"The 1967 defeat is blamed on the then military establishment which
was distracted from its key role by the pursuit of personal gains. The
situation is entirely different now," Samir Ragab, another confidante
of Mubarak, averred.
"The recurrence of the 1967 debacle is remote for a host of reasons,"
he added.
"The crushing Egyptian defeat in 1967 was because of the rivalry
between the military and government," Ragab said, concluding, "Under
Mubarak, that rivalry has been eliminated."
In a related development, Egypt and the United States launched a
military exercise yesterday.
The maneuvers, entitled 'Eagle Hunter 2001', were to last several
days, diplomatic sources said.
The exercise would focus on training and an exchange of combat
expertise and methods, according to the Al Ahram daily.
The United States cancelled military exercises with Israel and Yemen
last month amid threats to US troops in the region.
The Israeli Air Force launched a massive air exercise yesterday.
The maneuvers, held every few years, puts nearly the entire IAF in the
sky in a simulated war situation, military sources said.
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