Juan Cole: Mubarak of Egypt says US should not withdraw.

[Inland]

http://www.juancole.com/
Sunday, April 09, 2006
**********
President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt said on Saturday that Iraq is already in an ethnic civil war; that the problem with the country is that it is too diverse ethnically; that the current crisis was caused by Saddam not having ruled more justly; that the United States must not leave, or all hell will break loose; and that Arab Shiites a secretly more loyal to Iran than to their own countries. The degree of ignorance and prejudice revealed by the last phrase is mind boggling, but it is a very common sentiment in the Sunni Arab world. Nor is it a good sign, since the Shiites are becoming empowered in the eastern Arab world, and the Sunnis are going to have to get used to it.

As for Mubarak's caution against a US withdrawal, it strikes me as self-serving. If the US withdraws, regional leaders may have to step up.

***************

[Tempest]

1. Mubarak is afraid of losing his power

Al-Qaeda has already said it wants Mubarak gone.

If the U.S. left Iraq, they can turn their focus on him.

[MichiganVote]

2. So send more Egyptian soldiers into Iraq Mubarak

[yurbud]

3. Egypt gets major bucks from us, so he'll say what he's told to.

[Demeter]

4. Exactly! If the US Stops Messing Around In Iraq....

Egypt might come in for some unwelcome scrutiny. "Let's you and him fight" while Egypt commits its own atrocities in obscurity.