Condoleezza's visit

By Salama A Salama

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Condoleezza Rice's visit left Egyptian officials feeling nervous for any wayward comments about reform could have jeopardised bilateral ties and been construed as interference. As it turned out the secretary's words were carefully chosen and the visit tightly choreographed. Rice, who is believed to have cancelled a visit to Cairo in March in protest against Ayman Nour's detention -- was not about to ruffle more feathers.

The Americans were just as jittery as the Egyptians and did their best to shield the secretary from what they perceive as hostile media. The joint news conference the secretary held with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit was an exercise in politeness. Rice spoke of her "successful" visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, noting that an agreement had been reached that houses evacuated in Gaza settlements would be demolished. She urged both sides to refrain from violence. Abul-Gheit, for his part, argued for further measures concerning the harbour, the airport and crossing points. No one said anything about the Philadelphia corridor. And as soon as Rice left, Israel detained 50 Palestinian militants.

Rice was careful not to alienate Sharon or undermine the commitments Bush has offered Israel. However, she called on Israel to desist from unilateral action that may change the status quo ahead of talks. This suggests that nothing has changed in US policy towards Israel. The roadmap is still on hold, Sharon is taking his time about it and Rice is in no mood for timetables.

Rice spoke at the American University in Cairo, to an audience selected with a view to minimising embarrassing questions. It was a far cry from the scenes Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif encountered in Washington where he was repeatedly chided about the momentum of reform and told that the constitutional amendment allowing for presidential elections to be contested was not enough.

Secretary Rice was protected from any public embarrassment during her visit and if she made any pointed comments they were made behind closed doors.

The restraint shown by Egyptian and American officials did not, however, prevent Rice from preaching about democracy and reform in the Arab world, particularly in Egypt. While denying any intention to impose democratic reforms she insisted the US supports democracy and wants to see it flourish. People have the right to live without fear of the police knocking at their door at night and the opposition is entitled to equal coverage in the media, the secretary stated.

True democracy, she argued, is capable of eliminating extremism. Nations have the right to choose and democracy does not lead to terror. This is quite true. But when asked about the desecration of the Quran and the brutal practices at Guantanamo, issues that violate international law and undermine US claims to be the champion of freedom, the secretary had nothing to say beyond that the US defended Muslims in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Iraq and that the desecration of the Quran was confined to isolated incidents.

Egyptian officials must have breathed a sigh of relief once Rice left. And yet the secretary's remarks about the monitoring of the elections are likely to be a thorn in the side. Quite whose side, though, it's too early to tell.