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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Oct. - 3 Nov. 1999 Issue No. 453 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Oct. - 3 Nov. 1999 Issue No. 453
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Study Special Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Fencing the issue
By Amira IbrahimEgypt's defence minister, Field-Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who joined US Defence Secretary William Cohen and his British counterpart Geoffrey Hoon in observing the Bright Star joint military manoeuvres, stressed in a press conference that "these exercises reflect the desire for peace and cooperation among all the participants".
He also called for more Arab countries to participate in the next Bright Star war games, scheduled in 2001.
It was not, necessarily, an invitation fully endorsed by Cohen, who in his Friday press conference seemed determined to demonise at least one Arab nation -- Iraq.
"I discussed with President [Hosni] Mubarak arrangements for national security, economic relations as well as the Bright Star exercise led by Egypt," Cohen told reporters. "It is a magnificent symbol of cooperation that we all should work to develop."
Certainly Cohen expressed the hope that in 2001 the exercises would include more participants, but at a later press conference, held on Al-Omayad beach, he went out of his way to stigmatise Iraq, the "one country that is not represented here today that should pay very "Saddam Hussein," Cohen continued, "remains an outlaw in his own neighborhood.
Over his horizon, he should see the Bright Star [exercises] demonstrate that the countries of this region, backed by the United Sates, Britain and other European allies, have a different vision of the future."
"We're building a long term partnership that will provide the security that our people want and the stability they deserve,'" he added.
And in a clear reference to Saddam Hussein, Cohen said the nations taking part in the manoeuvres were "building prosperity for their people and not palaces for their cronies".
Cohen went on to insist that the US was not only keeping an eye on Iraq but also on Iran. US-Iranian relations have improved slightly in recent years but, Cohen said, America would continue to watch Iran closely. "We will cooperate and work with all of our partners and allies in the region to make sure that no country can seek to undermine the peace."
In the face of the none too veiled US warnings against Iraq, Egyptian officials have been keen to stress that the multinational war games are not intended to target any individual country.
The manoeuvres "have nothing to do with Iraq," Egypt's foreign minister Amr Moussa was reported as saying, following Cohen's statements.close attention to what Bright Star represents".
